The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello,
I just finished my second restoration. It is an Edison model B Standard. When I acquired the machines the finish had some major issues. It looked like someone had put a banner decal on the lid and then decided to remove. On the front of the case the front banner decal was very thin and washed. Probably the result of the previous owner cleaning the case with " restore a finish" Plus a good portion of the word Edison had been chipped off. It is a little hard to tell from the picture but there was also a large piece of the finish chipped off where a front mount crane bolted to the cabinet just below the bed plate frame. I had agonized over trying to save and restore the original decal but in the end decided to go for a complete refinish. That way I could get the lid and base to match. When you look at an area where the finish has been chipped off you realize that the finish is actually quite thick and not thin at all. I wanted to recreate that deep finish. The decal is from Gregg Cline. I applied 9 coats of amber shellac and 10 coats of clear. Finish was sanded down every three or four coats. I used 0000 steel wool to get the final matt finish. see the before and after pictures.
thanks
Pete

That looks great Pete, very well done.

It looks good, but the Banner Decal looks a bit too Yellow from the Amber Shellac coated over it. I think you would have had better results doing all of the Amber Shellac finish on the case first, Then applying the banner decal, then apply a few Clear coats over that to finish. Just my 2 cents..

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

Did you replace the entire decal, or did you repair/repaint or use a Gregg Cline decal over the "Edison" part. Just curious. Looks good!

Mike

He used a Gregg Cline Decal to replace the old one. He mentioned it above... I guessed you missed it.

)

Tony K.
Edison Collector/Restorer