[Hallicrafters] Re: Rejuvenating Old BA Cabinet Finishes

[George Morton]

Just have to dip my oar in: WD40 simplest, most readially
available dust remover and paint revitalizer.  Used car dealers use
transmission fluid to spiff up the paint job on
sun baked car finishes.  I use BabyOil (Johnsons) for old
Collins St. James Grey, which aged turns bluish or greenish (yuk!).  Let the
oil stay for 24 hours, then using paper towels, pat it dry.  Results in
beautiful finish.
----- Original Message -----
From: <GARDGORE at aol.com>
To: <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>; <national at mailman.qth.net>;
<hammarlund at mailman.qth.net>; <sloss at mindspring.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 7:59 AM
Subject: [Hallicrafters] Re: Rejuvenating Old BA Cabinet Finishes


> Since the matter of a high degree of originality is not important to
everyone
> the choice either clean the original finish or do a complete stripping and
> repainting mostly comes down to a decision of what is personally
acceptable.
> For the advocates of making everything look new again there is the matter
of
> correct paint textures, shades, degree of gloss, hardness (durability and
> scratch resistance) and of finished work with no problems such as dirt or
> debris in the paint. An important thing to also keep in mind is "once a
> repaint, always a repaint." Sometimes the original finish is just too far
> gone and the only good choice is to completely refinish the cabinet. My
> yardstick for repaints here is if a visitor to my shack with a trained eye
> has to ask if a particular set was repainted, the job was good and is
> acceptable to me. Many are not that critical, being more interested in
other
> things and of course that is fine too. I have personally spotted repaints
> from 20 feet away for sale at hamfests and swapmeets that look more like
> someone's training radio but have also seen stuff that was over-restored
that
> still cried out "I've just been repainted!" Perhaps the 75A-4s out there
that
> are getting everything on the chassis polished to a bright chrome-like
lustre
> fit in this category as well but again all this stuff is subjective and in
> the eye and mind of the beholder. With all of that said I am submitting
the
> best method of improving the appearance of old tired cabinet paint
finishes
> that I have ever found. With a 50-50 mix of ammonia and 409 in a plastic
> sprayer bottle and with suitable brushes and rinsing water give the
cabinet a
> good thorough cleaning (don't get this solution on any silk-screened
> nomenclature labels or decals). If there is any rust remaining it can be
> effectively removed with phosphoric acid. This is a green liquid commonly
> called Metal Prep and is inexpensive and available in plastic bottles at
most
> hardware stores. Auto body shops use this to treat bare sheet metal before
> painting. If necessary the paint can be touched up using carefully matched
> colors. Finally using OZ polish applied to a soft cloth rub the cabinet,
> knobs and escutcheon to produce just the right amount of sheen. A damp
cloth
> with a little light polishing is all you need, it's not necessary to flood
> the surface. I keep a dampened cloth in a plastic container with a lid
here
> ready to use. It is amazing how OZ seems to nourish the paint and bring
the
> original brightness and depth of color back out with not too much "shine."
> OZ is a watery, milky colored liquid polish for surface treatment and
> appearance restoration of finishes. OZ dries to the touch unlike snake
oil,
> Armorall, WD-40 and other favorite tips and remedies. It does not contain
> silicones and its effects are completely reversible which is also an
> important consideration. OZ can be found at Constantines which is a wood
> refinishing products supply house. Go to "www.constantines.com" and type
"oz
> polish" in the search blank. This method is not original with me but
rather
> was gleaned from asking the recognized experts and experienced collectors
out
> there who have been through all this before.
>
> Regards, Greg Gore; WA1KBQ
> _______________________________________________
> List Administrator: Duane Fischer, W8DBF **for assistance**
> dfischer at usol.com
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