Cleaning and tidying up old wood cabinets

[Martin Bush]

Hello all

I am going to ask what might seem like a silly question, but I want to be sure.

I've just got a nice Bush AC34 - it's a model my dad has and I grew up listening to it. It works and I plan to recap it (I may have a go tonight on 'that' cap).

The set I have is in reasonable condition and I do not plan to do anything to the cabinet for the forseeable future - it's showing its age but in the right ways.

What I do want to do is clean it up - get rid of any residues of Mr Sheen, dust etc. In fact in places it looks like its been wiped with a wet rag, so there's what I would call rain marks on it.

So, is there a good way to clean up old wood cabinets? I don't want to use anything harsh and risk damaging the finish. Neither do I want to simply move the muck around through not having enough detergent.

Once I have given it a clean, will beeswax be a good thing to use? There's a few scratched which go through to the wood, but not in a drastic way and I am happy to have it on show. Will the beeswax make refinishing difficult at a later date it it gets into the wood?

I am off to Sainsbury's soon... so if anyone is quick off the mark I will get the required cleaning product and have a go tonight!

Thanks

Martin

[stevehertz]

See my post earlier today (16/6/15) where I describe the final finishing techniques and show a photo of the finished cabinet:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=117029

You need:
Topps scratch cover polish
Various shades of brown felt tip pens
Silicon based furniture polish

[paulsherwin]

Rubbing it down with T-Cut will get all the crud off. You then just need to polish it if the underlying finish is sound. In fact, this can greatly improve even really rough cabinets.

Poundland sell their own version of T-Cut in a plastic tube, called 'car scratch remover' or something similar. They also sell a set of 3 fibre pens for disguising scratches in wood.

[Martin Bush]

Thanks chaps.

I did wonder whether T-Cut would be too tough on the old lacquer, but I will see what happens.

[stevehertz]

The only problem with T-cut is that it has a tendency to leave white paste in the cracks and chips that are in the lacquer. That's why I use the scratch cover polish first in an attempt to get the colour 'in there' before you do any more polishing. If you then perform cutting back with T-cut, you can always apply the scratch cover polish and felt pens again.

Sylmasta micro-mesh abrasive panels are also good for finishing, they come in different grades that - believe it or not - the very fine ones are less abrasive than T-cut.

http://www.sylmasta.com/acatalog/cop...di_Files_.html

[Martin Bush]

Thanks Steve - I will investigate those.

Like most things I ask about on here, this one will take some thought before I start! There's no point rushing in and creating more work by cocking it up.

[vidjoman]

I normally use very fine wire wool (0000 grade I think, but I've lost the label) and white spirit. Soak a small chunk of wire wool in the spirit and generally work in the direction of the grain, Wipe off with kitchen paper and repeat as many times as you need. This will take off all the years of crud, paint spots and old wax polish. It should leave a smooth clean finish which you can touch up if required by your favourite method or polish with wax.

[Martin Bush]

Thanks Vidjoman.

I think if I was able to spend the time I spend researching actually working on things I'd be on my fifth radio by now.

Sadly I am still gathering the knowledge at the moment.

[HamishBoxer]

What about Liberon Wax and Polish Remover?

[stevehertz]

Martin, full marks for treading carefully and acquiring information and advice before you start, but at some point you're going to have to get in there and get your hands dirty. You have plenty of info to get started and you learn so much more with a 'hands on' approach. A lot of this stuff you can't write down; it's artisan, it's a 'touchy feely' thing, seeing how the various processes work and react. If you take note of what people have said so far, you're not going to damage anything. Get stuck in!

[Martin Bush]

Cheers Steve.

Due to work and other commitments I have limited time to really get stuck in, but I think any time spent researching or whatever in the meantime has to be worth it in the long run. At some point I will have some time... one day

The good thing about the Bush is that it works so, with a change of the infamous capacitor and a clean up, I think I can count it as my first success (albeit a very slight one!).

[G6Tanuki]

As others noted, using "cutting compounds" like T-Cut can result in the abrasive powder being worked-into the cracks in the lacquered/painted surface [and the wood-grain] and then providing a major rework-issue.

[this is not unique to radios]. Once you've got the powdery abrasive in the cracks/grain in the finish you're stuck.

My approach is - if you want to retain the original finish, use only a non-solvent soap [but feel free to go at things with a toothbrush].

Alternatively - strip the original lacquer with something like Nitromors. Then when it's clean use "Danish Oil" - which soaks in and hardens. It will never give a high-gloss finish but, with several applications, gets you a rather nice deep lustre which fits in well with modern aesthetics.

[Martin Bush]

That is an interesting idea and one that involves something I have plenty of for once!

I have two Ecko A144 cabinets. One is my current project (slow but sure) and I was wondering what to do with the other which I got for spares... I will try the Danish oil approach with that.

[brenellic2000]

Before you use a sledge hammer to crack a nut, use an old, well tried and tested furniture maker's trick - a 'restorative':

Equal parts of pure turpentine, raw linseed oil, methylated spirits, white (household ammonia), white vinegar. Shake well and rub in well with a cloth (it pongs a bit!) but can't do any harm.

It'll clean up old dried polish, dodgy shellac and crud. Then you'll clearly see what you're dealing with. If is mellamine sprayed ply, then you'll need varnish stripper and 0000 grade oil-free wire-wool.

Barry

[mhennessy]

Originally Posted by vidjoman

I normally use very fine wire wool (0000 grade I think, but I've lost the label)

Apologies if I'm stating the obvious, but I've seen many a loudspeaker ruined by wire wool. Fragments find their way into the voice coil gap. Ensure a good separate between loudspeakers and wire wool - keep them in separate rooms if possible.

[Martin Bush]

That's worthwhile advice and I hadn't thought of it already.

I think for the Bush I will initially try non-solvent soap as suggested above and see how that turns out. If I am not happy I will graduate to wool or t-cut, heeding the advice you and others have given re fragments and residue.

[Silicon]

What little I know about cabinet finishes comes from trawling through old posts on this web site.

The main categories of original finishing (i.e, when first manufactured) seem to be:-
a. Laquer - this is a vague term.
b. French Polish. This coating should dissolve/soften if rubbed with meths.
c. Cellulose laquer.
d. Polyester coating.

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by brenellic2000

Before you use a sledge hammer to crack a nut, use an old, well tried and tested furniture maker's trick - a 'restorative'

Not wanting to pour cold water on your idea Barry, I used to that method for the first few sets that I restored in the 70s. I found that on sets where the nitrocellulose is crazed or cracked, the concoction you describe - or variants thereof - tends to search out the cracks and 'lift' the edges of the lacquer along the crack/craze line. So instead of the finish being essentially flat, it has these raised edges to the cracks. Just what I found myself.

[paulsherwin]

Practically all woodies of the 50s and 60s have a cellulose lacquer coating. This is impossible to match with commonly available materials in a domestic setting. The big decision is always whether to try to restore the original coating to as good a condition as possible or to strip it all off and start again. Any replacement finish won't look like the original but may have an appeal of its own.

I once refinished a Murphy U598 in very poor condition. The original cellulose finish is very dark, almost black, and with a mirror like surface. I stripped it all off and refinished it with dark liquid wax. I was very pleased with the result, but it doesn't look anything like the original finish.

[stevehertz]

Indeed Paul. I mean, you don't go refinishing a set that has erm, a "good finish", but otherwise you'll often find that a refinish will show off the 'rediscovered' grain to good effect as old nitrocellulose tends to go opaque with the effects of UV, dulling and masking the grain pattern. And old radios quite often have nice veneers, especially on the front.