The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

What color/brand stain?

NO WAY would I strip and refinish the Edison Standard. Either leave it as is, or touch up the rough spots with a little shellac. But if you insist on destroying the 100 plus years of patina in an attempt to make it look "brand new," that's up to you.

AZ* wrote:NO WAY would I strip and refinish the Edison Standard. Either leave it as is, or touch up the rough spots with a little shellac. But if you insist on destroying the 100 plus years of patina in an attempt to make it look "brand new," that's up to you.

I don’t want to ruin it!!! That’s why I’m here asking what to do . What do I need to do before re-shellac(ing?) the cabinet

Some more pics (would it be worth re-pinstriping the casting?)

My thought after looking at your picture is to use some thinned out amber shellac and overcoat the finish without stripping it. Stain might work, but if there is shellac already on the wood, which it looks like it is, the stain won't cover evenly as it will only color bare wood and even if it did stick it would darken it down probably too much. Amber shellac should give you just the right color over what you have and even everything out, just thin it with a little alcohol. The amber color will more closely resemble the original finish.

The front by the decal looks like the finish is worn through in places and the over coat of shellac should correct it...

Should I just take an old clean shirt/ cloth to apply the shellac?

After you take care of the cabinet, clean the casting with GOOP hand cleaner to degrease and clean it. Once you have done that, you can decide if it's presentable the way it is or to go further with it.

A note of caution: unless you are totally redoing (stripping and repainting) the upper works, it probably won't look right to attempt to re-stripe it. Using decals for striping is a tedious job that won't look good unless perfectly straight... Then you need to overcoat the decals, which can be a pain, because without stripping the old black finish totally off, the modern clear finishes tend to react to the old paint and wrinkle up. I know this from personal experience. When I first started collecting I got a Columbia Q, which was the black bedplate type, it was missing some striping and the flower and Columbia decal. I got it totally re-striped and restored with new decals, but as soon as I sprayed a clear coat on it, the whole bedplate wrinkled up...

dzavracky wrote:Should I just take an old clean shirt/ cloth to apply the shellac?

Yes, anything that's lint free, just wipe it on.

Okay! Haha I’ll give it a shot.

JerryVan wrote:I would apply a coat of stain. It will even out the finish and give it the darker hue that it needs. Grain filler might be nice but isn't essential. In my opinion, stain IS essential here.

What brand of stain?

I did some poking around the forum this morning. I saw people used Analine dye and Constantine Walnut stain..... which is best? (I could look further but I have clsss )