Restoring a Marconi TARG39A Cabinet

[mushibu10]

Hello,

I am repairing/renewing the G.Marconi TARG39A RadioGram, the cabinet is in a bad state, i beleive it's been sat in a shed like place.

the top is scratched like mad it's scuffed too, and signs of woodworm (will upload more images later)

I have been looking into stripping the old finish, (it's shellac I think (it doesn't go molten but sticky toffee when heated) I have come across a brand in wilko that says it removes, wax, varnish/paint and shellac finishes from wood, the same brand also had a danish oil and french polish as well as wax finish. I know the wood is plywood (thick multi layers with a thin veneer of an imitated wood) is it safe to strip old part and renew?
I have read the artical on cabinet renewing and it's a long long process

what could you recommend?

[brenellic2000]

Like all restoration projects it is often cheaper to build a new cabinet afresh!

However, a decent paint stripper such as Nitromors will get you back to the base veneer so that you can fill in the scratches and woodworm flight holes before restaining and revarnishing. BUT whatever you do, test the paint stripper on a small inconspicuous area first. Depending on product/brand it needs to be removed and neutralised usually with water or meths.

It is a long, tiresome and messy process with the final finish depending entirely on how well you have prepared the surface - indeed it will make more obvious any poor preparation!

Enjoy!!

[Nickthedentist]

Looking at it another way, you have a low-value item there so unless you like a challenge and have plenty of spare time on your hands, a quicker approach might be valid.

(1) Flood the flight holes and inside with woodworm killer, fill flight holes with wax or coloured wood filler.

(2) Clean cabinet with white spirit.

(3) Touch-up the worst of the scratches with scratch cover or wood stain.

(4) Smarten-up the dull finish with a few coats of Danish oil.

Good luck,

Nick.

[mushibu10]

I dont' know how to wood work 9but i/m sure it's fairly easy)

THank you both.

the small part it would be tested on is the very back bottom corner (the back panel is pained brown without the same finish)

What wood worm killer/suppressor would you say?

Wax? pure bees wax or something with a 'conditioner' (hardware store tried to sell me things that seems to be way more advance than i needed.)

white spirit is the Turpentine(pain thinner/brush cleaner?)

the scratches are what have removed the original finish

the last image; the small part that is bare i spent three hours sanding.

the gramophone deck, is cast metal should i clean it with turps, and also polish with wax? or just clean? (looks like it was 'glittery' spray painted)

Thank you both

[HamishBoxer]

Rentokill is as good as any worm killer.

[mushibu10]

thank you!

[brenellic2000]

Cabinet-making is not 'easy' - it is a skill - as many 'home made' cabinets and DIY jobs attest from a mile away!

1: Woodworm killer is an insecticide, usually a nerve agent, so handle with care in a well ventilated room. It is carried into the first layer of cells by a vehicle, usually alcohol, leaving a thin deposit, but sufficient for your needs. Woodworm holes are flight-holes, they've emerged and flown off; so treating holes rarely achieves much unless there is recent activity evident from recent gritty dust - they usally emerge May to June and soon after lay new eggs. You rarely get woodworm in bone dry timber - they rely on damp. Its a complex business and a lot of rubbish is spouted on the subject!

2: Furniture makers/polishers use pure beeswax melted in pure turpentine. Beeswax dries very hard. Tins of prepared beeswax are similar but use toluene (such as Briwax) as the vehicle which evaporates off. The thickness of the beeswax left behind is microscopic.
Your hardware store's "conditioner" sounds complete cobblers! There is a "polish reviver" which is an equal mix of turpentine, meths, ammonia, white vinegar and raw linseed oil which is an excellent treatment to freshen up and thoroughly clean traditionally finished polished, but much neglegted furniture such as antiques, but it serves no purpose on mass-produced Melamine finished veneered cabinets! It pongs a bit but can be made in the kitchen - divorce pending!

3: Turpentine is NOT white spirit; Turpentine Substitute IS White spirit. Turpentine is a natural product from wood resins and is primarily used with linseed oil and beeswax... and antiseptics. Use white spirit for modern man-made paints etc. Turpentine is very expensive.

4: Most veneers are less than 0.5mm thick so scratches can rarely be repaired - they need to filled-in with wax or if deep, a cellulose filler. DON'T use a sander - you'll remove the veneer in seconds! Use 240 grit garnet paper gently by hand to dress any edges.

5: Painted metal decks can be cleaned using methylated spirits but DON'T use meths on gold sized transfers as it will remove the transfer. Turnpentine is of no use here, and will merely leave a thin resinous deposit.

