Magnavox Portable Record Player Restoration...

[Magnavox300]

Picked this up about a month ago, and thought I would get started on it while i'm waiting for resistors and other items for a couple TV sets I'm in the middle of.
I forgot to take a photo before I tore into it!
This originally had great aqua and white speckled coverings, but had tears, so as much as I hated to, I pulled it all off, washed the water based glue off the plywood and fiberboard cabinet, removed the hardware, re-glued loose parts, sanded it, and just primed it with alcohol primer. Next I'll fill any imperfections with filler, and then a base coat of the two colors I will be using.
I searched and searched for the thin paper like fabric they used to use on these cabinets, but the closest I found is Tolex, with looks way to thick to fold and crease tightly like this would need to be.
I just painted an older Mono Magnavox portable, with a built in radio, which had an original speckled paint finish, and I used 2 textured paints from Rustoleum, black and white, which looks amazing I think, not as much speckles as the original, but still looks vintage.
So, I think I'll do the same for this. Wish I could find red or aqua textured paint.
Finally, I'll recap the stereo amp, redo the speaker cloth, new hardware, oil up the turntable, and she should be like new!
This is how far I have gotten....

[maxhifi]

That looks like a 50s Collaro changer - I ruined one of those trying to repair it when I was a teenager. They're a bit more tricky to work on than a BSR or a Gerrard, or a VM. I think it uses a rubber coated idler type wheel to drive the changer mechanism, and another as an idler - on mine they were as slippery as nylon, and it wouldn't stay on speed or reject records. I would guess you'll need to replace both of them to get it to work flawlessly.

Nice work so far with the cabinet! Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

OH, also, watch out for asbestos heat shields... some old record players had asbestos under the amp, or over the tubes

[magnasonic66]

I know your set is about a 1959 model, but a 1953 Magnavox portable was advertized as being covered in "Magnatex". Maybe some type of automotive vinyl would work on yours. Quite a project, I've never seen anyone attempt to restore a portable like that.