The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Has anyone here ever tried this product "Rub & Buff" to restore gold finishes on tone-arms and reproducers? It's not a paint I understand.

I have used this in the Antique Gold and in the Ebony (which matches a bronze finish). It's described as a "wax finish", so it's like a colored wax paint type material.

The Ebony one works pretty well to match the bronze finish. The gold however (at least the Antique Gold) doesn't match as well. Maybe one of the other shades of gold is better? I find that original gold plate is rather shiny and reflective, where the Rub N Buff is more of a matte finish. I've been experimenting with ways to faux gold plate and the Rub N Buff gold can look pretty good if you coat it in amber shellac.

I guess it all depends on the condition of the gold on your machine. I have one where the gold plate is pretty aged and has more of a golden/reddish hue. Sometimes the gold plate is lighter and doesn't have the warm tones. I tried a basic metallic gold paint (Krylon) on a couple XVI doorknobs that were missing all the gold and it actually looks really good. I can see my reflection in it! I may cover it with amber shellac (thinned of course) to add the warmth needed to match the aged gold on the rest of the machine.

-Connor

Connor-

Here is one I experimented with on a gold tone Orthophonic reproducer that had lost most of it's finish and had some corrosion on the outer cover. I tried both golds and it still looks a bit lighter and also like you stated very "matte" looking.

I think that is a pretty great result. It looks very authentic to me based on the reproducers like that I have seen.

Dan

That reproducer looks really nice!

I know on the very latest Orthophonic floor models (like an 8-9) and most of the portables, Victor used a gold paint or gold lacquer instead of the gold plating. So the Rub N Buff would actually be correct for these models. I originally bought the Rub N Buff for my portables, but have yet to use it on them. It looks like it should match though, since the gold color on the 2-55 and 2-35 is very matte. (The later 2-55, the 2-65, and the 2-25 had the shinier gold lacquer).

-Connor

Does the product recommend a method to remove the coating ?

The results on the Orthophonic reproducer look better than "before"...

De Soto Frank wrote:Does the product recommend a method to remove the coating ?

The results on the Orthophonic reproducer look better than "before"...

I believe it comes off with acetone. Mineral spirits/paint thinner could also work as it is a wax type finish.

-Connor

Yes it does Conner

Brian, that is an interesting product. I've not seen it before.

I posted the following for an VV8-9 restoration I did several years ago that involved repainting some parts that were painted gold...

Try Sheffield Antique Gold Leaf. 1718 Goldleaf Superlite Metallic is the same color of gold as found on painted Victor tone arms. I found it locally in a hardware store. The Company website. UPC : 0 88289 11719 0

I applied it with an airbrush to get a nice smooth finish with no brush marks. The only sorta quirky this about this paint is that it uses Xylol(Xylene) as the thinner.

This matches pretty well the paint that Victor used on some of it's gold painted finish machines. Keep in mind that it's not plating and does not match plating on a typical Victrola tone arms etc.

I have used this with good success to touch up a couple of items, including the soundbox on my P-1, and the 'Jewel' adaptor on my Chippendale.

Trying to match nickel plate, as on my Columbia horn, is a bit tricker: if they had a "White Gold" color, that would have been nice...

Bill