Moderate Restoration Results

[Brad]

OMG! I received my first Covah Wowie! I am honored!

I'd like to thank the Academy, my Mom, ......

[Henry]

[quote="JohnM"]
I've always used heavy wool felt, but here is an article I found on-line that suggests wool socks are OK, too.

Aren't the socks a little sticky and stiff in the boots afterwards?

[Brad]

Aren't the socks a little sticky and stiff in the boots afterwards?

I think I now understand what my mom meant when she would say to me "Mind your manners young man or you will get a good shellacin'"

[scooter]

Brad, that looks great! I hope you've got a good place to display it, it's a beauty!

I have a spare nickel crank that's in decent shape if you want it. PM me offline and you can have it if you want.
Scott

[SquireWill]

Nice job Brad! That machine looks great now. How did you apply the shellac?

....
- Jim

Thanks Jim,

I took a small swatch from an old Tee-shirt, rolled it up into a form about the size of a roll of quarters and saturated it with alcohol, then saturated it with shellac. I filled a squirt bottle with shellac (you can see it in the last picture to the right of the while glue pot, it looks like Catsup bottom from a restaurant). I would squirt a bunch of shellac onto the rolled up pad, wipe it on, squirt some more, wipe, squirt, wipe (you can see where this is going). I would get one to two passes on the length of the a side per squirt. You need to work fast before the shellac starts to dry to keep a wet edge and after a few seconds you can't go back over what you just did.

This is the third project I have used shellac on and each time I get better results.

What you did there was sorta a "french polish" job. Nice tip about using the squirt bottle! Thanks!

[m0xiemama]

Wow! That looks amazing! I am starting to think this may be a good way to go with my consolette. ....Gorgeous job!

[JohnM]

Orthophonic-era machines have nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, not shellac. It wouldn't be a historically correct finish nor would it look right. Don't ruin your Consolette.

[m0xiemama]

Orthophonic-era machines have nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, not shellac. It wouldn't be a historically correct finish nor would it look right. Don't ruin your Consolette.

I more meant the stripping part. I think it might help lessen the scratches. Can I still strip it the same way? I definitely plan to do a historically accurate finish. I just wish mine was coming around more.

[JohnM]

You can dissolve the finish with lacquer thinner, not denatured alcohol. Be very careful doing this. Use nitrile gloves, respirator, and adequate ventilation. Do not do this anywhere near pilot lights on water heaters or other combustion sources. Soak all used rags in water and dispose of them immediately in a metal container. If left in a pile, they may spontaneously combust.

Lacquer finishes are sprayed on using tinted lacquers in multiple coats to make portions of the finish darker. Since your husband paints cars, he may have some insight on techniques.

[Uncle Vanya]

The OP did a lovely job, but he may not have needed to go to the trouble of stripping, A padded finish can amalgamate the original shellac, attractively incorporating the original material. The Duco (nitrocellulose) lacquer used on your Consolette may also be repaired by padding. In fact, a product called "Padding lacquer" is mad specifically for the repair of these surfaces. Don't strip save as a last resort. It requires a great deal of effort to remove what may well be a repairable finish which you will then have to rebuild.