Cabinet Restoration
As
you can see in the before photo, located at the top of this page, this
radio badly needed a repainting. I started off by cleaning the cabinet
in a sink with some dish soap and water, taking care to mask off the
paper label. This removed the dirt and grease. Since the paint chips
were not that large, just numerous, I decided to try sanding down the
cabinet, and painting over the existing coat without stripping. I used
some 800 grit wet/dry paper to smooth out the chips. I then sprayed on
three coats of Rust-Oleum brand gray primer, allowing 24 hours for this
to dry, I sanded once again with 800 grit paper, then sprayed on about
four coats of Krylon brand ivory gloss paint. After this had dried
overnight, I lightly sanded with 1500 grit wet/dry paper to achieve a
smooth, gloss finish.
I used some brass polish to clean the metal pointer and dial
center. The red foil backing behind the dial fell apart after I
disassembled the radio, so I found a surviving piece, scanned it, and
printed out a new pattern to use, which is a little brighter than the
old, but it doesn't look bad.