The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Whittington,

Not sure where you ordered the rebuild materials, but if it was from APSCO (antiquephono.com) they usually include a little chunk of beeswax in the kit (at least they did a couple of years ago).

By the way, nice XIV. I had restored a XIV several years ago and gave it to my brother-in-law as a house warming gift. I still miss it

Brad

Nice score there, Whittington! I saw that one on CraigsList but it was outside my travel zone and I hoped that someone on the forum here would get it. Glad you were the one!

Thanks! It was a nice find. I didn't find it on craigslist though. It was at a farm auction out in the sticks. There was nothing but pots and pans, rusted shovels, some books, (not valuable) and this Victrola. It's clean, but I have another question.

Under the lid looks amazing. (As they all pretty much do.) The rest of the cabinet has an even patina to it with slight crackling. I am debating on whether or not to remove the crackle patina, keeping the original finish as can be seen under the lid, or just give it a good cleaning and leave it be. I would love to have the entire phonograph look like the finish under the lid, but know it will be a big job. I also haven't tried to remove the crackling patina off of a phonograph before and don't know what chemicals to use, or much about the process of doing so.

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

Sounds like (and your photos show it) your XIV's finish is in exactly the same condition as my XI's: crackled (alligatoring on some outside surfaces, no doubt due to sunlight exposure), but shiny and flawless on the inside surfaces (under lid, inside doors). I've left mine alone, and if I were you I'd do the same. It looks quite "period," without any obvious flaws at all. Give it a good cleaning; although mine seemed quite clean already, I went over it with Goop, then a few days later applied lemon oil, but only to the outside. That's it. I wouldn't touch it further.

Whittington,

I strongly second Henry's recommendation to leave the finish alone. Take a look at the following thread: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ?f=7&t=146

You can greatly improve the look, while not as pristine as the inside, it will look much better while preserving the original finish.

Brad

Here is a little closer view of the lid. (How I would like the whole cabinet to look.)



Here is the outside. (A little blurry but you can see the alligator type patina.)



I will give the outside a nice cleaning and see what it ends up looking like. The crackling isn't too bad, and at least is even throughout.

How about the albums? Was the blank one added at a later date? Does anybody know what letters original came with the XIV?

Whittington wrote:Here is a little closer view of the lid. (How I would like the whole cabinet to look.)

Well, you could leave the lid open all the time! If you don't mind dusting. But seriously, you've a really nice piece there. Like mine, it's sometimes difficult to tell whether it's red or brown mahogany; seems to vary with the light (although I'm pretty sure mine is red).

I have been into this hobby/addiction for a little less than a year. Even so, this is going to come off like I don't know the first thing about phonographs. I didn't know that there two types/colors of mahogany used on Victrolas. So there is a red and a brown? I thought that when the finish appeared darker on a mahogany phonograph, it was due to dirt and grime whereas the lighter or more red the color, the cleaner the original finish. If there are two different mahogany finishes used, was one more common than the other? Is one more valuable? Or were they different depending on the year of production? Thanks for the help!

Whittington,

VTMCo. offered a variety of finishes over the years. The Victor Victrola site has a nice page about it here.

Regards,
John