Admiral 24C16 restoration

[bandersen]

I used Mohawk Deep Red Mahogany M100-0384 and M102-0420 Clear Gloss from Altura Paint Center http://alturapaint.com/mohawk-ultra-...oner-p-73.html

Only $4.95 a can

I originally picked it up for my Philco 49-1040, but it worked well for this set too.

[bandersen]

One of these days I may get some custom gold decals created. Maybe this place http://www.solidesign.bizland.com/
It's not cheap though. Maybe some of you guys need these decals too ?
Perhaps we could pool our money for the setup fees

I also need the same size Admiral logo for my 19A15S

[jeyurkon]

How do you handle the fumes from the lacquer spray?

John

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

How do you handle the fumes from the lacquer spray?

John

I spray out on my enclosed back porch with a window cracked open. Pretty much I just hold my breath while spraying. I'm only doing small sections at a time that take 30 seconds or so to cover.

[bandersen]

Since all my other projects have stalled while I wait for parts to arrive, I decided to re-coat that CRT.

Scraping of the remains of the old coating with a CD. Works fairly well and doesn't scratch the glass.


Cleaned with lacquer thinner, mineral spirits and windex.


Masking with painters tape. I have an RCA CRT mat under the tube.


Almost ready to go. I noticed the ultor mask was off center and adjusted it.


A few coats later.


Purdy . Gotta be careful though - that coating is really soft.
It measures about 45K with my probes several inches apart. I think that's fine.



Here's some video if you'd like to see the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-WcFgSXHg

-

[Reece]

That jug is too pretty to hide inside a cabinet. Leave it out as a work of art.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Very nice work. I noticed you have actual aquadag in a can, not the Grainger SlipPlate that others have mentioned.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Reece

That jug is too pretty to hide inside a cabinet. Leave it out as a work of art.

LOL - Thanks, but back inside it goes.

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

Very nice work. I noticed you have actual aquadag in a can, not the Grainger SlipPlate that others have mentioned.

Thanks. I think I used up about half the can. I need to do the same treatment on a 10BP4 - there should be enough left.

[bandersen]

OK, just to remove any doubt of my insanity, I stripped down the cabinet and refinished it again!

Why? Well, I wasn't happy with how dark it was and I knew I could do better with the grain filling.



Next up, Behlen water based brown grain filler. It's a little messy, but does a decent job.




I also carefully wet sanded and buffed the scratched faceplate.




I like to use stain to give a good color base then toner to fine tune it. Here's some Red Mahogany being applied.


I used Mohawk Deep Red toner before. This time I picked up Mohawk Red and Dark Red. Dark Red turned out to be perfect Lesson learned: always do test samples before a major project.


That left the screen & control area. I pondered these options:

• wiping out the labels
• try to touch up and clear coat
• shelling out big $$ for a custom decal set

Then, Reece posted his excellent Firestone restoration project in which he made custom gold decals. I contacted him and he was able to make an excellent set for me




Very soon, I'll strip down the front, refinish and apply the decals. Reece made a few extras for when I screw up

[jeyurkon]

That faceplate came out great! What grade of sandpaper did you use? Did you buff it by hand?

I'm a little confused by the Mohawk colors. I used Classic Brown Mahogany and it came out much like your dark red. When I look at the color chart it appears that the brown was intended to be applied much lighter than I did and on a test piece a light coating does appear to be brown.

The deep red on the color chart looks more like the brown I was looking for and is about the same shade.

I also made mine too dark but I lightened it up with 600 grit sandpaper before the final clear coat.

Your cabinet came out great! It takes a real perfectionist to strip a cabinet they just finished and start over.

John

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

That faceplate came out great! What grade of sandpaper did you use? Did you buff it by hand?

I'm a little confused by the Mohawk colors. I used Classic Brown Mahogany and it came out much like your dark red. When I look at the color chart it appears that the brown was intended to be applied much lighter than I did and on a test piece a light coating does appear to be brown.

The deep red on the color chart looks more like the brown I was looking for and is about the same shade.

I also made mine too dark but I lightened it up with 600 grit sandpaper before the final clear coat.

Your cabinet came out great! It takes a real perfectionist to strip a cabinet they just finished and start over.

John

I used #600 - #1500 followed by Novus #2 and Novus #1. All by hand.

I'm still confused by the Mohawk colors! I suspect the base color plays a big role with some of the toners.

A couple coats of Mohawk Deep Red looks almost black. I used what I had left on my recent Haillicrafters project for the base and front trim.

Mohawk Red Mahogany / Cherry is far to light. Two coats of Dark Red Mahogany on lightly stained veneer was a perfect match. Go figure.

I did wait about 3 months before redoing it Also, keep in mind I only stripped the top before. This time I stripped the rest too.

[bandersen]

It's finally time to apply the reproduction decals I got from Reece.

First, I needed to remove the old ones.


Luckily, I was able to sand them off without damaging the finish underneath.


I sprayed on a few coats of Deft sanding sealer and sanded it smooth. Then, touched up the trim around the bezel and applied a coat of Deft gloss. Now it's ready for the decals.


I taped a bit of enameled wire across the control area as a reference.


That just leaves the logo.


The logo was a really pain. I repositioned it at least 5 times. That blemish in the middle is part of the underlying wood and original finish.
Next I'll apply a couple more coats of clear lacquer to protect the decals and hide the edges. Then buff out the whole cabinet and maybe call this done finally.

[jeyurkon]

That's amazing! Beautiful work.

John

[bandersen]

Thanks. I've had nothing but trouble trying to photograph this shiny mahogany surface. Sometimes the camera won't focus because of the shine I think, sometimes they come out really dark, sometimes too red.

That last photo is the closest, but even that's not quite right. That strip around the screen bezel is actually dark red mahogany, but it comes out looking almost black in these photos.

[radiomojo]

That is one sharp TV. It is making me really want to get started on my Admiral TV/AM/FM/Phono.

Rod