Hey, everybody!
I just got a 1936 Philco 54 S that looks like it's been in an attic for 50 years. The chassis is in excellent condition but, just before it was put away, someone painted the cabinet a "lovely" turquoise. (Probably to accent their orange kitchen appliances!) Has anyone come up with a method to remove paint from sets without destroying the photo-finish?

:Hey, everybody!
:I just got a 1936 Philco 54 S that looks like it's been in an attic for 50 years. The chassis is in excellent condition but, just before it was put away, someone painted the cabinet a "lovely" turquoise. (Probably to accent their orange kitchen appliances!) Has anyone come up with a method to remove paint from sets without destroying the photo-finish?
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Don't know of a way to do it. Is the photo finish exposed or is it covered up. If it is covered up it was probably toast before the paint job. You can always strip it and see what happens, I know on Zeniths it hasn't damaged the design but then again it is probably veneer. You can always us white paper with dark to black simulated wood grain on it and glue it to the wood and when dry stain it and laquer it. I've simulated photo finishes with a ivory base color and then come back with different shades of toners and different cute sponges to make a grain. Then lacquer it my'n came out really nice. Good Luck, George T

Has anyone come up with a method to remove paint from sets without destroying the photo-finish?

I don't think it's possible. The photofinish is just an ink (paint) pattern on a decal, paper, or celluloid substrate, so whatever you use to strip off the outer paint will probably remove or disfigure the woodgrain design, too. Some plastic-compatible strippers are now available, but I suspect that they would not work any better than MEK when it comes to protecting photofinishes.

The old photofinishes had low durability and tended to peel or flake off, and were very susceptible to sustaining ugly damage (more so than real veneer) from scrapes and gouges. So, the reason it was probably painted in the first place was to cover the deteriorated condition of the photofinish.

If it were me, I think that I would just strip the thing, make whatever surface repairs were needed, then bond paper-backed genuine wood veneer to the set where the photofinish originally was applied. You can obtain this sort of veneer at some big-box home-improvement stores, but it is also available via various eBay vendors in interesting grain patterns. I bond it using 3M "77" spray contact adhesive and use a hard-rubber laminate-surface roller after applying it to ensure that it lies flat.

I was able to strip one in a similar siituation and used toner lacquer to give it at least a wood coloured look.

: Has anyone come up with a method to remove paint from sets without destroying the photo-finish?
:
:
:
:I don't think it's possible. The photofinish is just an ink (paint) pattern on a decal, paper, or celluloid substrate, so whatever you use to strip off the outer paint will probably remove or disfigure the woodgrain design, too. Some plastic-compatible strippers are now available, but I suspect that they would not work any better than MEK when it comes to protecting photofinishes.
:
:The old photofinishes had low durability and tended to peel or flake off, and were very susceptible to sustaining ugly damage (more so than real veneer) from scrapes and gouges. So, the reason it was probably painted in the first place was to cover the deteriorated condition of the photofinish.
:
:If it were me, I think that I would just strip the thing, make whatever surface repairs were needed, then bond paper-backed genuine wood veneer to the set where the photofinish originally was applied. You can obtain this sort of veneer at some big-box home-improvement stores, but it is also available via various eBay vendors in interesting grain patterns. I bond it using 3M "77" spray contact adhesive and use a hard-rubber laminate-surface roller after applying it to ensure that it lies flat.
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Robin: Like the others have said, the original finish was probably in bad shape before it was painted. However, this means that you have nothing to lose in attempting to refinish it. Maybe trying some non-chemical methods (heat gun? sanding?) and see what happens. I think that any stripper that removes the pain will also take off the lacquer and thus damage any paper decals. It's a small cabinet, so have fun giving it a shot and maybe learning something about how to salvage badly damaged radios. Mark from Kalamazoo

Thanks everybody.
I'll try the heat gun first, Mark, then if that doesn't work I'll go to the standard CitriStrip. I'll try to see if my sister, who is not artistically challenged like me, can work something out!

:Thanks everybody.
:I'll try the heat gun first, Mark, then if that doesn't work I'll go to the standard CitriStrip. I'll try to see if my sister, who is not artistically challenged like me, can work something out!
:

Yes, I would try to blister the paint so it lets go of the original lacquer finish. With luck, that paint will be an inferior product maybe even water-based and you could be surprised to find it peeling off. I would use plastic scrapers and go reallly slow.

Robin: When you get it done, please post a pic so we can see. Anything will look better than that paint job it has currently. Mark from Kalamazoo

Might be fun to try to refinish it with modern day wood grain contact paper. There are some interesting designs out there including some fancy burl wood patterns. After all, the contact paper is pretty much a photo finish itself. It takes clear gloss lacquer quite well. If you don't like the results you can peel it off and start over! You will need a steady hand to trim around the edge with an exacto.

Old article, but interesting results.
Terry F

http://www.radioatticarchives.com/features/schooley_photo-finish.htm