Admiral 19A11 (black) restoration
 

Recently, I picked up a 19A11 off craigslist with a huge chunk broken out of the cabinet.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6012/...4a94ff83_z.jpg

Much to my surprise just a few weeks later WISCOJIM kindly donated this black bakelite cabinet to the restoration effort.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6143/...2f3c9a0e_z.jpg

I dug up two black "waffle" knobs and a brass channel / fine tuning from a combo console set.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6143/...ed3e597d_z.jpg

I have a few brown bakelite sets, but this is my first black and I was curious to see how it would clean up.

First, I scavenged what I could from the brown cabinet. The plastic they used in the late 40s just doesn't hold up well. These channel plates are warped in every set I've seen. The brown is in better shape so I'll use it.

I hope to repair the speaker cone and use it in my other 19A11 set. It's missing a speaker and CRT shield.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/...b8e461af_z.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6185/...814fd04e_z.jpg

Here it is after a wash in the shower with warm water and dish detergent.
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Next up I buffed the cabinet with multiple rounds of first Noxon then Novus #2. Finally, a little Simichrome.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/...dc978abc_z.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6185/...a9be2b0a_z.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6199/...1d23cb4b_z.jpg

Then, I buffed out the faceplate and channel plate and reattached them.
Next, I rubbed white paint into the recessed lettering.
Finally, that left the dreaded speaker grille. The best technique I could come up with was to smear Novus into the holes, wait for it to dry and buff out with Q-tips and toothpicks :drool:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/...9ebc2425_z.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6072/...b43e1732_z.jpg

Quite a bit of work, but I think it's worth it.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/...dc5259ce_z.jpg

The black bakelite has the same opalescent "grain" as the brown does.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/...9318af31_z.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/...a3ddc087_z.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/...1bc379e8_z.jpg

Any volunteers to tackle this one :D
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/...350fc27f_z.jpg

Ooooooh, Dat's PURDY ! A 1911A1 was my 1st old set-Have a soft spot for 'em...They're just Kitteh Cyoot, to me...(grin

Nice work as usual Bob. Now, on to the chassis restoration and hurry up! (Just Kidding...)

I would never have guessed that the black cabinet would come out that nice. Nice job Bob!


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Just a thought about cleaning the speaker grille. Has anyone ever tried using a dental Waterpik to remove crud set deeply into recesses on radios or TVs?

Or could you clean a large cabinet ultrasonically? I use a small unit for knobs, and it works great. Is there a way to do this in a bathtub?

When I got mine, I took everything out of it, it was NAAASTY-dried bugs, cap grease/funk, 55 yrs of dust, cigarette smoke, you name it. I took it in the shower w/me, a scrub brush, some dishwashing liquid, & Had At It. after it dried, a day or 2 later, I did the Meguier's Body Scrub/Carnauba treatment. Seems like for the grille, I used an old toothbrush to clean, I never really polished inside the grille.

Thanks guys! I suspect something like a water pic would work well.

Some of you may be wondering why I restore the cabinet before the set sometimes. Generally during the peak of summer I just do cabinet work. It gets pretty warm in my place - especially my spare bedroom converted into a workshop. This summer is no exception.
It's finally cooling off some and I'll be starting in on this sets bigger brothers you see in the first photo.

Rest assured I will get to it. I actually ordered the parts for two of these chassis months ago. I hope to restore this a maple 19A15 at the same time.

Looks really nice, Bob. Now, when is the Admiral TV store opening?