The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Very, very nice Microtrol. And it is always a pleasure to see one of these wonderful old machines pulled back from ruin.

Clay

Great job on the refinish. May I ask what you used for stain and finish?
Thanks for sharing.
Andreas

Frenchmarky,
I don't know if The phono decal folks do custom decals or not as I just bought the main back door oen they have in stock. I did ask about the instruction one yesterday for the back lip decal by the hinge. As for testing, on the 8-12, I used a section in the back of the album cabinet to do any testing. I suppose you could also use a section under the platter as it is covered.

On the cabinet I used minwax red mahogany oil stain for the coloring. I had to mask off the carvings and backside corners and re-stain to get the color and darkness right. I think 5 minutes on the main parts and 20 minutes on the carvings.

To fill the grain, I used Crystalac which is a clear grain filler that doesn't alter the coloring as some grain fillers will ( or at least as I am told).

After getting some input from the forum and a few other places, I used a semi gloss lacquer to finish the cabinet. It's easier to use in garage type projects as mine was and fixable if something gets imbedded or other problems. It also is the finish that Victor was using at the time the 8-12 was made.

I do have a penchant for broken or damaged machines as there are a VV-VIII (missing door and veneer problems), VV-260 (damagmed finish) and a Edison B-80 waiting as the next projects. I hate seeing these machines gutted for parts but understand that there are some hopeless cases.

Well the grill cloth came and installed it and the unit is completed. Thanks to all here for help and suggestions with the project. Now off to an Edison B80 Diamond disk unit.

Brandt

What a wonderful machine and what a tremendous job you have done on it. Something to be really proud of!

Great job on the refinish. A stunning machine.
Congratulations!
Andreas

May I add to the string of congratulations. Fabulous result! A tremendous amount of work, I know.

Clay

...And I'll add mine as well! The 8-12 is a nice machine - - glad you saved this one.

George P.

Awesome job! Can't wait to see your next finished project.

Thumbs up! Great work!