To refinish, or not to refinish...
 

ok.. I know :worthless:, but the new to me 1941 Zenith 8s563 is in the car, and after I got done sanding down the bathroom walls, I was too tired to get it out tonight.. right now it's martini time...

Anyway.. I got this radio.. it's a little rougher than I was hoping.. The wood is all good, but the finish is pretty worn.

I know some of you saw the '39 7s363 I just recently picked up, and how great I got it looking, but it was in a lot better shape...

I'm not one who would typically want to remove an original finish, but in this case, I think the case would be a lot more appealing...

I've been watching e-bay auctions, and for some reason, most old consoles that have been refinished seem to sell for more than original finish ones that have been restored or are in great shape...

I really have no intention of selling this one, so value isn't so much a worry, but in the long run, what would you think would be a better option?

I will post pictures tomorrow, but until then, what are your feelings about refinishing?

I noticed on this '41, where there is what appears to be inlay, or a change of veneer, is actually a faux wood-grain finish over the under-laying wood, where as with the '39, it is actually a different type of veneer.. and not faux.. amazing the difference in how they were manufactured within two years.. .

awww.. only one read? Normally asking for an opinion around here will get 10 replies in as many minutes..

Hi,

Well, your observation about Ebay is very interesting. I am a purist-type and unless the finish is an absolute hopeless disaster, I prefer to leave the original finish even if it is not up to par. Unless as I say the exisiting finish can't even be made to be presentable. I can live with some defects as long as it is original. I'm surprised that sets would seem to sell better refinished than with original finish, but then again there's no way to tell what people are going to buy.

You must do what ultimately pleases you in your collection. My only thing is that once an original finish is removed, there's no way to get it back again. To me refinishing is the absolute last resort if the exisiting finish can't be polished, oiled, rubbed, etc. Sometimes also spot refinishing may be in order if the cabinet on the whole is OK but just has some bad areas. It would be good to see pictures and then maybe that might generate more thoughts on this issue.

Gilbert

Thank you for your opinion.. I am the same way. I really am a purist, and hate to see ANY antique finish removed.

In this case, I'm not real sure what to do.. a lot of the areas of the faux finish have chipped off and the under-laying wood is showing. I'm sure I could probably spend a lot of time touching it up. I will post pictures in thos thread tomorrow. I'll also get a lot of close-up shots.. I know I could dissolve some of the finish and spread it around, but that isn't going to fis the faux areas..

I can live with crazing, and this has a lot. I know a lot of that is fixable with Howard's Restore-a-Finish, however, there is a lot of the Faux finish chipped off and missing.

On the top, there is maybe 4 or 5 rings? I thought about maybe just redoing that, but then that would look good, and the rest kinda weak.

Along the bottom of the base, it looks like there may have been some moisture, or water, and the finish is completely missing. It is bare wood...

I can deal with some scrapes, missing finish, etc, but over all, I would give this case a 4 as far as finish.. some might give it a 6.. .but I would much rather buy an 8 or 9.. but I didn't.. the chassis and the wavemagnite were easy 9's... just need to fix the rubber and cloth rot on the wires.. which is easy compaired to the finish... the grill cloth is a 10...

I really am scratching my head as what to do in this case...

I just had the same dilemma myself with that RCA 721TS, that finish wasn't really bad but it wasn't great, it had scratches, some vineer missing on the bottom, finish off in a few places, but it was the original finish and it wasn't that bad, in the end I sanded it a bit with some 600 sandpaper, went over a few spots with some stain on a rag and then sprayed over the whole thing with clear laquer in a can. It looks good from across the room, but you can see all the problems with it close up. I have it sitting next to my Hoffman 610 which was originally really bad and I totally refinished (someone even had carved their name in it), but now the Hoffman looks better than the RCA, and I'm still debating whether I should have completely refinished the RCA.

So you're still not satisfied... hhhmmm :scratch2:

But then I think if I went the other way and refinished it I would probably be saying just the opposite, that it wasn't that bad and I should have kept the original finish.

This is the inner fight I keep struggling against...

