How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

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GAJoe
Victor Jr
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:25 pm

How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by GAJoe »

I got this VV-215 and as you can see it's painted. I was hoping to take the paint off but didn't want to touch it until I got some advise.


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I don't know if it's lead based or not. I thought I could try a gentle paint stripper on the side of the drawer where there's no veneer. If it has no effect then assume lead based and just keep it as is. If the paint comes off of the test area then how should I tackle the rest of the job? What do you think of my plan to test for lead?
I couldn't resist it for $95 and it plays pretty well. The #2 reproducer needs to be rebuilt; is there a good site for learning how to do that? I was wanting to try some tungs-tone needles also. Is it true that you can get many more plays with the tungs-tones?
Thanks for your help!
Joe

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Covah
Victor II
Posts: 299
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:31 am

Re: How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by Covah »

Use paint stripper from Home Depot. Existing paint will bubble up. Scrape it off with plastic scrapper. Then remove residue with paint thinner and steel wool. Restore original finish with Danish oil.

Lead paint? What difference does that make? Just don't eat it.

martinola
Victor III
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Re: How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by martinola »

Hi Joe.

If it was painted in the 1970s or earlier, it is very likely lead based paint. Lead based paint has been available as recently as 3-4 years ago in industrial enamels. I wouldn't let that stop me from stripping it if I wanted to refinish. Use stripper and take precautions when sanding the dry residue. (Stripper works on lead-based paint, too. It may just take repeated applications.) Do this outdoors.

The questions you should be asking yourself are: "Will I really want to spend the time and the money to do a proper refinish?" and "Can I live with the paint as-is?". The worst thing would to get it partially stripped and then not be able to complete it. I have an "antiqued" blue VV-XVI that is just a little too well painted for me to reach for the stripper. (I suppose I'll get around to it when things are super slow and I really need a project that will take about 60 hours and I have an extra $150 for materials.) The other problem is that it is unique as it is. If I refinish, then I'll just have a common old VV_XVI in Mahogany. I admit, my reasoning is tweaked, but on the other hand it looks good in my back porch and I've saved a bit of time and money by doing nothing.

I can see you're in a similar situation. If the machine works well, I'd be tempted to leave it as-is. It really depends whether the color works for you. Good luck with your 215. They're nice machines and can sound quite good.

Best Regards,
Martin

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Tinkerbell
Victor III
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Location: Somewhere over Never, Neverland

Re: How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by Tinkerbell »

GAJoe wrote:The #2 reproducer needs to be rebuilt; is there a good site for learning how to do that?
Check out the book "The Compleat Talking Machine" by Eric L. Reiss, it is an excellent resource for not only rebuilding reproducers (detailed enough instructions even for me), but also performing other maintenance and restoration of your phonograph.

You can order it through Amazon.com (as well as a number of other places). :rose:

http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Talking- ... 617&sr=1-1

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AZ*
Victor IV
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Location: USA

Re: How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by AZ* »

If you decide to strip it, you will need to use a grain filler to achieve the smooth, level finish of the original since mahogany is a fairly open grain wood.
Best regards ... AZ*

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Zeppy
Victor III
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Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Re: How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by Zeppy »

Try a few different strippers, and see what works best for you. It's not like you really have to worry about ruining the finish of the machines. For me personally, working on a machine that someone really messed up is very educational and rewarding. As long as you're committed to the project, even if you spend years on it (I have a couple in that catagory), just the experience alone will be worth while.

On a side...would Danish Oil be restoring an "original" finish? My understanding is that Victors were shellac and later varnish.

GAJoe
Victor Jr
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Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:25 pm

Re: How should I remove paint from a VV-215?

Post by GAJoe »

Thanks to you all for the info!

Tinkerbell,
I ordered the book. Thanks!

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