The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Brad,

I think it is actually softening the surface of the finish causing it to feel sticky. If you read the can it says "Can remove finish if not careful". Well if it can remove the finish which is really how it works, then my guess is that when the finish is wet it let the old waxs and what ever get sort of scrubbed into the finish which in turn is like putting over a new finish over a waxy surface an won't want to dry right. After a long time it seems to, but I have had that "Sticky" situation on quite a few things. It does do a good job of cleaning and I think may you don't want to leave it on very long? I usually work it in and then quickly pick up all the dampness I can with a clean rag.

Attached is a C-19 I cleaned up last fall using a method like Brad described. I too was not happy with Kotton Klenser as it did make the surface stickey which took several days to go away.
I found an article on line that mentioned using Extra Virgin Olive Oil as a lubricant with the steel wool. I used 0000 steel wool and olive oil and it worked very well. The olive oil does a good job of keeping the steel wool from loading up and will allow you cut through the finish faster. I also used 800 grit wet sand paper on a few places that were particularly bad.

I applied the Kotton Klenser lemon oil with bees wax which I like better than straight lemon oil as the was leaves a good finish.
Anyway, here is the cleaned up C-19 next to my refinish C-200.
Scott

have any of you guys ever tried howard's restorafinish? i think it is a wonderful product. it is a super cleaner, and does no harm to original finish.

Oh Frank,

You may have just opened pandora's box with that statement

I have used it once and was pleased with the results, though others would will claim there are better ways.

I used it just on the top of an Amberola 75 that had some water damage to the finish. The pictures show the results.

I won't foment the debate other to say that I believed when used judiciously, it can be very effective.

One thing hinted at, but not fully explored is shellac finishes,
such as all Edisons I've found, except for the 30, 50 & 75 amberolas
[which seem to be finished in varnish].
After destroying several serviceable shellac finishes in my
youth [started collecting at age 12], I found that the best way to
handle them is to re-amalgate them with a soft brush and denatured
alcohol--shellac thinner. It has worked well for me and preserved
the patina as well as the original stain. The Edison decals were
applied under the finish, so they are never bothered by this method.
If the finished result is not satisfactory, you can rub it down with
0000 steel wool or very fine wed/dry sandpaper and apply another
coat of shellac. The result is as close to original as I can
imagine.

I am replacing the felt on a turntable with a rounded edge. How do you get a nice factory type edge when the edge is rounded? Thanks, Jerry Blais

Hi Jerry,

What I did was take a length of aluminum bar stock from Home Cheapo. It was probably ¾" x 1/16" but anything will do. I drilled a hole at one end that fits over the spindle. At the desired trim point I cut a slot part way in with a hack saw. I attached an over sized new piece of felt to the platter, installed the platter in the machine, placed the aluminum template over the spindle and using an unused new blade in a box cutter, cut around the perimeter.

It resulted in a very clean edge. As I recall, there was some felt fibers stuck around the edge to the adhesive. I probably removed them with some acetone, though I can't remember for sure.

Brad

Re triming the felt on a turntable with a rounded edge, the above suggestions seems excellent for precision. Wish I had thought of it. I just recently did one with a more primitave method, but it worked well. Basically I just took a single edge razor blade, positioned it between my thumb and forefinger of my right hand with the corner of the blade in the groove where the cut should be, rested the other three fingers against the edge of the turntable to hold the position, and turned the turntable with my left hand while the blade made the cut. It turned out almost as smooth as a die-cut.

Clay

Thanks Brad & Clay,

I was planning a trip to the hardware store today and I'll buy a piece of aluminum and give it a try. The willingness to share great suggestions are what make this forum so great. May your springs never break, may your reproducers never blast, and may your discoveries always be interesting. Thanks, Jerry Blais

It works! I bought a piece of aluminum stock, cut a length about 6.5", drilled a spindle sized hole near one end, placed the hole end over the spindle, marked where it wanted to cut my felt, and made a little cut along one edge with my hack saw. My tool was ready to go. I simply placed the hole end over the spindle, and used my little cut to guide my razor cutter in a nice circle. My Columbia Baby Regent is closer to being ready to sell.

I liked it so well that I decided to make several more guides and give them to my phono buddies. I'll give them away at our phono collector open house on the May 14th. That should be plenty of incentive to attend. Thanks again, Jerry Blais