I'll post pictures tomorrow, and then I'll go with what everyone thinks is best... This cab is right there in the middle of what to do...

OK.. maybe this will get people to help me decide if I should refinish this...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...8&d=1188681198

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...9&d=1188681198

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...0&d=1188681198

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...1&d=1188681198

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...2&d=1188681198

Here's a couple of the fidgety bits..

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...4&d=1188681495

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...5&d=1188681495

come on.. no one has any opinions as to whether they would refinish this one or not?

Still looking for opinions.. no right or wrong answers.. just trying to decide which way I wanna go...

Go for it! If nothing else, thats a cool looking decoration for your living room!:D

It actually works.. but I'm gonna recap it..

Thanks for the vote.. it's kinda the way I'm leaning.. the one behind it is in my wife's "antique room" den, and has a really great finish on it.. this one would never look that good, so that's why I'm debating.. will probably put it into our guest bedroom..

Whoa Nellie! It looks like it has some version of photofinish or paper-grain trim on some of the smaller width crosspieces. Both are basically wood grain decals applied over veneer. Specifically the four surrounding the dial assembly and all of the speaker crosspieces and side trim.

You can see in the photos where it has already lost some of this fake grain finish and is down to the veneer underneath. Restoring this is way above my skill level, but some web searches can give you some info if not help.

Any refinishing will evaporate them and leave you with the underlying veneer or hardwood which will not re-grain like you see right now.

Dave A

Yeh.. I realized that. I was thinking if I did refinish it, I would either go without it, or I would try and redo it using a wood grainer tool, but getting it done in all of those little grill pieces would probably be a real nightmare.. I really am kinda confused as to what I should do with this one..

I personally would just polish it with some Old English dark scratch cover polish...this will help hide the worn areas. We don't ever refinish anything beyond cleaning/polishing except in cases like jukebox cabinets we have painted where the finish has been totally destroyed by being left out in the rain for a long time. We have seen much much worse than this one! The "old" look doesn't bother me at all.

Similost,

If it were mine, I would definitely leave it alone. I would use some polish or restore-a-finish and shine it up. The top of the cabinet looks like it would respond well to restoration. The fact that it has some bits of missing photo finish would not bother me at all. I vote for you to restore the finish it has rather than refinish. When a radio like this has a few "battle scars" that's OK, it just shows that it has been through a long life but is still here. I hope you polish it up and leave the original finish. Just my opinion. Thanks!

Gilbert

Kinda the way I am leaning.. one it is less work, but two, like I believe it was you who said.. once it's gone, it's gone.. I know the restore-a-finish really did a hell of a great job on my other radio, but it didn't have near the damage this one did.. I wonder how hard it might be to actually replace or repair some of the missing finish.. I think the top for the most part will clean up.. I know the paint over-spray will come off, but the rings probably won't go away.. eh.. that's why they make doilies huh?

Well you might be surprised, its possible that whatever you choose to polish the cabinet up with will help conceal the rings at the top. Mybe not make them go away, but at least make them less noticeable. And yes, that's what doilies are for. :yes: But I bet it will look a lot better if it is polished and shines up. It won't be perfect, but then it does not need to be. It will be a nice original old radio. You could try spot refinishing if there are any real bad areas, but I would not think that would be necessary. Keep us posted as you go along.

Gilbert

Already got it done.. It looks pretty damn good, but not as good as my other.. you can see them both here...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=124699

Excellent! You made the right decision. Nice looking radios!! One thing I have noticed about Howard's and that is you may have to reapply again later since it will eventually evaporate. But you can do that during your routine dusting and polishing of your radios.

Gilbert

I did the 39.. what.. two weeks ago I think? and it still is looking really great.. I figured if I went over them once a month with the Wax-N-Feed they sould stay really nice looking for years to come..

I can't recommend Howard's more than enough.. I've got a Sanzui Quad I need to go over with this stuff.. It already looks great, but I'm sure it will get a really deep looking finish afterwards..

WOW !! They look GREAT ! Nice goin' !!

Thanks Sandy.. now I just can't wait to get them singing again :)