Varnish for Ultra TR81

[suebutcher]

I'm about to revarnish my TR81. Originally it had a thick glossy "piano" finish over teak veneer. One possiblity is spraying and rubbing down several coats of automotive acrylic lacquer; I can buy this paint locally. Is this a good choice? I'd like a high shine on the wood to go with the chrome front.

[dseymo1]

I've tried acrylic on wooden cabinets before.
It looks great initially, but movement of the timber with humidity variations causes crazing of the finish before long.
YMMV, of course.

[Audio1950]

I've found that too. A better choice would be polyurethane in a spray can. B&Q sell it. Takes longer to dry between coats, but worth the wait.

Barry

[vidjoman]

Originally Posted by Audio1950

B&Q sell it.

Bit far to get it from Australia. Guess there's some store that'll sell it over there.

[paulsherwin]

Danish oil looks good.

It's very difficult to get that factory applied glossy finish without specialist facilities. Danish oil will look different but arguably the finish is more in tune with modern tastes.

[Audio1950]

Originally Posted by vidjoman

Bit far to get it from Australia. Guess there's some store that'll sell it over there.

I should have gone to Specsavers!

Barry

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

Danish oil looks good.

It's very difficult to get that factory applied glossy finish without specialist facilities. Danish oil will look different but arguably the finish is more in tune with modern tastes.

I too am a fan of Danish Oil as a finish: it's tough and - to my eyes at least - doesn't have the unnaturally-high-gloss of lacquer (which always brings to mind cheap early-1960s Formica faux-wood kitchen tables and worktops).

[suebutcher]

I think the finish might have been polyurethane originally because it had yellowed. But I haven't seen polyurethane spray varnish here, unless that's what Estapol is these days. (Estapol used to be a two-pack polyester brush-on.)

I agree oiled teak is tasteful, but this set's from 1961, the era of thick gloss that you could leave cups of tea on with confidence. Danish oil's going to look a bit weedy next to the chrome. I'm sure high gloss won't look like Formica because of the lustre on the natural wood grain underneath. This is good quality teak with a "tiger's eye" sheen.

[paulsherwin]

The problem is that you won't get that mirror finish if you just use an aerosol to spray acrylic or polyurethane lacquer. You're more likely to end up with an awful toffee apple finish.

It's your radio though, and your skills may be better than mine.

[suebutcher]

I'm hoping that once the acrylic has dried hard it can be sanded flat and polished to a high gloss. That's how it works on cars. I'm experimenting on a piece of scrap wood, and it looks promising.

[suebutcher]

I took the plunge, and resprayed the top panel with Holts Duplicolor clear coat. After six coats, two rub downs, and fine sanding and polishing, it has a smooth glassy look that shows the "fire" of the wood clearly. A few tiny blemishes, but I'd say it's about 8 out of 10 compared to a professional finish, so I'm happy with it. There's still the question of how long it will last, but I used Duplicolor for a partial respray of a radiogram fifteen years ago, and although I didn't manage a high gloss on that one, it hasn't cracked up yet.

[Reelman]

Well done Sue! Gives me the courage to try the same thing on some of my high gloss radios.
Peter

[suebutcher]

Thanks, Peter. It's going to take a while to finish the side panels, I'm doing each separately to avoid marring still-soft varnish. I'll post a photo when I'm done.

I'd say it's about 8 out of 10 compared to a professional finish

Have another rub down with 2000 grit (yes 2000) and a polish after a few weeks, the varnish will be much harder then and take on a better shine.

[suebutcher]

Here it is, all polished up with cutting cream and back together. Now I'm getting decent volume from it, I notice the AGC isn't working on AM, so it'll come apart again at some stage.

As for the sound, it lacks in bass but is very clear. Good for voice, classical, and Sixties pop music, not good for doomph-doomph modern pop. I doubt that anything's wrong, it's just the small 4 inch speaker.

[paulsherwin]

Beautiful job. I'm glad to be proved wrong regarding the finish.

[Nickthedentist]

That really does look stunning!

N.

[suebutcher]

Thanks! For the record, the job nearly used up two large 350g spray cans of Holts. Possibly I would have used less if I'd filled the grain first, but I didn't because the filler might have shown up all the scrapes and dents. Instead I filled the dents with clear acrylic using a brush before I sprayed. With that method, I needed to spray and sand down twice because the impression of the grain reappears on the surface as the varnish hardens.