Stripping An Upright Phonograph

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

It has sat in an outbuilding from 1959, until March 2010. So, 50-51 years, depending. It shows. My Victrola reflects everything like a mirror, while this just looks to be an eyesore.

It doesn't look *that* bad in the photo's, but in person? Woof.


The finish is very alligatored and has begun "flaking" in some places. Everything appears to be veneered from the bottom of the lid down, except the legs, of course.



What's the best way to strip this down to the bare wood? I want to completely remove the old finish, and restain/polish it up. The phonograph itself is in fairly bad shape (motor needs a rebuild, and the tone arm may be beyond repair) but, I can always buy a tone arm that will work off eBay and stick in it, and the motor can always be rebuilt. This wasn't an expensive model, nor a well known one, but, it still deserves it's 15 minutes of fame, I would think.



Any advice (specific products you use, etc) would be great. I don't have a LOT of money to spend. I don't want to spend a lot on the cabinet because, mainly, it'll never be worth all that much. I'm not expecting the end result to be flawless, and so good it competes with my Victrola, but, I'd like it to look quite nice, if possible. All of that depends upon my abilities, however.

Keep in mind, I've finished a few things (it's been a LONG time) but I've never had to RE-finish something. Any advice would be most helpful.

Thank you!

[OrthoFan]

If the cabinet isn't full of scratches, stains and gouges, I'd opt to dry sand the finish to remove just the surface layer of old varnish or shellac--using #200 sandpaper. (Sand lightly in the direction of the wood-grain, and have a vacuum cleaner handy.)

Touch up any blemished areas (or over-sanding mistakes) with a matching stain, and then apply a couple of coats of clear shellac. (The first in the direction of the wood grain, and the second crisscrossing the grain.) After it dries for a few days, wet sand the finish lightly with #600 wet or dry sand paper, and do a final buffing with 0000 steel wool. In both cases, use lemon oil or a similar lubricant.

This will preserve the original color, and it will look more like an antique, and less like a reproduction cabinet. (I recommended shellac because it is authentic to the era, and easy to work with.) Also, this method should save you the trouble of applying new wood-grain filler, which may be necessary if you strip the surface to the bare wood.

All of this should cost you around 20-25 bucks.

[Brad]

William,

Looks like a good project machine. If the finish is shellac, it is very easy to strip with denatured alcohol. Take a look at similar project I did: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... estoration The article goes into the process in detail so I won't repeat it.

I would try this process on the back of the phonograph to see your results. You may find that there is no need to stain, just replace the finish. If not, then the shellac you put on will come off just as easy.

Also, the finish inside the cabinet (turn table, record storage) usually survives in good shape. I would not to touch that if it looks good. Be sure to keep any alcohol away from these surfaces.

Take pictures of the process and progress you use and post to the board.

Good luck!