The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Well, I appreciate all the great advice that I received here. In the end, it was a case of making things too hard for myself. I finally just used a 3M metal finishing pad to knock down the shine and then 0000 steel to polish out the bigger scratches and then Simichrome to blend it all in nicely. The end effect with very little effort and no nasty chemicals is pretty much what I had hoped for. The reproducer looks like a nicely aged, not perfect and not chrome bright. It will fit on an old machine and not stand out as new.

I have attempted to photograph one that is as bought and one that I aged. I am not sure if they will show up that well.

Dave D

It sure looks good. It looks like it's 100 years old.
Harvey Kravitz

I've got one of mine torn apart and ready to age. Have you thought about using white gasket material instead of the clear stuff that came with the reproducers? Jerry

You could have tried soaking it in a strong solution of sodium nitrate or perhaps more disgustingly, urine!

Steve wrote:You could have tried soaking it in a strong solution of sodium nitrate or perhaps more disgustingly, urine!

Yes, I could do that, but I like the look I got with the 3M pad!
Dave D

Jerry B. wrote:I've got one of mine torn apart and ready to age. Have you thought about using white gasket material instead of the clear stuff that came with the reproducers? Jerry

Yes, I did, but I discovered that it does not work well. Ron Haring told me years ago a trick he used in order to use the white gasket tubing, but it was so long ago that I can't remember what it was. I had planned to email him to ask again. I'll let you know.

How are you going to age yours? Urine, acid, or 3M pad?
Dave D

I have used the white gasket material from Ron Sitko, and it works great. The reproducer is loud and clear. Also, the white material looks more realistic than the clear stuff.
Harvey Kravitz