I was extremely excited when I won the bid on this radio on e-Bay, for only $9.99! The seller stated that the radio worked, and that it was in excellent condition. You can imagine how upset I was, when this radio arrived in about 10 pieces! The seller had packaged the radio by wrapping it in a piece of newspaper, with a couple hunks of styrofoam to "protect" it (yeah, right). Huge pieces of the radio were broken. Chunks of bakelite were interspersed with glass from broken tubes. Obviously, the radio had been dropped, or had something very heavy dropped on it. It appeared to be a total loss. However, I did have all the bakelite pieces....maybe it could be fixed??

Broken top!

There's no chance the radio will work, because two of the tubes were destroyed in the shipping process. The dial string was also broken, so that will need to be restrung as well. There didn't appear to be any damage to speaker cone, or any of the other components. I'm hoping that I'll simply be able to replace the broken tubes and that it will work, as it was advertised as working.

Cabinet Restoration

Broken Louvers

As you can see from the photos, a large portion of the top of the radio had broken out. The photo to the left shows the damage to the louvered section of the radio, a large chunk of which was broken out. The photo to the far right shows the other end, which was also missing several large chips. Not even the bottom had escaped unscathed, as it had a huge, deep crack. I can't imagine what happened to this poor radio in shipping, but it must have been awfully traumatic.

Detail of crack area

After removing the chassis, I began the restoration of this radio by piecing all the broken chips back onto the case, to make sure they would fit properly. Once I was sure they would, then began the long process of gluing the case back together. If you've read any of my other restoration chronicles, you'll know that I like to use Ace 60-second epoxy to glue bakelite chips. I slather the epoxy on quite liberally, then place the chip back into place and hold it until it is secure (or clamp, if possible). It took several days to glue in all the chips, as I waited for one area to dry before beginning on another area. I used half a tube of epoxy on just this one radio! Usually a tube will last me through 6-7 projects.

After Sanding and Glazing

Once the radio was glued back together, I began to sand down the case in the areas where there were paint chips. There were A LOT of paint chips on this radio, so the sanding process took quite a bit of time. This also gave me an idea of what cracked areas would need more attention. Once the case was initially sanded, I went ahead and began to apply glazing putty to the areas which had been cracked. The glazing putty goes over the top of the crack, sinking down into it and hiding it. Once it is dry, it can be sanded down and painted. The photo to the left shows the radio after being re-constructed, sanded, and glazed.

After Priming

Once the radio had been glazed, I went ahead and shot an initial coat of primer on it. This would show me where all the problem areas would be, and I assumed there would be a lot of problem areas! After the primer had dried, I took a closer look. There were a lot of areas that needed more work. The photo on the right shows the case from the front after applying more glazing putty to the areas which still showed damage.

After Priming

The photo on the left is another view of the case after the first priming, where I've glazed areas in need. The louvered area proved to be particularly hard to deal with, because of the intricate detail. You can see a lot of orange glazing putty in those areas! The cycle of priming and glazing can be repeated as many times as need be, until the case is ready. In most cases, it takes 3-4 cycles to get everything just right (that is if you are a perfectionist). Even then, small imperfections might show up. Because both the glazing putty and primer dry quickly, you can do several cycles in one afternoon. This work should always be done outdoors, or in a very good light where the slightest imperfections will show up.

Painting

I probably went through at least 15-20 cycles of adding more glazing putty, then priming an area. I really wanted the radio to turn out like new. The area near the louvers took a lot of work. One of the cracks had gone through an area which required painstaking work to get "just right". Any flaw, no matter how small, will usually show up in the final paint if you can see it through the primer. Eventually, I was happy with the way the radio looked, and it was time for the final paint. The photo on the right shows the radio getting a new paint job. I had to do several "fixes" on the radio as I did lay on the paint a little too thick near the louvers, causing some runs. Those areas were sanded down a bit and then I re-shot more paint over the top.

Finally, done..

Eventually, I was happy with the final paint coat. I then let the paint cure for a few days before sanding it down and buffing it out. I wet sand with 600 grit paper, which is just about right (400 takes off too much paint). I usually go over the case with 1500 after the 600, as well. Then I buff out the paint with Novus #2 polish. The end result is a smooth, glassy finish which looks great. I then cleaned the plastic dial cover, and the knobs. I then re-assembled the radio. The finished radio is shown on the left. It turned out pretty well (it better have, a lot of work went into it)! You can't tell from the outside what trauma the radio went through, but of course the repairs are visible from the inside of the case.

Electronic Restoration

Two tubes were destroyed in shipping. I've got them on order. When I get them in, I'll go ahead and replace the electrolytics, then power up the radio and see if it works!