The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am getting a quote on the lampshade. Looks like a couple supports will need to be soldered first
though. I will definitely do some more research before I tear away at the finish. Thanks for the
advice and pics guys!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__gGO0Bfs0M[/youtube]

I'd be tempted to try a small spot of naval jelly, perhaps on the underside of the base, as this should remove any corrosion etc, but leave any plating or paint intact.
I've never used it before so I dont know how long you leave it on for though. I use it's "active" ingredient, phosphoric acid which normally only takes 5-10 minutes to work. I believe NJ takes much longer, but for something like this, thats probably a good thing. NJ seems to be a popular choice with radio guys, who use it to remove rust & corrosion on steel & aluminium chassis'.

gramophoneshane wrote:I'd be tempted to try a small spot of naval jelly, perhaps on the underside of the base, as this should remove any corrosion etc, but leave any plating or paint intact.
I've never used it before so I dont know how long you leave it on for though. I use it's "active" ingredient, phosphoric acid which normally only takes 5-10 minutes to work. I believe NJ takes much longer, but for something like this, thats probably a good thing. NJ seems to be a popular choice with radio guys, who use it to remove rust & corrosion on steel & aluminium chassis'.

Thanks Shane, that sounds like a good idea to try. Its non abrasive which is probably the best course
to take here. I figure worst case if the finish is too far gone I could always gold leaf paint the base.
One thing is for sure, I have to take it all apart before I can go forward.

I spotted another Phonolamp on craigslist --

http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/atq/2415177774.html
I've never seen one with a nickel or silver (plated?) base before, so I don't know how authentic this is, but it may be another color option.

I don't know what to think of the shade...

I think the shade is a bit over elaborate, but not too bad.

Very nice find! According to The Compleat Talking Machine, Second Edition, Reiss pg 195 there were six different models produced. Three "standard" models with 12" turntables in either bronze (model O), silver (model L), or gold (model E), plus three similar "junior" models with 10" turntables. The model O originally sold for $160.00. c.1919-23. Hope this helps with the color.

phonogal wrote:Very nice find! According to The Compleat Talking Machine, Second Edition, Reiss pg 195 there were six different models produced. Three "standard" models with 12" turntables in either bronze (model O), silver (model L), or gold (model E), plus three similar "junior" models with 10" turntables. The model O originally sold for $160.00. c.1919-23. Hope this helps with the color.

Thanks Phonogal and others for the helpful pics and info! I came to the conclusion that the plating (appears to be nickel?) was too far gone to try to salvage. There also appears to be a bronze color paint over the nickel that was not done at the factory. It seems too rough and inconsistent. So I am reasonably certain this model started as the "silver" version and was later painted by one of the owners to a bronze-like color. With the extensive oxidation it seemed best to start over and clean it down to the copper and brass legs. My wife (the boss ) said she prefers it in the copper state for now. I think it still looks nice and always have the option for a professional paint job (likely the gold version) at a later time.
The pics are towards the end of the cleaning process.

The "bowl" portion and the motor-board areas appear to be steel and the bowl is plated with nickel apparently. I will
use the Naval Jelly on those areas to preserve the plating as best as I can. Whatever finish or paint appears to be destroyed on the motor-board area so I am planning on painting that. Hopefully the nickel on the bowl part can be
salvaged and shined up a bit.

Well, tomorrow the naval jelly treatment. Wish me luck!

Ok, got a good look at the tag and its confirmed that this is an L Junior model, aka the silver version.
So I decided its best to keep it consistent with the silver model as far as the motor board color, base,
etc. If I can find a good deal on nickel plating I will get the base plated. Otherwise I will leave it
in the copper and brass state. I used the Naval Jelly (Thanks Shane!) on the bowl and motor board with fairly good
results. The bowl is still pitted pretty bad but I managed to remove the green oxidation and shine it up
a bit with aluminum foil and 0000 steel wool. The color under the metal plate and the tone arm was light
gray so I tried to match that the best I could. Shined all the brass feet and finials with the Navel jelly
and a brass brush then re-attached. Shined the turntable edges, installed wool felt and replaced the reproducer gasket.
Next stage is to repair the lampshade and find some period fabric. Almost there!

The shade frame was pretty beat up with several missing support segments. First I used
the naval jelly to remove the rust, then cleaned with steel wool. I then cut out some segments
of coat hanger wire and JB welded into place. Some minor adjustments to the hinge resulted in
a fully functioning frame.

Here's another one just listed on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/PHONOGRAPH-LAMP-BUR ... 2c5dd7a8aa