Pye Fenman II restoration

[Electrone]

I have a Pye Fenman II which was gift from a friend. I want to get this into a suitable condition for sale. I have carried out much electrical work on it and it is now in good working order. The cabinet is in very good condition apart from the top panel the surface of which has crazed. I would appreciate some advice from experienced cabinet restorers on how I should restore it
I was considering stripping it back to the bare wood, paint or stain it black then spray clear lacquer. Perhaps someone can suggest something less drastic?
I am attaching a photo but the crazing doesn't show up too well

[Orthicon]

Hi Electrone,
I also have a Fenman II and also a Fenman I, which both have the same symptoms as yours - crazed tops. These sets were made from the mid 1950's, and originally had a black (sometimes called ebony) piano gloss lacquer finish applied to the sides and tops.
It seems to be a very common problem to these sets, in that over the years the lacquer finish crazes - usually the top crazes more than the sides. I have a feeling it may in large part due to the heat generated by the valves over many years. In particular by the Fenman II which has eleven valves!
I would like to restore both at some time in the near future. I would also be interested in any replies from fellow members who have had experience in cabinet restoration on these sets. I have seen a few of these sets appear from time to time with restored cabinets, but always with the black lacquer finish removed, and restored with a 'plain' wooden finish instead.

Ian.

[bobbyball]

Some years ago I had one of these sets. The cabinet was in a similarly "distressed" state so I stripped it, stained it a sort of Rosewood colour and then French polished it, including the top. It looked superb. Sadly it got scrapped as the wavechange swictch failed, as they do! The black coating on the top hides nice patterns in the veneer and the cabinet should look fine all the same colour.

[Radio_Dave]

The top and sides are a very dark brown and not black. The the wood under the heavily brown coloured laquer is a red, possibly mahogany veneer.

David

[G6Tanuki]

Firstly you need to get the old lacquer off - then I'd suggest a very light sanding followed by a couple of applications of Danish Oil. This is available both in 'clear' and wood-staining varieties [the brand I recommend is Colron].

The nice thing about Danish oil is that it leaves a subdued, matt-ish finish rather than the slightly-harsher appearance of most modern lacquers/varnishes. I always think varnished, shiny radio cabinets look like cheap 1970s flat-pack furniture.

[David G4EBT]

Danish Oil is a good method of finishing which needs little skill and can be applied with a cotton cloth such as an old shirt or whatever. Danish oil doesn't just 'dry' - it goes through a chemical change, and further coats can be added, with a light buffing with 00000 wire wool between coats. It has a pleasing durable appearance when waxed with paste-wax or similar - not too glossy. There will be lots of pics on the forum of members sets finished in that way which look very attractive.

I can't imagine what got into the minds of Pye which led them to finish the sides and top of the cabinet in that ghastly black finish, but when you strip it off with Notromors or whatever, the veneer beneath it will clean up nicely, with no residual black stain. However, as with most veneers it is little more than 0.5mm thick so don't be tempted to use sandpaper on it - leastways not of a grade coarser than 240 - 360 grit or you'll soon sand away the veneer to the plywood beneath it.

When I restored my Fenman1 (given to me by a relative) I was going through a 'French polishing phase' - not really a good finish for a radio cabinet and not authentic either, given that most left the factory with a cellulose lacquer finish. I didn't take a pic of the sides or top when finished, but have attached a couple of pics of the cabinet as found and a front view when finished. (The veneer on the sides and top look very much like the front).

Were I doing it today, I'd use Danish oil in preference to French polish.

Hope that helps a bit.

As an aside, anyone attempting to strip down a Fenman should note that the knobs are brittle polystyrene with long flimsy shafts which as push on types. Any attempt to remove them from the front by pulling them off will invariably cause them to shatter into pieces. Much better to remove the whole chassis with the knobs and dial in place then you can attempt to gently prise off the knobs from behind the glass dial. I say 'attempt' because my such careful attempt was unsuccessful - to preserve the appearance of the set I ended up skimming the knob fronts on the underside on the lathe, then turning new clear acrylic shafts with a turned disc on the end to glue the knob front onto. I sleeved the new shafts with aluminium tubes so that grub screws could be used to fix the knobs without fear of braking the new shafts. A time consuming task for a set that value wise didn't warrant the effort, but it is a hobby after all and I enjoyed doing it.

(The Fenman II is I think considered a more superior set).

Good luck with the restoration!

[Electrone]

Many thanks to all those members who responded with advice

Dave G4EBT, you seem to think your Fenman 1 wasn't worth a lot. One recently went for £140 on ebay. I can't remember now if it still had the original black top and sides but it looked in superb condition

[Mike Phelan]

I think what David means is that though the FenMan I is a well made set and a fairly conventional superhet, the FM II is more like a typical European set with its four speakers and a nice output stage to drive them.

I've two of them here; one I restored (sounds lovely) and one I got at Golborne a few years ago with a better cabinet but not yet restored.

Agree with Danish Oil - I use it extensively. Liquid paraffin is also a good way to cover up blemishes.

