Hello All,

Anyone have a method for cleaning the plastic
(?) dials of the 30's without harming the ink? Talking
about Philco, AK, American Bosch, etc.

:Hello All,
:
: Anyone have a method for cleaning the plastic
:(?) dials of the 30's without harming the ink? Talking
:about Philco, AK, American Bosch, etc.
:BE VERY CAREFUL about what you put on the plastic/glass dial!!!!!!!! I used some alcohol(extremely lightness) & erased the low end a tiny bit. How I corrected mine was to use a MICRON pen available at drafting stores or art supply stores. This type of pen IS NOT a water color. It is a type of ink that DOES NOT bleed through ordinary paper too well. It's more like a "stay on the surface ink". If in doubt use a thin rag & dampen the rag VERY LIGHTLY with your tongue & test first. Or you could use a Q-TIP instead of a rag & clean AROUND the letters/numbers ONLY. If water DOES NOT remove any letter/number Please don't go any farther. Don't make the same mistake that I did. Luckily only the tiny lines & dots got erased. The numbers are still good! How I made the curved lines was to use a FRENCH curve by checking the opposite end of the dial & made small scratch marks with an X-acto knife at each end of the curved lines & then moved to the bad end. This pen is hard to find. When you go to a drafting/art material store ask for the MICRON pen. They have different width tips & colors. The ink is called archival ink. I did a PHILCO for a friend & he was VERY pleased with the outcome. NOW here's another trick. If you go to a drafting/art store ask to see if they have a sheet of LETRA-SET or LETTER-SET paper. The paper is laid down on the area & then rubbed with a small hard tip to release the info from the paper to the surface. I have used this many times WHEN it was available & has saved me many a hour trying to ink in.

:Hello,
I don't remember were I read it (Philco Phorum maybe)Someone recommended using mineral spirits. I tried it and it works great, even on ink that water would remove.Give it a try.
Paul

:Hello All,
::
:: Anyone have a method for cleaning the plastic
::(?) dials of the 30's without harming the ink? Talking
::about Philco, AK, American Bosch, etc.
::BE VERY CAREFUL about what you put on the plastic/glass dial!!!!!!!! I used some alcohol(extremely lightness) & erased the low end a tiny bit. How I corrected mine was to use a MICRON pen available at drafting stores or art supply stores. This type of pen IS NOT a water color. It is a type of ink that DOES NOT bleed through ordinary paper too well. It's more like a "stay on the surface ink". If in doubt use a thin rag & dampen the rag VERY LIGHTLY with your tongue & test first. Or you could use a Q-TIP instead of a rag & clean AROUND the letters/numbers ONLY. If water DOES NOT remove any letter/number Please don't go any farther. Don't make the same mistake that I did. Luckily only the tiny lines & dots got erased. The numbers are still good! How I made the curved lines was to use a FRENCH curve by checking the opposite end of the dial & made small scratch marks with an X-acto knife at each end of the curved lines & then moved to the bad end. This pen is hard to find. When you go to a drafting/art material store ask for the MICRON pen. They have different width tips & colors. The ink is called archival ink. I did a PHILCO for a friend & he was VERY pleased with the outcome. NOW here's another trick. If you go to a drafting/art store ask to see if they have a sheet of LETRA-SET or LETTER-SET paper. The paper is laid down on the area & then rubbed with a small hard tip to release the info from the paper to the surface. I have used this many times WHEN it was available & has saved me many a hour trying to ink in.
:
:

I've always used Formula 409 for this on plastic dials, Windex on reverse-silkscreened glass dials. Best to test an unseen portion of the dial printing for resistance to the cleaner before jumping in with both feet, though.

One problem with celluloid dials is that their base material seems to darken with age and this darkening is internal to the plastic so that it can't be cleaned off by any means.

:I've always used Formula 409 for this on plastic dials, Windex on reverse-silkscreened glass dials. Best to test an unseen portion of the dial printing for resistance to the cleaner before jumping in with both feet, though.
:
:One problem with celluloid dials is that their base material seems to darken with age and this darkening is internal to the plastic so that it can't be cleaned off by any means.
:

Thanks for the advice, guys. Wanted to get the experts' opinions before I do anything. Isnt there a
firm that duplicates these dial scales?

::I've always used Formula 409 for this on plastic dials, Windex on reverse-silkscreened glass dials. Best to test an unseen portion of the dial printing for resistance to the cleaner before jumping in with both feet, though.
::
::One problem with celluloid dials is that their base material seems to darken with age and this darkening is internal to the plastic so that it can't be cleaned off by any means.
::
:
:
:
:Thanks for the advice, guys. Wanted to get the experts' opinions before I do anything. Isnt there a
:firm that duplicates these dial scales?
: YES THERE IS! Go to nostalgia air, go to links,go to the PHILCO repair bench, go to resource links at the top of the page then follow down & you will see a lot of parts for old PHILCO,ZENITH,ATWATER-KENT & others. These are all duplicate parts for ALL the old radios. There will be MARKS "get a hold of info".I hope this will help you.

:::I've always used Formula 409 for this on plastic dials, Windex on reverse-silkscreened glass dials. Best to test an unseen portion of the dial printing for resistance to the cleaner before jumping in with both feet, though.
:::
:::One problem with celluloid dials is that their base material seems to darken with age and this darkening is internal to the plastic so that it can't be cleaned off by any means.
:::
::
::
::
::Thanks for the advice, guys. Wanted to get the experts' opinions before I do anything. Isnt there a
::firm that duplicates these dial scales?
:: YES THERE IS! Go to nostalgia air, go to links,go to the PHILCO repair bench, go to resource links at the top of the page then follow down & you will see a lot of parts for old PHILCO,ZENITH,ATWATER-KENT & others. These are all duplicate parts for ALL the old radios. There will be MARKS "get a hold of info".I hope this will help you.

thanks AUSTIN
:
: