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I completed the restoration of the C150 and was pleased with the outcome and thought I would share it along with my experiences. I picked the machine up at auction for $25 a few years ago and just had it sitting in the basement waiting. The finish was way too far gone, it was just crumbling off. I have been holding on to the machine to try a refinish project to see what I could do.

I used denatured alcohol in a squirt bottle along with #00 steel wool to dissolve and remove most of the finish. It took three applications of alcohol to remove most of the finish. After it dried, I lightly sanded with 120, then with 220 grit paper in a block (there is water in the alcohol which will raise the grain). I then applied 4 coats of orange shellac with a light steel wooling (#0000) after coats 2 and 3. Then applied a soft wax.

I was quite impressed how easy the whole process was and how I ended up a with a nice finish that acheived the patina and look of age that I like.

The lesson for me was how easy it was to get a great traditional finish with shellac. The more I use shellac, the more I like the results.

The end result is not as pristine and does not have the "wow" factor that Mica and Covah acheive, but I have learned that quite good results can be easily achieved.

The only items remaining is to find a crank that matches the nickle plated theme and the machine was missing the wire record rack which I am also looking for.

Nice job Brad! That machine looks great now. How did you apply the shellac?

I did one of these a week ago for someone, but didnt need to do quite the job you did here, but it turned out great as well, and it was hard to give it back to them

Again, nice job and keep up the great work!

- Jim

Great job, Brad! .... I wish I had more resto projects to tackle, but I don't come about many in my area

Aaron

Victor78 wrote:Nice job Brad! That machine looks great now. How did you apply the shellac?

....
- Jim

Thanks Jim,

I took a small swatch from an old Tee-shirt, rolled it up into a form about the size of a roll of quarters and saturated it with alcohol, then saturated it with shellac. I filled a squirt bottle with shellac (you can see it in the last picture to the right of the while glue pot, it looks like Catsup bottom from a restaurant). I would squirt a bunch of shellac onto the rolled up pad, wipe it on, squirt some more, wipe, squirt, wipe (you can see where this is going). I would get one to two passes on the length of the a side per squirt. You need to work fast before the shellac starts to dry to keep a wet edge and after a few seconds you can't go back over what you just did.

This is the third project I have used shellac on and each time I get better results.

Heavy wool felt pads (the consistency of chalkboard erasers) are the standard for applying shellac . . . not that you can't use other things, but that is the basis of a padded shellac finish.

Brad,

In my book that rates a WOW! Very nice job!

Regards,
John

JohnM wrote:Heavy wool felt pads (the consistency of chalkboard erasers) are the standard for applying shellac . . . not that you can't use other things, but that is the basis of a padded shellac finish.

Hey John,

Intriguing, who sells said pads?

Brad wrote:

JohnM wrote:Heavy wool felt pads (the consistency of chalkboard erasers) are the standard for applying shellac . . . not that you can't use other things, but that is the basis of a padded shellac finish.

Hey John,

Intriguing, who sells said pads?

I've always used heavy wool felt, but here is an article I found on-line that suggests wool socks are OK, too. I should have mentioned that the felt is wrapped with muslin before the shellac is applied.

http://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Ha ... ellac.html

Brad,

You did a great job on this C-150!
It looks fantastic.

Paal.