The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi all,

First and foremost, thank you all for creating this community. I've enjoyed reading and learning a lot by being directed here on numerous occasions.

I want to ask your advice on cleaning old felt that is just aged and dirty. I recently acquired an early VV-50 portable and the original felt is in good shape, but has years of dust and some light stains. I recall reading that naptha can be used to clean the felt. I'm not sure what tools or technique would be useful to try to revive it.

Here's a photo of the turntable.


Cheers,

PT

I think you are speaking of this post: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 162#p17162. Mine was too far gone to restore (it shrank an inch in years past) so I didn't get a chance to try it out his methods. I did initially try using Woolite and a lot of dirt came out. Careful of the felt shrinking though. I put it between towels and placed heavy books on top while it dried just to test to see if it worked. It did. YMMV.

Try lightly brushing it with a soft brush first (do this OUTSIDE!). It won't remove oil stains and the like, but it's sometimes surprising how much better the felt will look after a light brushing.

George P.

phonogfp wrote:Try lightly brushing it with a soft brush first (do this OUTSIDE!). It won't remove oil stains and the like, but it's sometimes surprising how much better the felt will look after a light brushing.

George P.

I've done very well with heavier treatments - a wire cat slicker brush. It will get a lot of the dirt out and raise the nap- this helps to cover worn areas and can reduce or remove superficial stains.

I don't know how I missed that thread! Thank you for the replies.

I worked on it a little out on the porch this morning and it cleaned up rather quickly. I used a dry soft bristled hat brush on it and left the felt attached to the turntable. After it was dusted, I used the brush with some refined naptha(zippo premium fluid) on the bristles. The stains came out almost entirely. I stopped where I thought it looked presentable enough.



I'm going to leave the moth holes as they are and do a little more work on the edges. It doesn't look too shabby for being 92 years old.

This 50 is going to look pretty nice when it's overhauled. It was pretty well preserved. The original retailer mark is under the badge in the lid: City Music Co. Detroit

That looks great! Nice work - -

George P.

Which brings me to the million dollar question? Who sells the best match - and the best texture that comes very close to the originals? I get Die-Cut turntable felt from JAS which comes pretty darn close and needs no trimming 98% of the time. Opinions? Sizes? Colors? (I could never match the purple felt on my high end Silvertone)

briankeith wrote:Which brings me to the million dollar question? Who sells the best match - and the best texture that comes very close to the originals? I get Die-Cut turntable felt from JAS which comes pretty darn close and needs no trimming 98% of the time. Opinions? Sizes? Colors? (I could never match the purple felt on my high end Silvertone)

When I was restoring my Victor III, I did some searching around the internet and ordered some samples of 100% wool felt from http://www.thefeltpeople.com (Central Shippee, Inc.). Their “Tempora” line, color #118, Moss, looked promising. I ordered a yard and for Victor green it is dead on in color and texture. You might check there and order a sample to check if you see a color close to what you need.

The minimum order for this felt is a yard and it is not inexpensive, about $65 with shipping, but that gets you a piece 3 x 5 feet, so you should be able to cover 15 turntables with that (more if some of them are less than 12") and the quality is really first rate.


Here is what it looks like on my III.

Clay

FloridaClay wrote:

briankeith wrote:Which brings me to the million dollar question? Who sells the best match - and the best texture that comes very close to the originals? I get Die-Cut turntable felt from JAS which comes pretty darn close and needs no trimming 98% of the time. Opinions? Sizes? Colors? (I could never match the purple felt on my high end Silvertone)

When I was restoring my Victor III, I did some searching around the internet and ordered some samples of 100% wool felt from http://www.thefeltpeople.com (Central Shippee, Inc.). Their “Tempora” line, color #118, Moss, looked promising. I ordered a yard and for Victor green it is dead on in color and texture. You might check there and order a sample to check if you see a color close to what you need.

The minimum order for this felt is a yard and it is not inexpensive, about $65 with shipping, but that gets you a piece 3 x 5 feet, so you should be able to cover 15 turntables with that (more if some of them are less than 12") and the quality is really first rate.


Here is what it looks like on my III.

Clay

How close is that to original Edison color do you think?

I see they also do custom die-cut special orders for us lazy guys like me haha