Reamalgamating the alligatored finish on mahogany IX?

[Tinkerbell]

There is a fair amount of alligatoring to the finish on my IX mahogany, and I am considering the possibility of reamalgamating the finish.

First, I was wondering if anyone knows whether the finish on this machine was originally shellac, lacquer or varnish based? I really don't wish to test the finish, even on the motorboard under the turntable.

I would like to restore (not refinish) the wood, but I was curious if reamalgamation is viewed as anathema to the Victrola restoration process?

I suppose while I am at it, I should ask what people's views are regarding replating the nickel of the winding key/crank? Acceptable, or again, anathema to restoration?

Thank you again... I so appreciate the wealth of knowledge on this board.

[Uncle Vanya]

The finishes on the pre-1925 Victrolas were generally shellac, commonly referred to in the period literature as a "spirit varnish". Some of the more expensive oak and walnut models received a hand-rubbed wax finish, but this is not generally found on the IX (although I once DID own one in Gunmetal Oak).

Why not amalgamate the finish, if you proceed with care? Re-plate, too, if necessary. The usual run of Victrola was mass produced in vast quantities (I haven't the "Dog Book" at hand at the moment, but seem to recall a total production of the IX in the range of 800,000 units). A nearly perfect original machine is a rare survivor, and should be treated with care, but there are thousands of surviving examples of this model win average condition. Anything that you can do to improve its appearance will be a gain, I should think.

[gramophoneshane]

There is a product available in USA (apparently) that is designed specifically for this purpose. I remember reading about it on the antique radios board, but cant for the life of me remember what it was called, nor can I find the thread where it was mentioned.
It was a product/brand I hadn't heard of before, so it wasn't Howards restore-a-finish or one of the others I've seen frequently mentioned on the phonograph boards.
From what I recall, it was brushed on a horizontal surface and left to do it's work & cure before rolling the item and doing the next horizontal surface.
Anyone heard of this product before??

[Jerry B.]

I have tried products that claimed to amalgamate the finish but I have not had good success. Maybe I'm not doing something correct or I lack patience but the liquified finish goes places I don't want it to go like recesses in some carving or the joint in a right angle. I have never been pleased with the final results. A mahogany Victrola should have a piano finish. I would love to see (or better yet, personally examine) a machine that has gone through this process successfully.

I would suggest finding a nice original crank rather than re-plating yours. It's difficult to re-plate only one part and make it blend in with the other bright parts. If your crank is really bad, I suspect the crank escutcheon and knobs show aged wear as well. I bet someone on this forum could sell you a nice crank for less money than plating yours. If you decide to plate yours and wish to remove the wooden knob, the little screw that holds the knob is reverse thread. The last time I had a machine plated was for a Vic IV. I had all the bright parts, including individual screws, plated. I laid all the pieces to be plated on a copier to make myself and the plater a packing list of all the pieces.

Happy Collecting, Jerry Blais (Albany, Oregon)

[Nat]

http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Talking- ... 315&sr=1-1

Has a very good section on re-amalgamting, as well as a bit on how to tell what the finish is. Not sure if Reiss covers it, but try to do a thorough cleaning first, otherwise, you are re-amalgamating the dirt into the finish.

I did it on my VV-X, finishing with 0000 steel wool and a polish, it while it doesn't look band-box new, it looks great - like the very spry old machine it is.

Nat

[OrthoFan]

I know that there's something called "Kotton Klenser" (is that what you meant, Shane?) that seems to be very popular, but I don't think it really re-amalgamates the finish. It's basically used to clean up the old finish, but sometimes, that's all you need to do to make it more presentable. (Don't think you want it to look brand new.)

Along this line, you can also try the old fashioned "rub it smooth" method described here:

http://www.gracyk.com/restore.shtml

[Henry]

WRT the crank ("winding key" in Victorspeak): on my XI it was the only grungy-looking nickel-plated piece on the machine when I bought it in 1980---the others (taper tube, turntable rim, brake lever, speed adjustment dial, etc.) looked factory new. I was lucky, I guess. The crank handle responded very nicely to a rubdown with 0000 steel wool and a coat of Johnson's paste wax (the kind that comes---came?---in a tin, with a half life of 5,000 millenia). I haven't touched up the handle in 30 years and it still looks great.

[larryh]

I used that technique on my Edison C 19 a couple summers ago. It was in very bad shape and the finish was pretty roughly alligatored. I couldn't save the front door, upper rim and lids, they had had something spilled on them that totally ruined the finish and took two tires at re staining and finish build up to get them close to correct. The three sides and grill I was able to save by taking a wet brush of denatured alcohol and making quick wet brush strokes though it from end to end. Leave it dry and then I sanded it down with fine grades of sand paper and followed up with several coats of shellac. My brunswick had a rough finish and on it I strickly sanded with fine grades of sandpaper being careful not to cut though edges. After wards all I needed was to put one very thin coat 4/1 alcohol/shellack finish. It looks great.

Here are a couple shots, these are before I settled on a light gold grill cloth and moved the machine to a different location. The other photo is showing the way it looked before I started.

Larry

[estott]

If the finish is really bad give reamalgamation a try- an IX is not a rare machine so if you don't do anything to the wood itself what harm is there in trying? The only thing to be really careful of is the decal.

[Tinkerbell]

I used that technique on my Edison C 19 a couple summers ago. It was in very bad shape and the finish was pretty roughly alligatored. I couldn't save the front door, upper rim and lids, they had had something spilled on them that totally ruined the finish and took two tires at re staining and finish build up to get them close to correct. The three sides and grill I was able to save by taking a wet brush of denatured alcohol and making quick wet brush strokes though it from end to end. Leave it dry and then I sanded it down with fine grades of sand paper and followed up with several coats of shellac. My brunswick had a rough finish and on it I strickly sanded with fine grades of sandpaper being careful not to cut though edges. After wards all I needed was to put one very thin coat 4/1 alcohol/shellack finish. It looks great.

Here are a couple shots, these are before I settled on a light gold grill cloth and moved the machine to a different location. The other photo is showing the way it looked before I started.

Larry

Wow! All I can say is wow! It's beautiful!