The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Shellac over the decal? That doesn't sound right to me. Most shellac - I am assuming even back in the day - imparts a color over the surface. And somehow I'm thinking the craftsman of the day would not have risked putting something over it a nice decal. Of course, I could be full of it, too. Now, someone ELSE may have later put a coat over the whole thing.

You can also use rags with the denatured alcohol route, if you don't want to risk steel wool. Harder work, easier on the surface.

And something I've played with is applying new shellac with rags. Thinner coats than with brush. And that last wipe seems to cut down on the sheen of the shellac (less glossy).

Some companies did shellac over decals and others didn't. Edison case decal seem to have had a very thin wash coat over the top. The "4 minute 2" decal on some model D and F Standard bedplates, on the other hand didn't seem to have had a topcoat at all (which may explain why they mostly survive in a damaged state). If the question is a flaking finish, then the decal will flake off with the shellac. My reasoning is to re-adhere the finish (and therefore the decal by adding a topcoat). Shellac is also available in a very clear version that won't add much color.

Cheers!

Martin

Here are before and after photos of the Triumph with the reamalgamation process I described. The decal was barely visible before. (And yes, there was original shellac over the decal and yes, that is the original decal in the "after" picture.) Nothing was added on top of the original finish afterward other than an application of Kotton Klenser's lemon oil and beeswax polish.

Clay