I tried looking back through the forums but did not find an answer.....I am working on an RCA Radiola 66
year 1929, I needed to remove the filter pack to recap, anyway I moved a wire and the cloth covering "cracked" .....is there anything that I should have done to prevent this? Heat? Chemicals?
sometimes there is no avoiding moving a wire for some reason.....

Perhaps someone in here has an answer for this one, but I doubt it. After than many years, the cloth becomes rotted. All of its natural oils have gone years ago. Furthermore, many cloth insulated wires are varnished. Though this improves the insulating quality of the cloth, the varnish loses its elasticity long before the cloth does, and the stiff varnish makes the cloth very brittle. Usually wires that are insulated just with cloth--cloth that is not impregnated with varnish, stay quite flexible for years, but sometimes in the right situation the cloth will badly deteriorate all by itself. You could try soaking wires that you wish to save, that you know are varnished, with acetone. A hair dryer would possibly soften the varnish, but it would likely melt the wax and such off of nearby components. Of course you should never even think of using acetone and a hair dryer together, or you will have an explosion. Try the acetone all by itself, away from fire, and do not get it on any other components or knobs or parts.

Antique Electronic Supply, www.tubesandmore.com, sometimes referred to here as AES, sells a large variety of cloth covered stranded 20 gauge wire in all of the basic colors as well as black, brown, and white. The cloth is over a plastic insulation, which is over the wire. It looks decent enough to be pleasing. It is not the exact same thing as what your set originally had, but as I said, it's quite pleasing. Another thing they sell is push-back wire. This really awesome wire is a small gauge solid wire with a cloth covering over it. The cloth can simply be pushed back to expose the wire, and then slid back into place. It looks great, was used a lot in old radios, and closely resembles many wires used in old radios. It should not be used for voltages above say 400 or 500. I have a Heathkit 02 oscilloscope, produced in about 1947 or 1948, and amazingly someone used push-back wire in the 1000 volt section. This makes me cringe, because the cloth is thin and there is no plastic or rubber beneath. If moisture levels in the air get too high and there is any dust on this wire, it can start to arc, which it has. I have not gotten around to replacing it. For most radios and amplifiers, though, the wire is just fine. AES sells black as well as red and green. Not sure how long they will have the colors, but they seem to always have black. If you purchase the black and wish to have a color, you may bleach a piece of wire for a given application. Neutralize the bleach with amonia once the wire has been lightened enough. Rinse the cloth well. Then, after the cloth is dried (you can use a 200 degree oven to hasten this process), you may dye the cloth any color you wish either by using colored permanent markers or food coloring. Food coloring is not water proof. Try not to get your radio wet (good idea, right?). If you coat the wire with wax, the color will be sealed in, though this will give the wire a different look. You could also varnish the cloth. Experiment and see what you like. Whatever looks good to you and gets the job done is what you need to do. Once you get the general idea, you may bleach and color the wire in batches.

T.D.

:Perhaps someone in here has an answer for this one, but I doubt it. After than many years, the cloth becomes rotted. All of its natural oils have gone years ago. Furthermore, many cloth insulated wires are varnished. Though this improves the insulating quality of the cloth, the varnish loses its elasticity long before the cloth does, and the stiff varnish makes the cloth very brittle. Usually wires that are insulated just with cloth--cloth that is not impregnated with varnish, stay quite flexible for years, but sometimes in the right situation the cloth will badly deteriorate all by itself. You could try soaking wires that you wish to save, that you know are varnished, with acetone. A hair dryer would possibly soften the varnish, but it would likely melt the wax and such off of nearby components. Of course you should never even think of using acetone and a hair dryer together, or you will have an explosion. Try the acetone all by itself, away from fire, and do not get it on any other components or knobs or parts.
:
:Antique Electronic Supply, www.tubesandmore.com, sometimes referred to here as AES, sells a large variety of cloth covered stranded 20 gauge wire in all of the basic colors as well as black, brown, and white. The cloth is over a plastic insulation, which is over the wire. It looks decent enough to be pleasing. It is not the exact same thing as what your set originally had, but as I said, it's quite pleasing. Another thing they sell is push-back wire. This really awesome wire is a small gauge solid wire with a cloth covering over it. The cloth can simply be pushed back to expose the wire, and then slid back into place. It looks great, was used a lot in old radios, and closely resembles many wires used in old radios. It should not be used for voltages above say 400 or 500. I have a Heathkit 02 oscilloscope, produced in about 1947 or 1948, and amazingly someone used push-back wire in the 1000 volt section. This makes me cringe, because the cloth is thin and there is no plastic or rubber beneath. If moisture levels in the air get too high and there is any dust on this wire, it can start to arc, which it has. I have not gotten around to replacing it. For most radios and amplifiers, though, the wire is just fine. AES sells black as well as red and green. Not sure how long they will have the colors, but they seem to always have black. If you purchase the black and wish to have a color, you may bleach a piece of wire for a given application. Neutralize the bleach with amonia once the wire has been lightened enough. Rinse the cloth well. Then, after the cloth is dried (you can use a 200 degree oven to hasten this process), you may dye the cloth any color you wish either by using colored permanent markers or food coloring. Food coloring is not water proof. Try not to get your radio wet (good idea, right?). If you coat the wire with wax, the color will be sealed in, though this will give the wire a different look. You could also varnish the cloth. Experiment and see what you like. Whatever looks good to you and gets the job done is what you need to do. Once you get the general idea, you may bleach and color the wire in batches.
:
:T.D.

Thanks for the help ! I beleive that I have varish impregnated wire..... I will try a little acetone in a small area and see what happens..... You are absolutely correct about the cloth covered wire from AES.... I have been tinkering with this hobby for some time now.... bought every color cloth covered wire they had years ago, still have a lot left ! I think then they offered 8 or 10 colors !

Thanks again !