[David G4EBT]

Originally Posted by Electrone

Dave G4EBT, you seem to think your Fenman 1 wasn't worth a lot. One recently went for £140 on ebay. I can't remember now if it still had the original black top and sides but it looked in superb condition

Oh well, it just goes to show how fickle the market is for vintage radios!

I've always had the impression that the Fenman 1 wasn't very highly regarded, but that the Fenman II was quite sought after. I've never seen a Fenman with decent black sides and top, and it seemed and odd thing for Pye to do, but I guess it must have had some market appeal at the time or presumably they wouldn't have done it! Personally, I found it offensive to the eye so I stripped it off. Had the underlying veneer not cleaned up well I would have re-veneered the top and sides, but as it was, being cellulose lacquer it hadn't soaked into the veneer to stain it black, and once cleaned up, the end result was quite pleasing.

I've attached a pic of the black paint being removed from the top with Nitromors to reveal the veneer.

[Radio_Dave]

I'm surprised everyone is calling it black paint? I have five Fenman II's and they have or have had a very dark brown lacquer on the sides and top.

The OP has said he wants to sell this radio. IMHO painting it black would discourage buyers (it would me!). I'm also a huge fan of Danish oil, but again because the OP wants to sell, I'd advise against it as Danish oil takes months to dry thoroughly and the smell to go away. Personally I would polish it with T-cut then wax and sell it as it is in original, unmolested, condition.

David

[mark pirate]

The Fenman 2 is the superior set, I restored mine earlier this year and it really is a superb performer thanks to push-pull output in to multiple speakers, so is the more desirable of the two.

The Fenman 1 is a much more basic set with only the one speaker, but is a nice radio nonetheless, My sad example has lost all it's knob brights and the cabinet needs refinishing, but it does still work (just)!

Mark

[Electrone]

David
I am thinking the same. I have already used T- Cut on the Black/Dark brown panels and they look much better already, the crazing is not noticeable unless one looks close up
There are a few small chips along the top front edge which I shall touch up with black paint

What is OP and IHMO?

Michael

[David G4EBT]

Originally Posted by Radio_Dave

I'm surprised everyone is calling it black paint? I have five Fenman II's and they have or have had a very dark brown lacquer on the sides and top.

I don't think anyone has referred to it as black 'paint' but black 'lacquer' David.

As to the colour, as I've stated, mine was a Fernman 1 so I can't comment on the colour of the Fenman II but mine was certainly black and the extent of the crazing and its odd appearance initially made me suspect that someone had done a not very good DIY paint job on it till I learnt that they were all like that from the factory. I guess that over the years, the deterioration will have been due to UV damage of the finish by exposure to sunlight for prolonged periods, as many sets will have been. There would have been no prospect of retrieving the finish on mine to an acceptable standard and I conceitedly consider that in removing the black lacquer and polishing the veneer in its natural state that I've rectified Pye's design aberration and improved the appearance of the set!

It sounds as though Michael has managed to fettle up his Fenman II to an acceptable standard to be able to offer it for sale without the hassle of drastic action.

(I know that the Fenman II sounds excellent, with its push-pull output stage and multiple speakers - I've seen and heard Mike Phelan's in use).

[Radio_Dave]

Originally Posted by Electrone

What is OP and IHMO?

Hi Michael,

OP = Original Poster (you) and IMHO = In my humble opinion

David

[Orthicon]

I pulled my Fenman II out this afternoon, the Top lacquer was in an extremely crazed finish. So much so, that it actually came all off very easily just using nothing more than my thumb fingernail!

The natural grain underneath is actually pretty attractive, which as others have stated, you have to wonder why Pye ever bothered with that black lacquer in the first place.

The sides although crazed are much more resilient, and will need a chemical stripper on them. Does anyone have a suggestion for any 'natural' based strippers (I'm not keen to use stuff like Nitromoors).

Ian.

[Radio_Dave]

That's interesting the veneer on the top is the same as the front. The two cabinets I had to strip had a mahogany type of veneer, which didn't match the front at all. I wonder if Pye were using up old stocks of wood and then covering up the differences with very dark, almost opaque lacquer?

David

[Nickthedentist]

I'm wondering why they bothered veneering the tops at all as the lacquer obscures the grain completely. Maybe it was less opaque when new?

Note that the veneer on the top of Ian's set does indeed match the front, but the grain isn't arranged symmetrically like it is on the front (sorry, I've forgotten the proper name for this technique), so to my eyes, it would never look quite right if left visible, however expertly it was re-finished.

Nick.

[Radio_Dave]

Hi Nick, None of these cabinets are veneered in the way you are thinking. The plywood has a veneer already on it before it is cut up and assembled.

David

[Nickthedentist]

Thanks David.

The fronts are though, aren't they, see here:
http://www.vintage-radio.com/images/...ye/fenman1.jpg

Nick.

[Radio_Dave]

Yes you're right, the front is book matched so the veneer must be applied to the front after the cabinet is assembled.

David