The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Am I correct to assume throughout the years manufacuring phonographs from 1888 to the late 20's, the cast iron bedplates were painted in shellac colored black or a reddish brown in some cases?

I am restoring an Amberola 50 from the late teens and would like to touch up the bedplate. I don't think Edison ever used an oil based paint. Or did they?

I believe Edison used asphaltum on bedplates, at least the black ones.

- Bill

Maroon and brown bedplates are indeed tinted shellac and they can’t be touched-up without looking like a botch job.

I did more research on the asphaltum which is a bitumen paint. Seems Ford used this paint available only in black because it was durable and fast drying. With DuPont's introduction of nitro cellulose paints in the mid twenties, fast drying paints became popular in a multitude of colors.

So Japan black is a petroleum asphaltumm bitumen paint once popular. A search on line shows that it is still used for external rustproofing of cars and outdoors metalwork. I am looking for a source supply and wonder if Home Depot has the same stuff? You will find it readily available in the UK and especially India. Not much in the US and pretty well zero in Canada.

Here's one source for asphaltum:

http://libertyonthehudson.com/

John

One more:

https://www.dickblick.com/items/asphaltum-37ml/

John

Thanks gentlemen for the Asphatum/ Japaning suggestions. I shall follow up these links.

Another question is what are the later cabinets finished with? The earlier phonograph have a shellac finish. In the late 20's fast drying cellulose based laquers were applied to Radio cabinets. What was Edison using on the Disc phonograph and the Amberolas 30, 50 and 75 from the mid teens? Looks like a varnish but for production phonographs the dtlrying would be too slow.

Any ideas?