Baird T5 restoration project.

[System A]

Hi David, what a superb job you're making of this restoration.
I'm throughly enjoying this thread.
Regards.
Gary

[mark pirate]

I am in awe at your cabinet skills David, Looking forward to see the finish go on!

Mark

[stevehertz]

This is a critical stage now as all that excellent woodwork needs to be topped with appropriate coloured lacquers and/or the use of stains beforehand. I once completely stripped a small Marconi radiogram. Once stripped, the various wood panels and edhe mouldings were different coloured woods. It was a hell of a game trying to get finishes to match up. I didn't quite achieve it! Best of luck David, I'm sure you're going to amaze us again.

[Panrock]

First, a big (and humble) "well done" for what David (DFWB) has achieved here. Not many would have taken this job on. Still fewer managed to obtain such a good result.

There are probably as many opinions on the subject of finishing as there are people here. As I've said before, I personally am opposed to the use of stains for tinting purposes. By the thirties and forties, coloured toning lacquers were the order of the day for the mass marketed radio industry, and using these again will be good for originality. Moreover, when using a spray gun, their density can be controlled by mixing with the filler/base coat. One advantage here is that you gain more grain pit filling, and another from using toner is that the colours of adjacent (different) sprayed panels will tend to converge.

I think David said he is going the French Polish route here, however. I'm sure the final result will be most impressive.

Steve

[FERNSEH]

Panrock wrote:
"There are probably as many opinions on the subject of finishing as there are people here. As I've said before, I personally am opposed to the use of stains for tinting purposes. By the thirties and forties, coloured toning lacquers were the order of the day for the mass marketed radio industry, and using these again will be good for originality. Moreover, when using a spray gun, their density can be controlled by mixing with the filler/base coat. One advantage here is that you gain more grain pit filling, and another from using toner is that the colours of adjacent (different) sprayed panels will tend to converge."

I think David said he is going the French Polish route here, however. I'm sure the final result will be most impressive.

Hi Steve,

rather than French polishing the completed cabinet I'm considering passing the final finishing to a local firm to have it spray painted just as it was done in 1937 when the set was made. A very dark lacquer was used for the original finish, the norm for those times. It's something to be discussed with the owner of the set.

DFWB.

[FERNSEH]

Originally Posted by stevehertz

This is a critical stage now as all that excellent woodwork needs to be topped with appropriate coloured lacquers and/or the use of stains beforehand. I once completely stripped a small Marconi radiogram. Once stripped, the various wood panels and edhe mouldings were different coloured woods. It was a hell of a game trying to get finishes to match up. I didn't quite achieve it! Best of luck David, I'm sure you're going to amaze us again.

Hi Steve,
on the previous page the picture of the almost completed cabinet clearly shows the different coloured woods used during the assembly. That's why I'm sure all those mass produced radios were always in a dark finish. Helps to hide some of the imperfections as well. How often have you seen that after stripping off the lacquered surfaces off old radios?

DFWB.

[Magpie66]

When we rescued this T5 it was full of woodworm and dust and was only held together by the veneer and varnish. Now look at it. A piece of history brought back to life. After we acquired this Television we were unsure what to do with it as it was in such a bad condition but thanks to feedback from various members on this forum we decided to have it renovated and so many people recommended David.
You have done a grand job and I don’t think we could have chosen a better person to complete the work.
Keep it up.
Ant and Tina

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by FERNSEH

Panrock wrote:
"There are probably as many opinions on the subject of finishing as there are people here. As I've said before, I personally am opposed to the use of stains for tinting purposes. By the thirties and forties, coloured toning lacquers were the order of the day for the mass marketed radio industry, and using these again will be good for originality. Moreover, when using a spray gun, their density can be controlled by mixing with the filler/base coat. One advantage here is that you gain more grain pit filling, and another from using toner is that the colours of adjacent (different) sprayed panels will tend to converge."
I think David said he is going the French Polish route here, however. I'm sure the final result will be most impressive.
Hi Steve,
rather than French polishing the completed cabinet I'm considering passing the final finishing to a local firm to have it spray painted just as it was done in 1937 when the set was made. A very dark lacquer was used for the original finish, the norm for those times.
It's something to be discussed with the owner of the set.

DFWB.

Definitely the way to go. Nonetheless, a lacquer - even a dark one - can only 'equalise' the colour of woods underneath to some extent. Personally I would consider using stains on the bare wood to 'help' the process prior to spraying, and that would also mean that you would not have to use such a dark lacquer. As I recall, the T5 was not finished in a dark colour, more of a medium brown.

The original lacquer would have been cellulose. Not sure if you're able to get someone to use that, but that's what it was.