Antone Cadet cabinet

[arjoll]

Hi - a few quick questions about tidying up the cabinet of the Antone Cadet now that the electronics are all but done.

The first one is regarding the Bakelite. I always thought this was a kind-of dirty dark grey/brown almost black radio apparently (by looking at the bottom) should be a relatively attractive mottled brown. There are various threads here about restoring shine to Bakelite, but I'm looking for more general hints on what is needed here - just a clean and then a polish (with what?), clean then some Brasso then the polish, or something else?

I've attached some photos of the set showing what the visible surfaces look like and the base of the set that shows what they probably should look like. Any hints would be appreciated.

Thanks
Andrew

[arjoll]

Second issue - the set has a clear plastic 'window' (there's bound to be a more technical name for it!) what the dial slides behind (the dial being on the chassis).

This dial is no longer attached to the bakelite - what's the best kind of glue? I have no idea what kind of plastic it is, but whatever it is would have to have been around in 1950 when the set was made.

Also, when I was a youngster I was very helpful and marked the positions of the four local stations we had then (4ZG, 4YZ, 4ZA, 4XF) on the dial with marker pen - I'm guessing its probably a lost cause, but are there any non-damaging ways to remove it?

Thanks
Andrew

[arjoll]

Hopefully the final issue - grille cloth.

Its a bit grubby - but mild detergent and cold water should help with that. It was glued originally - again what's the best kind of glue to attach grille cloth to bakelite?

Thanks
Andrew

[Radio_Dave]

Hi Andrew,

Two things are very bad for Bakelite; 1, water and 2, alkalis

Wash the cabinet (if necessary) very quickly in luke warm water and a squirt of washing up liquid, rinse and then dry immediately. Leave it 24 hours to dry thoroughly and then use a little T cut or Brasso to polish it. Finish it off with brown shoe/boot polish and it should look like new

I'd try Brasso to remove the station markers on the dial, but not knowing what type of plastic it is, it would be a good idea to try it on an invisible area first

To glue the dial and cloth, personally, I'd use a contact adhesive.

HTH
David

[paulsherwin]

Dave is spot on. If the radio has been in a smoker's house you'll be amazed at the crud that comes off. If it's really disgusting spray it with foaming cleaner (the bathroom type) and wipe off the foam after a few minutes. Let it dry out completely then rub it down with cutting paste (T-Cut is a brand of car paint rubbing compound if you don't have it in NZ - use your local equivalent). Some forum members swear by by a specialist brand of cutting paste called 'Bake-o-brite' or something similar, but I don't use it myself. Finally polish the bakelite with shoe or wax furniture polish.

You may be able to rub the station marks off with cutting compound or just fit a new piece of plastic. Isopropyl alcohol may shift the marks too as many marker pen inks are soluble in alcohol.

Glue the plastic to the bakelite using the weakest adhesive that will do the job, as somebody may want to dismantle again in time. Contact adhesive is probably best, but if that's not strong enough you can use superglue or epoxy.

I use spray PVA adhesive to stick down grille fabric but lots of people like Copydex (the stuff you paint on with a brush).

Good luck, Paul

[arjoll]

Thanks Paul & Dave for the info. I have carefully washed (well, wiped down) the set today and left it to dry in a nice warm north facing room (beaut weather here). Its now basically dry and in the workshop. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try the Brasso during the week. I'll try it on a small bit near the back first just in case . If that doesn't help I'll pop in to Repco or Supercheap and see what they have.

The grille cloth came up nicely in cold water and a tiny bit of Surf. Its still a little stained, but not as filthy as it was. I think completely untouched-looking grille cloth would look silly, this looks quite good now.

Will tackle the dial once I've got these two items sorted.

In terms of gluing, I'll try some Ados F2, probably the most common contact adhesive here.

[arjoll]

A quick update - its been a lovely weekend so I've spent most of my time on the never-ending task of keeping the section and garden under control. This evening though I decided to give the Brasso a go, a great job to do sitting out on the deck!

After trying the first side I was noting not much was happening, and also was sure that Brasso used to be a bit creamer. After using an old screwdriver to stir up the completely settled gunk at the bottom of the can (probably haven't used it for 5 years!) I went over the cabinet again and its coming up nicely. The paint splatters are a lot less noticeable but still there, but they don't really bug me too much - I don't want to risk anything too harsh. I'll need to go over some of the crevaces with an old toothbrush to get rid of some of the gunk in there.

The dial cleaned up nicely - Brasso worked wonders, got rid of the marker pen as well as making it more transparent than I ever remember it being.

Once I have the last little bit of crud gone I'll glue it all together. Still in two minds about Dave's suggestion of brown shoe polish - as long as it leaves the mottling alone or brings it out more I might try it. Will have a go on the bottom first to see what happens.

Almost there! The last step will be the Rola speaker, but I'm getting a local NZVRS member familiar with them to have a look.

[MichaelR]

Try this guy for replacement grille cloth:

http://www.grillecloth.com/

Personally never had any luck cleaning old grille cloth. I now select the nearest most appropriate cloth and fit new , it is amazing what difference grille cloth can make to the appearance of a radio

Mike

[Radio_Dave]

Originally Posted by arjoll

Still in two minds about Dave's suggestion of brown shoe polish - as long as it leaves the mottling alone or brings it out more I might try it. Will have a go on the bottom first to see what happens.

Hi Andrew,

I polish all my bakelite with shoe polish but, yes, please try the shoe polish on the bottom or inside first if your worried .

The shoe polish doesn't really colour the Bakelite, but it leaves a good shine without leaving smears, like funiture polish does.

As for paint spots... pick them off with your thumb nail

David

[chipp1968]

Try TCUT car paint cutting stuff , works much better than brasso . wax plish will work well afterwards , dont over apply it .you can always apply more later

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by Radio_Dave

As for paint spots... pick them off with your thumb nail

If they're a bit stubborn you can often lift them with a plastic scraper - both a credit card and a cassette box lid work well. The paint generally doesn't adhere well because it will be sitting on a layer of dirt and dust rather than clean bakelite.

If the paint really won't shift you can rub it down with cutting paste, but this can be hard work with some paints.

Paul