Barry

[mushibu10]

wow, that's very informative; thank you!

I just gave the cabinet a wipe with white spirit, it have made it look clean and dull! but it does need to made to look 'shiny and new'

I'll be getting the stuff tomorrow. so briwax is just to help spread the bees wax in the product.

no divorce for me. not married but I have corpse and voodoo lily flowering plants I reckon they smell worse! haha

where the deep scratches are and the lid 'ssanding' when I wiped it with the white spirit it made it look as though the veneer was still intact and just needed polishing. if that makes sense?

and by dress edges you mean smoothing/rounding

I gave the hinge a quick sanding to remove the rust would the hinge be steel or brass plated steel? as it looks like a brass/copper colour, but that could be the rust still.

I have a few brass instruments and I have valve oil, they instruments can only work with non bitty/grainy oils, would it be safe to use this to lubricant the hinge?

and thank you your advice was most helpful.

leo

[Michael.N.]

Easiest way to get rid of common woodworm is to store the item in a relatively dry room. They aren't very happy living in dry wood. Every single time I've come across the common furniture beetle (Anobium Punctatum) it has been due to damp conditions - joists in damp cellars, under leaking baths, furniture in damp rooms, skirting boards on damp walls etc.
My workshop (wood) is in a fairly dry attic space. As dry as it needs to be. I once stored some very expensive Violin wood for a friend who had emigrated. Not long after, in the Spring, I started to see little bugs landing on the white painted walls of the workshop. Within a few days they were everywhere. I soon found out that they were emerging from the wood that I had stored for my friend. They were popping out for fun, I could quite literally watch them emerge in real time.
He later admitted that the wood had previously been stored in damp conditions. He lost well over a thousand pounds worth of prime figured maple (they love Maple).
My wood, stored in the very same place, was untouched. 10 years later I haven't seen one shred of evidence that my wood was infected. Not only that but what we salvaged of my friends wood hasn't shown any further sign of activity, all the original flight holes were pencil marked.
It is quite obvious that they much prefer wood that has a higher moisture content than commonly occurs in your typical modern dry house. Avoid placing any wood items of value in damp rooms or cellars. Move infected wooden objects to the driest room you can find - usually above ground level. Anything that subsequently emerges will fly off to seek better pastures. Believe me, better pastures are not dry rooms.

[brenellic2000]

Micheal is spot on about 'woodworm' loving damp environments - it makes cellulose and the sugary saps edible! Fungicides and insecticides (ie: wood preservatives) are best applied when the timber's moisture content is higher than air-dry (20%MC+) as it is then absorbed deeper into the outer layer of cells by osmosis. When applying to furniture in a dry house (typically 9%MC) no osmotic action takes place and it remains a merely decorative surface coating! Dampness is best cured by good airflow and sweeping up dust/debris in corners, as that is where the beetles love to lay eggs!

But no amount of forward planning will completely prevent woodworm - its a fact of life - ain't nature wonderful!! Running a sawmill, and converting and seasoning timber ye olde fashioned way, woodworm (and the ginormous sawfly) is almost guaranteed to manifest itself in the most perfect piece of timber, rendering it worthless!!

Back to Leo: White spirit will help clean a surface and remove some grease and old wax but the 'sheen' (high gloss or oiled/semi-matt) depends entirely on whether the grain is smooth or 'rutted'. No matter how much wax or Briwax you apply will give you high gloss unless you start with a perfectly smooth, filled, mirror finish. The easiest way to get that to apply coats of sanding sealer (essentially a shellac) rub it down when fully dry with 240 or finer garnet paper and finally polish off with No. 0000 furniture grade wire wool dipped in Briwax and rubbed-in along the grain. Its a step closer to a proper French polished finish and far superior to the Danish Oil dodge.

Very few commerically made cabinets for 'domestic users' use solid brass fittings - they will invariably be electroplated brass, so be very careful with the sandpaper as they are not easily and economically replated. Today's substitutes, unless you can get the proper Cheney fittings, are poor substitutes.

Enjoy!

[mushibu10]

hello,

thank you both, I have it in my main room and I'm on 1st floor of building. it's away from plants (so no accidental spill/slashes on it.
the hinge, it was more rust I sort of 'cidit banged' it and it sort of worked but sanding was better! what about my valve oil would it be safe to use?

the polish, I will do when then the radio works, but thank you. it's been a great help.

and I have a violin so let's hope nothing more appears. thank you