Reviving A Finish On A VV-IX

[Brad]

Don't feel like an idiot, the only dumb question is an unanswered question

Alligatoring is when the finish shrinks and cracks resulting in a look similar to an alligators skin. Sometimes it is called "crazing". It is very common in antique finishes that have been allowed to dry out and spend time in the sun.

[Phonofreak]

I hate to be the idiot, but what is allegatoring?

Alligatoring is the checkered appearance on a finished surface. It looks like the skin of an alligator.
Harvey Kravitz

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

Alligatoring is a "crazing" on shellac surfaces, that makes the finish look checkered, or like the skin of an alligator.

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

I suppose I'll try the wet-sanding approach tomorrow. Tried the lemon oil and 0000 today, and while some of the luster is back, all that's been done is the restoration of some of the color on a alligatored surface. Now, that being said, I laid a door flat on the table, and squirted Old English on it until the lemon oil completely covered the surface. It looked great! Like my 1968 Grundig console, Piano gloss finish. IF I could achieve that, it would be awesome! Over the course of an hour or two, it seemed most of it was gone, with a thin coating still on the surface. Has this been absorbed, or has it simply evaporated?

How do you folks recommend doing the inside of the lid? Everything is alligatored, even the inside of the doors. Granted, it's not as bad, but doing the outside will make the inside look awful. The motorboard and such look just as bad as the outside, but the inside of the lid isn't terribly bad.

[Brad]

If you haven't removed all the old wax and dirt, you will want to do that first. The lemon may have helped disolve some of it, but not won't remove it. You will need Kotton Klenser or Mineral spirits (or NON pumice gojo). You rarely see lemon oil being used to clean a surface in preparation for a new finish.

If you are going for the glossy just off the factory assembly line look, you will not achieve that without extensive reamalgamation or stripping off the old finish and start over.

If you don't think you will be happy with an imperfect finish, then I would suggest that you try this procedure on the worst surface of the machine to see if you like the results.

As for the inside, use the same process, be careful around the decal and be careful not to sand through the finish and into raw wood, especially along ridges and edges.

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

Hi Brad,

I might go shopping for some Kotton Klenser tomorrow. I had some White bottle GoJo around here, but I have no idea where it's disappeared to. Did as good job on my XVII though.

I'm more than happy with some defects and such. I just want it to look nice and presentable. Factory fresh glossy would be great (My all-original XVII is, and I LOVE it) but I'd be more than happy with a finish like I saw in the pictures on Page 1. It's 96 years old, it shouldn't look perfect. However, I don't think it should look like a machine that's sat in a attic since 1944 either.

I'll try and get one of the two cleaners tomorrow, then clean it well first, then go from there.

Thanks!

[alang]

I agree with what Brad said. While lemon oil and old English make a good surface nice and shiny, you will need bigger guns to clean off that much old dirt and also to reduce the crazing. Kotton Kleanser is a great product used by antique restorers, but a bit expensive and has to be ordered which ads shipping cost. Many here use non-pumice GoJo or GooP, which are both hand cleaners that can be found in the automotive department of Walmart or similar. Just make sure it's the non-pumice version! Work any of those in with 0000 steel wool, a small section at a time, let sit for a few minutes and then wipe off. That will take all the old gunk off. In really bad cases you may have to repeat, but not the same day, because all these products soften the finish a bit. Afterwards if you still have discoloration etc you can try "Howard's Restor a Finish". It comes in different wood colors. That should get you already pretty good results. I would try all that before going to the wet sanding. Inside finishes are typically not as bad, so one run should get you good results. Be carefull around decals, no steel wool there.
Good Luck!
Andreas

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

Alrighty, a little before and after so far...still haven't sanded it, ust GoJo-ed + steel wool and Lemon oiled it.

Before:



And now:




Quite presentable finish-wise now, but I still want to see if some delicate sanding will take care of some of the "dullness" of the finish.



Can anyone hook me up with a knob (or two) and a winding key? I'm not paying $45 for a crank on eBay, I'll simply thread the end of a steel rod, bend it, and add a knob until I can find a decent one, at that price. Knobs new are $15, which is a bit much IMO, but I may pop on it if I can't find any decent originals. Two are missing (motorboard and right door) and the left door is too tarnished.


Not bad so far, eh?

[Brad]

Looking good. I am always amazed how much better these cabinets look with just a cleaning. A light wet sanding will soften the crazing, but won't totally eliminate it. Keep at it and be gentle. Good luck.

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

How did I do?




#0000 and Gojo cleaned all the junk off, then I used lemon oil and #400 sandpaper to sand away the heavy alligatoring. Most people say to use #600, but #400 was all the local hardware store had. Glad I didn't go the #600 route (might, just to make it a bit shinier) while sanding, it took long enough with the #400!

It looks quite acceptable now. Still have a bit of touching up here and there, but for the most part, it looks really nice. The little dot at the bottom corner is a ladybug.