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Wow, nice work! Go along and you'll have an incredibly good machine!

HMV130 wrote:I am still pondering over a solution to address the more deep scratches that is not additive (dyes, finishes i.e. shellack or varnish etc.). Im considering some wood finishing oils (hopefully they are able to penetrate the original finish and nourishing and regenerating the colour and tone of the teak thus making scratches less visible).

I could never really find anything that does the trick. All that I've tried did marvels at the moment, but dried up later and the scratches were there just as before. Of course you can redo it whenever you want, but that's boring of course.

Marco Gilardetti wrote:

HMV130 wrote:I am still pondering over a solution to address the more deep scratches that is not additive (dyes, finishes i.e. shellack or varnish etc.). Im considering some wood finishing oils (hopefully they are able to penetrate the original finish and nourishing and regenerating the colour and tone of the teak thus making scratches less visible).

I could never really find anything that does the trick. All that I've tried did marvels at the moment, but dried up later and the scratches were there just as before. Of course you can redo it whenever you want, but that's boring of course.

You can try to fill the deeper scratches with colored wax. It takes a lot of patience, but the good part is that you can remove it if the result is not good. Actually, I applied and removed the wax many times until I got a decent result. I bought a kit with several wax bars, a battery-operated tool to melt and apply and a spatula to level the surface.

Thank you both Marco and CarlosV for the suggestions.

I asked a carpenter specialised in bespoke furniture and he advised me to try with oil finish products because of the case being made in teak which is quite a resinous wood so it is able to retain penetrating oils much longer and deeper.

Also I have been told that there are some types of vegetable oils (which are not use to finish wood) extracted by the straw that are mixed with some specific chemical agents and they are able to permanently darken the wood. These are often sealed in the wood by applying the final finish (i.e. varnish, shellack etc.) and in this specific case it has been suggested to use a tiny amount of neutral polishing wax.

I already tried to apply the straw-yellow (there is also the red one) and then the wax on the bottom of the case, please consider the attached picture and the previous one (hmv_mod.112_14.jpg). The result is quite astonishing (you can clearly see my reflection). All the metal components have been cleaned so maybe tomorrow I will be able to complete the restoration.

It looks quite all right! A "vintage", "used" finish, not over-refurbished and/or "fake". Perhaps the second pass with wax is the key to have the finish last a bit longer. Oils do marvels at the moment, but are dull and discoloured by the end of the day!

As forecasted, this evening I finished the restoration process.

Well, I must say the result is quite stunning. I hope the scratches will not appear again.

One last thing I do like to share with you. Metal polish does wonders on painted surfaces too - if you have i.e. the black painted base of a mod. 101 tonearm which appears quite dull try to polish it with metal polish and it will appear like new (of course this can not address rust or missing paint).

Please consider the attached pictures for the final result.

I will upload some videos on my YouTube channel ASAP.

Wow! Looks great! Congratulations on a job well done.

Andreas

For sure a great job, congeratulations! It looks great !!
I always like to see such photos, very inspiring, also because I am in the same business.

It looks very good! what oil did you use?

The ones I tried looked great after application but after a day or two the old appearance returned, like Marco pointed out.

Thank-you both "alang" and "nostalgia" for your comments.

CarlosV wrote:It looks very good! what oil did you use?

The ones I tried looked great after application but after a day or two the old appearance returned, like Marco pointed out.

I used yellow straw oil (specifically one produced by a company called "Nespoli Group" - https://www.nespoligroup.it/flip/gubra_ ... ex.html#29).

I greatly applied it both on the interior and the exterior twice. I waited few hours so I was sure the oil was penetrate deeply in the wood grain. Thereafter I just wiped off the excess with a clean cloth and applied a very very small quantity of neutral polishing wax (it was a nightmare, the surface was already so smooth that the wax kept removing and spreading itself all around the support).

I will let you know if the scratches will come back. For now no alteration happened overnight.