R1155 cosmetic tidy up

[Radio_Dave]

Hi,

I looking for advice about tidying up my rough looking R1155, as shown here https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=47862 . I'd appreciate any comments, especially ones from experience, but in particular can I have help with the following questions.

• Do I paint it, if so what with?
• What finish should the metal handles and screws etc have?
• Can the control knob labels be restored?

TIA
David

[HamishBoxer]

The finish i believe is hammer crackel finish or camera crackel black it used to be known as.Now where from? this i think has been mentioned in a previous post.

David

[HamishBoxer]

Handles ands screws on mine are a dull ally looking finish though guess they are steel.Re lettering yes thats been previously metioned too.

[cmjones01]

I heard a rumour (probably here) that the black wrinkle finish paint is the same as that sold for MG car dashboards, in a nice piece of vintage symbiosis.

Chris

[John H.]

Hi Dave,
For the case; Remove all the old paint, rub it down with wet and dry and give it a coat of grey primer, finish it off with black satin spray, maybe a couple of coats or so (Halfords etc).

Front panel; remove all the screws that you can and the plug retaining posts, wire brush them to a bright finish. Rack handles (they do come off reasonably easily) use fine wire wool, they are nickel plated so come up quite nicely.

Remove all designation labels, clean them and wire brush the screws. De-grease the front panel with meths, then a good rub over with say `pledge` will bring up the crackle finish. I feel anything more drastic will spoil it's orignality and provenance. John

[Sean Williams]

Dave,

Unless your case is really manky, I would just dust over it with a satin black aerosol - lots of very light coats, allowing time fir the solvent to "flash off" in between coats - 5-10 mins...

Similar for the front panel

Stripping back always makes the 1155 look far too pretty - they were meant to look used and functional, not shiny and perfect!

HTH
Sean

[Radio_Dave]

Thanks for the replies they've been very helpfull.

I like the idea of reviving what's there rather than a full strip and re-paint. However, I've attached a picture of the dial cover and as you can see there's an oblong dollop of, immovable, glue on the right. The picture doesn't show it, but it's quite raised and will be very obvious if I give it a blow over with satin black.
It would be good if I could replace what was once there. Does anybody know what was stuck there, maybe even a photo?

Thanks
David

[Sean Williams]

Er yes, either it's title plate, or a modification record plate.

Thats a real shame

Sean

[cmjones01]

Originally Posted by Radio_Dave

It would be good if I could replace what was once there. Does anybody know what was stuck there, maybe even a photo?

That looks like the place where a mod record or similar would have been stuck. In the middle should be a model number/serial number plate, held on by four little screws. Mine's missing too

Chris

[cmjones01]

Originally Posted by Sean Williams

Unless your case is really manky, I would just dust over it with a satin black aerosol - lots of very light coats, allowing time fir the solvent to "flash off" in between coats - 5-10 mins...

Does that preserve the crackle finish? If it does, it's a really handy trick. My case is the same crackle finish as the front panel. It's a steel one, if that makes any difference.

Chris

[Sean Williams]

Hi Chris,

Certainly does, although is a better technique for US style crackle, but quite acceptable for UK use - the automotive crackle stuff is no good at all for this sort of thing

[cmjones01]

That's very interesting. I didn't know the automotive crackle wasn't up to the job. I don't want to respray my case anyway because it's got the lovely instructions about which mounting brackets not to use on it! I'll get round to doing the front panel on mine sometime in my dreams. It's got all the same problems as Radio_Dave's, plus fairly severe corrosion of the aluminium labels.

Chris

[Radio_Dave]

I've trawled the web for R1155 photos but the only picture I can find with a plate on the right is this one http://www.vk2bv.org/radio/r1155.htm#R2 and as you can see it's not much use.

Can anybody identify this plate and hopefully show me a picture, so I can make one up

Thanks
David

[HamishBoxer]

Got both plates on mine,if they unscrew easy i can scan both for you.PM me and will let you know what gives.

David GM8JET

[Radio_Dave]

Hi David,

Thanks for the offer. I actually have a scan of the central identification plate. Is your other plate a screwed on modification plate or mystery stuck on one?

Regards
David

[HamishBoxer]

Its a mod plate

[umberto60]

Hi David,
your missing plate looks to be on the right of the dial, all the pics I've found put it on the left of the central model plate...However here are a few pictures of it, one coming from a radio I own, the others from the web or web auctions.
Hope this helps, sicere regards,
Umberto

[Radio_Dave]

Hi Umberto,

Thanks for your photos, but as you have noticed, this mod plate is always on the left and screwed down. I now doubt anything should have been glued to the right of mine in the first place!

I've also just tried cleaning the control labels and wrecked them, so I carry on with the re-wiring for now and worry about the cosmetics later on

[Sean Williams]

Looks like a trip to G4CVU for you then Dave, and order a set of decals.....

Sean