The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Wow! You are my new hero! Jer

Pete,

Great deal!
Congratulations!

Gene

Very nice score Pete. It's hard to imagine why someone would have applied a coat of shellac to this machine. By the looks of the very nice nickel plated parts the machine must have been in pretty nice shape when they did it. Personally I wouldn't think of striping the case, I would play around with the finish to see how intact the shellac over coat is. If it can be removed easily great, if not I would leave it and be very happy with the machine.

Best Regards, Larry

Phonolair wrote:Very nice score Pete. It's hard to imagine why someone would have applied a coat of shellac to this machine. By the looks of the very nice nickel plated parts the machine must have been in pretty nice shape when they did it. Personally I wouldn't think of striping the case, I would play around with the finish to see how intact the shellac over coat is. If it can be removed easily great, if not I would leave it and be very happy with the machine.

Best Regards, Larry

I would have to agree with Larry. If the finish will not come off easily, I would leave it alone. You may be able to remove the "soft" white metal plate (extreme caution should be taken) and remove the coating. These plates are easy to deform and the black paint must be taken into consideration.

The Serial number on your machine is low enough to have a 1902 Automatic. So, that is a great thing.

I noted the back body of the Automatic is recessed. This leads me to believe the gaskets are gone or..???. Normally. the back body will be flush with the outer housing.

If you need pics of what the horn elbow clamp and a "Canadian" record clamp looks like (different to US models)....you can PM me and I will send you pics. Assuming the record clamp is not there, as I don't see it present.

Congrats again. I have a real soft spot for "our" model's... .

Hello,
I started cleaning up the cabinet using just GoJo and 0000 steel wool. It is coming out real nice. It took three or four applications but I was able to remove the dark over coating. Here are a few pictures.
Pete

Wow! That case looks beautiful! The old GoJo and steel wool trick never fails.

Nice job and no damage while bringing it back to life!

You sure have a nice machine for your collection

Bruce

Nice job! Another restoration accomplished through patience and elbow grease.

Many years ago I bought an Edison Concert pretty cheaply because someone had applied what I believe was shellac over the castings. Over the years it had darkened and alligatored. (I really should have taken some "before" shots.) My first thought was I'd need to strip it and completely redo the paint. Then I slowed down and thought about how the original paint might be saved. It turned out that denatured alcohol, 0000 steel wool, and many hours of work saved the original black paint and even the trade mark below the front of the mandrel. Unfortunately, the gilt lines and corner decorations were almost completely faded out. I re-did the gilt decoration directly over the originals. Here's what it looks like today (this photo was used on the cover of the March 2008 issue of The Sound Box). Click twice on the image to enlarge it.

Again, nice work, Pete!

George P.

Pete,
That looks fantastic! Good on you for spending the time and effort to preserve the original finish!

Regards,
Martin

Wow. I never could have imagined such a stunning restoration without major stripping/refinishing. Great job.