The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just bought a very dilapidated Edison Home Phonograph. I've taken care of the wood; it's the bedplate that now concerns me. I did a search but mostly found info on wood cleaning. I'm sure the information for cleaning the bedplate is here somewhere,but sorry I did not find it. So I consulted my copy of The Compleat Talking Machine. Sure enough Reiss has information on cleaning bedplates. He recommends soap and water.

A previous experiment with one of the first machines I bought taught me a good lesson: Edison coated the bedplates with either a lacquer or shellac, I believe shellac. Shellac doesn't like water. so before I immerse my bed plate in soapy water, will this work without making the surface permanently dull and cloudy? Or is there something else people have successfully used?

I've had good results using denatured alcohol to remove bad shellac from Edison bed plates and upper works. If the paint/decorations are in good shape, I'll use Mcguire's Scratch X 2.0, followed by Johnson's paste wax.

George P.

I don’t recommend denatured alcohol as it will remove the pin-striping. I would recommend Gojo original hand cleaner first to remove the grime then McGuire’s Scratch X 2.0 to polish the finish.

Rich Gordon

Rich makes an important distinction. For "dilapidated" bed plate/upper works - meaning little or no decorations present, I've had good results using denatured alcohol to remove bad shellac. If the paint/decorations are in good shape, I'll use Goop/GoJo to clean, followed by Mcguire's Scratch X 2.0, followed by Johnson's paste wax.

George P.

Thank you, both. There is sufficient pinstriping left, so I will go-go with the GoJo. I'll try a test spot first.

You shouldn't need to worry about GoJo. For particularly cruddy bed plates, I've left it on overnight with no loss of decorations.

George P.