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A couple of
days have passed and several more flatted coats have been
put on. Now the cabinet is rubbed down yet again and it's
time to touch in the grain on the little repairs with acrylic
paint. A mixture of Russet Brown and Sand Glow is used to
get the right tint. This technique is only used with acrylic-finished
cabinets. With cellulose, the touching-in is down either
with toner or sometimes with wood stain.
After this,
more clear flatted coats will follow - until about the middle
of next week.
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Not forgetting
of course to hide the veneer edges. These are sprayed with
paint after masking. They will merge in to the overall look
of the cabinet much better after this.
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On Monday
the flocking kit arrives. I ordered this because the Baird's
screen mask is finished in a flock finish and may well need
re-doing.
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By
Wednesday the cabinet is nearing completion. Only another
two or three coats are now needed. Towards the end, longer
and longer periods elapse between the coats, as the sinking
of the finish into the remaining grain pits slows... |
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It's
time to get started in earnest on the chassis. Before cleaning
down and physical restoration certain sub-assemblies must
be removed. First, the scan coils... |
Here's the
Line Output Transformer with its rectifier and EHT smoothing
capacitor. This is a crucial component which can't really
be replaced. It was therefore given a basic test before
work commenced.
This also
has to come off. It's most important this component is carefully
examined and cleaned, since it works under considerable
electrical stress.
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The
Focus Magnet will also have to come off. |
And
here's a first peek under the chassis to take a look at the
work in store.. |
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Removal of
the CRT heater transformer and the smoothing choke reveal
the original finish of the chassis which we will have to
get back to....
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This is actually
a quite easy chassis to disassemble. Here, the side reinforcment
spars come off..
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The next day
some progress has been made on the appearance of the chassis
and its time for the final coat to be applied to the cabinet
parts.
But some of
the minor parts, like the grille spars are already ready.
These are now T-cutted. This cuts back the finish to a smooth
shine and also, by softening the surface, relaxes any stresses
that can later accentuate imperfections.
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Final completion
of the cabinet now beckons. First, the hardened finish is
rubbed along the grain with ultra-fine 0000 wire wool. This
takes the place of T-cutting; it removes any remaining tiny
imperfections and leaves a piano-like finish. Throughout
the cabinet restoration, all spraying and polishing has
been carried out under oblique lighting, to give a better
view of what needs to be done...
The whole
cabinet will be subsequently polished (with car polish!)
giving a fine quality gloss that will require virtually
no further maintenance by the customer.
The techniques
used on radio cabinets are intended to reproduce the 'factory
finish'. They are quite unlike those used for restoring
antique furniture.
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The base sections
on which the chassis is withdrawn (for maintenance) are
now rubbed with waxoyl for a smoother sliding action !
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The castors
in the base are now oiled to ensure they will operate silently
in future, without any squeaks..
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Some of the
bits and pieces are physically restored. The speaker is
re-sprayed.
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One of the
chassis 'bits' scheduled to be serviced and refitted today
is the width potentiometer. The original, on the right,
is broken. This is a rather fragile wirewound pot of 500
ohms. It controls the HT to the line output anode.
The one on
the left is its replacement. This is of the same type but
is 300 ohms, so it will run cooler. In the unlikely event
of the width now being excessive, it can be padded out with
a series resistor. Like with all the pots, waxoyl is applied
to the track, for a longer noise-free life.
Just visible
off the top is the 'Amor All Protectant'. Available from
Halfords, this makes a great dressing for the plastic parts
and makes them appear like new..
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