Yes, a very small amount of gray stuff had come out of the power transformer on my CTC-7. Cleaned up pretty easily with something like mineral spirits.
I would definitely check out that transformer, and withhold judgement in the meantime. Mine seems fine; I replaced the electrolytics before applying power, of course.
Even if that transformer has fried, a CTC-7 with usable CRT is a good buy for $100. Congrats!
Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html