The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have a customer who has contacted me about restoring the VTLA (or early 16) Victrola with a flat top Pooley cabinet L door that has been in her family since it was purchased new. She wants to pass it down to her family some day and wants to fix it up. I am an expert at replacing finishes on Victrolas that the finish is beyond repair or water damaged etc. but this one is rare and needs to retain its original finish as I am sure you purest on this board agree. My question is: how much time is involved in cleaning - touch-up (approximately) on one of these. Motor rebuild is a given and I already know that time estimate. I am sure there are some of you who have tackled a project like this and might know. I am considering using a method detailed here to restore this, does anyone agree this is the best approach: http://antiquerestorers.com/Articles/je ... finish.htm

The lady couldn't have picked a better repair shop.

I'm excited to see how this turns out!

I have an VV-XVII that is quite alligatored that I have worked a bit on but still need to finish. a possible solution would be to clean the finish, then sand the surface of the finish down with a high grit of sand paper making sure not to sand all the way through. I would be careful, because even with a high grit of sand paper, the edges and corners are still surprisingly easy to sand through. After that you can overcoat it with shellac by hand, making sure not to pass over the same area in one go, as the shellac underneath softens and can easily pulled out with the shellac pad down to bear wood. After letting the shellac cure, you can come back and french polish to smooth out the application lines or dull spots.

Now this has worked for me on small scale pieces so far, but I am not an expert and am not sure if its an appropriate method for this piece in particular. I could see this being difficult with the cabinet because of its shape and accents, so Any comment or criticism on my advice is welcome

Martin

Given the rarity of this machine, I would do minimal work on the finish. I would use non-pumice Goop/GoJo or equivalent to thoroughly clean the machine. I would use furniture scratch repair markers to make the major scratches blend in, of course testing in an inconspicuous area first to get a good match. You also want to wipe the marked area off before it dries to minimize the visibility of the marker. And that's probably it other than a quick Howard feed-n-wax treatment. This is the kind of machine where you want to avoid anything irreversible.

As a first step, I would use Williamsville Wood Cleaner, www.hfstaples.com. Everyone has their favorite cleaning product, this one is mine. Amazing how much dirt will be removed from a "clean" finish. Then careful staining, filling, leveling of scratches. Followed by a quality wax.

I have to agree with the others. Preservation rather than restoration Is a good way to go with a rare machine. The finish looks like it could be made presentable with some patience and skill, (and we know that you have both). If that’s not good enough for the owner, they could always sell it for a good price and replace it with something that was in a condition that was more to their liking. Of course it is their possession and it is entirely up to them. I don’t think that many buy a Pooley-Victrola for it’s looks. They are special because they are historic.

If you look at the finish under the lid, these cabinets finish don't look anywhere near the quality if the later machines in 1912-1918