Admiral 20X122 restoration project

[jeyurkon]

Drifting off topic... I love the antenna rotor control you have sitting on top of it. I picked one up recently and found a rotor to go with it. It works and I plan on replacing my current rotor with it. I loved it when I was a kid.

John

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

Drifting off topic... I love the antenna rotor control you have sitting on top of it. I picked one up recently and found a rotor to go with it. It works and I plan on replacing my current rotor with it. I loved it when I was a kid.

John

Thanks. I don't have a rotor and couldn't put one on my building regardless so I rigged the wiring so it lights up when plugged in. Someday, I plan on making a digital up/down counter with a slow clock connected to the rotor contacts to simulate an actual rotor turning.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by 7"estatdef

Wow that cloth is really faded badly! Here's a pic of mine. Seems to be a tan/gold fabric with bright gold strands running though it. If you think it would benefit from a cleaning maybe just using a damp cloth migth clean it up a bit or a little woolite perhaps. Good luck with it I have the same set but it has the seperate power supply/ audio chaiss.
Terry

Ah, I was hoping someone else here would have one. I tried cleaning a small area with very mild detergent. The gold strands seem a bit brighter, but the fabric remains the same.

Does anyone know a supplier of this fabric? I know there's some great radio grille cloth out there, but I haven't seen any with gold strands like this.

Otherwise, I'll just leave it alone. There aren't any tears and it looks OK.

[Phil Nelson]

If you have already tried the usual radio grille cloth sources (AES, grillecloth.com) and struck out, then you'll need to live with what you have. I would be cautious about cleaning the cloth. It gets fragile, as well as faded, over the years. Don't rub it hard. Dabbing may remove some obvious dirt, but it won't restore color that faded out years ago.

As for cleaning the Bakelite cabinet versus polishing it, Bakelite is amazingly tough and resistant to chemicals. I have used old fashioned paint stripper -- the nasty stuff -- to remove paint from Bakelite with no bad effects. The radio shown below looked so nice after stripping that I couldn't bear to repaint in the factory paint color.

So use whatever works when cleaning grime. Just don't go crazy with abrasive polishes.

Phil Nelson

[M3-SRT8]

Depending on the Grill Cloth material, you might try Carpet Cleaning Solution, diluted.

I took the small, gold speaker cloth from inside my DuMont RA-103 "Chatham", dipped it in this solution, and, within a minute, it had separated from the pressboard backing. I immediately patted the pressboard dry, and left the grillcloth in the solution.

You could see the nicotine leeching from the fabric...

After 15 minutes, I removed it, rinsed it gently with lukewarm water, and gently patted it dry. Try not to disturb the edges, or it will unravel. Then, I let it air dry. It didn't shrink.

I remounted it to the pressboard with spray mount, installed it with the Speaker in the Cabinet, and, it looks fab.

I detailed the opening speaker slots with Howard's before the install, so, it all looks great. The fresh Gold fabric peeking from the slots makes it all the worthwhile. Like resetting the Time Clock.

Details, details...

LJB

[Phil Nelson]

Nice job on the cabinet. I have been a Novus #2 fan for ages.

Did the Glayzit improve the look after you used the Novus? I bought a jug of it a year or two ago, but then didn't use it after I read a negative comment somewhere.

Phil

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by M3-SRT8

Depending on the Grill Cloth material, you might try Carpet Cleaning Solution, diluted.....
Details, details...

LJB

Interesting idea and I do have some on hand, but I don't have the nerve to try it. Perhaps after I do some tests on lesser projects.

[zenithfan1]

Looks great!! 100% difference! Excellent job my man! Thanks for the detailed cleaning process.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

Looks great!! 100% difference! Excellent job my man! Thanks for the detailed cleaning process.

Thanks. My goal in this thread is to help others with their projects.

P.S. I'm practicing re-stuffing caps. using your tips. it's going well, but my Dremel skills need some honing.

[bandersen]

Here's another tip. A lot of bakelite have little posts that attach to the speaker board using metal clips. These clips are the type that push on and don't come off. I used a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to cut a small notch in each one. I think that's easier and safer than trying to pry them off. Most are in good enough shape that they can be reused.

[bgadow]

Looking good! Glad this one survived.

My repeated advice-I hope all here will take it. The exception would be a rather small portable: never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never, have a TV like this shipped to you, not even from across the street!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't count the sets I have seen posted here and elsewhere that have been totally destroyed. Be patient my friends-they will eventually show up in your backyard, trust me!

[ihmeyers]

Originally Posted by bgadow

Looking good! Glad this one survived.

My repeated advice-I hope all here will take it. The exception would be a rather small portable: never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never,never, never, never, have a TV like this shipped to you, not even from across the street!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't count the sets I have seen posted here and elsewhere that have been totally destroyed. Be patient my friends-they will eventually show up in your backyard, trust me!

I got a '66 Admiral Color from Doug in Chicago. Paid $400 (think I paid Doug about $175 for it) to have it trucked down by a moving company. Arrived a OK and I'm happy to have done it. But I agree with you nevertheless.

[Dan Starnes]

Loving the progress of this set.

[Sandy G]

Awww, man ! You've done a FANTASTIC job on this set...it is UNBELIEVABLE !!!

[bandersen]

I've decided to give re-stuffing the can electrolytics a try on this set using zenithfan1's technique.

I practiced on a few old caps and I think I've got the hang of it

There are 3 in total. Two mounted to the chassis and one clip on. Here's a shot of one just prior to removal. I made notes of the original position and which leads went where.





I've got a question for y'all. Should there be a metal plate or two around the RF amp? Seems that the side panel and possibly something on the underside is missing.





Maybe I'll just have to pull the chassis on my 20X12 to compare.