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
