The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Try as I may, I have been unsuccessful in stripping the old finish off of an Edison phonograph with a banner decal without removing the decal. I have had good luck with saving the decals on the the script Edison cases. The script decals seem to be under the coats of shellac while the banner decals seem to be close to the top coat.

Just wondering if anyone has a technique for stripping off an old finish and saving the banner decal.

In the years prior to high quality reproduction decals, I spent a lot of time working around decals. I would work the paint stripper up to the decal and then work away with a tiny dental spoon. My results were only fair at best. There are always areas inside letters that can't be stripped and the color on the refinished portion of the cabinet is always different than the finish inside and under the decal. The Gregg Cline decals are so good that it's just not worth the extra time and effort. In the old days, a reproduction banner decal was obvious from across a large room. Now the reproduction decals are so accurate you must check with a glass. When I go to Union I always have a magnifying glass to check decals.

There are still quite a few poor quality decals being offered on ebay and from parts dealers. My best advice is to avoid them like the plague. You can do a wonderful refinish on the cabinet and you've wasted your time be installing a poor reproduction decal. I've had excellent results with Gregg's decals and I've read about good ones being offered from a source in Peru. Don't skimp on reproduction decals.

And that's the rest of the story... Jerry

Oh man, now that is a righteous Mustang! As you can see below, I'm having better luck restoring my phonographs to completion than the Camaro. Both however offer hours of enjoyment.

I've been using Greg's decals and they are very accurate. Sometimes though I think of that decal being applied 100 years ago and surviving all this time and here I am wiping it away. I guess I just have to accept that when the old finish flaking off and beyond saving so is the decal.

Great looking Camaro. Do you want to race for Victrolas?

You can spot worked around decals on craigslist and ebay photos. If they are that easy to spot, it's not worth the effort for poor results.

Jerry