Quote:
Originally Posted by dtvmcdonald
BUT ... WHAT ARE THEY? For all the world it appears to be photofinish.
Its flaking off in very very thin splotches, leaving bare wood. Could this
really be toner and varnish? I didn't think that "flaked" off.
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The CT-100 cabinet was finished with toning lacquer and clear lacquer (not varnish). 99.99% of old radio/TV cabinets were done in lacquer because it dries very quickly.
Flaking lacquer is not unusual when a cabinet has been exposed to moisture and temperature extremes. Many CT-100 cabinets (including the one shown at radiomuseum.org) also show some color fading from exposure to UV. The original color was quite reddish. If you look at the photos of my refinished cabinet at
http://antiqueradio.org/RCACT-100Television.htm , you'll get an idea of the color. If you disassemble your cabinet and inspect the finished areas that were shielded from UV, you'll also see the original color.
Contact paper sounds a little odd, but if that looks better to your eye, nobody's going to stop you. If your finish is already flaking, it may pull off some more if/when you remove the paper in the future. If you do want to remove a piece of contact paper, pull it slowly and horizontally to the cabinet surface (not at a right angle, which may pull off more flakes and possibly leave adhesive residue).
There's no harm in leaving the cabinet alone for the time being. I would definitely not slop on Howard's Restore-a-Finish, stain, etc., in an attempt to even out the color. If in the future you decide to take the cabinet to a pro refinisher, it would be better for them to start with a clean slate, not a cabinet partly soaked in some random goo from Home Depot.
Just my $0.02.
Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html