The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Would someone mind telling me the correct steps in the reamalgamation process..Is this the same as a French Polish? Is it only useful in crazed finishes or is it beneficial for a dirty dull finish also?

Thanks

Joe

This process is limited to shellac and lacquer finishes. You clean the hell out of the piece with mineral spirits- at least twice to remove old waxes and grime. Then, using denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner (depending on which finish you have), you overcoat heavily to re-flow the finish. This process by itself no doubt takes a lot of practice to bring off successfully, and you will have to rub-out (sand) the results.
I have tried it several times (with less than stellar results)and so,as a "means to and end" have switched to overcoating with very thinned shellac or lacquer to improve an old beat and crazed finish. Getting what you want is mostly about judicious wet sanding and steel wool.

Ya well I got to say, I just tried it with my edison home case and totally destroyed it. Off to the sanding machine I will go. It was really beat up, but it was worth a try. Worse thing to happen is you get to sand it down to the pretty raw oak. I will shamefully show the results when its done.

I'm curious, how often do you use sandpaper? I've refinished numerous items since my first Cicilian table model in 1972 but I hardly ever use sandpaper. It's difficult to maintain even color unless it's a perfectly flat item because it's too easy to sand more deeply on raised or curved surfaces. A good example is the original paint on a classic car. If the paint is thin, it is usually found on curved surfaces like the rounded edge of a fender. If you sanded the lid of a Victrola, it would be very difficult to avoid sanding deeper on the curved part of the lid. Jerry Blais