Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Cabinet restoration is completely outside my skill set and so I had my A40C cabinet restored professionally by James Oughton in Grantham.

BEFORE....Pictures 1 & 2

AFTER......Pictures 3 & 4

I'll leave it another week before I reassemble everything to allow the finish to harden.

I will post more when it has been reassembled.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

You must be rather pleased with that, and it'll look even better when it's built back up.

David

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Thanks David, yes I'm looking forward to seeing it all back together..

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

French polish?

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

No not French Polish. James says he only uses French polish on antique furniture. On more modern cabinets he uses lacquer mainly because it gives a harder finish and better protection. The original rosewood veneer could not be obtained so he used an alternative and coloured it with a rosewood colour product before applying the lacquer.

I think it looks fantastic.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Corr blimey, what a super job, please more pics when it is assembled.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Will do.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Sitting on your workmate it looks deceptively tiny but having worked on one I know it is far from that. Your restored cabinet looks beautiful.

Peter

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Nice finish for a nice receiver! I bet you will find the reassembly very satisfying.

I've tried both french polish and lacquer and can't decide which is easier.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Looks great! Can't wait for finished result, with dial lit up!

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Stunning job looks fabulous.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Looks like an excellent job. Please don't do what someone on this forum did, I think it was a TV the last screw in the knob and the screwdriver slipped!. The case had to go back to the finishers. Interesting conversation followed I expect.


John.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Ouch! :wall:

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

That is a beautiful finish on that cabinet! Wish I could get them looking that good. Certainly a name to keep in mind, I’ve got a few cabinets in awful condition that could benefit from professional restoration, one being a Murphy V180C TV.

Regards
Lloyd

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Hello Llyod,

Yes it is a good job and you are near enough to Grantham to use his services. It wasn't cheap of course, these things never are but he does quote you a price before going ahead.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Fabulous set, mine is on the "borderline" condition wise, it's a bit scruffy but I like the fact it still has its original finish, yet I know it could look stunning if restored.
I often wonder how many A40's survive, I doubt that many were made in the first place!

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

I have one to restore when I have time.
It is complete now that I obtained a knob from a kind forum member but has been brutally part stripped cabinet wise. The colour is a lot lighter than this one here even on the parts not stripped.
Were they available in different wood finishes?
The veneer all seems to be intact but it will take a lot of work to get anywhere near the finish of the professionally restored one.

Re: Murphy A40C professional cabinet restoration.
 

Not that I'm aware of, but a lot can happen in 80 years to an original finish, between natural darkening and getting bleached by sun exposure. Colin's finished radio has been given more of a mahogany shade than I've seen on preserved examples. Here's mine, fortunately in a good enough state for me to be contented with it as it is (though 20-odd years ago when I had recent experience of French polishing a few sets I wouldn't have minded giving it the treatment).

Paul