I am attempting to restore/refurbush several Philco radios for what I hope to be Christmas gifts. I am having the electronics professionally restored by others [while I still learn the proper techniques of recapping etc myself], but I am going to attempt the restoration of the cosmetic end of the radios.
I have several 42-PT95's which are being restored and most suffer from the same problem, that is warping of the plastic grills. See the attached pictures which represent two different radios.
A) Does anyone manufacture reproduction grills for these radios, as this seems to be a common problem.
B) Assuming I can straighten the grills, is there a technique for cleaning the plastic to bring back some of the shine ?
I also own a 42-PT94 which I purchased 4 or 5 years ago, which again I had electronically restored by a professional radio service. This is my own personal radio which I use every day at work. This radio must have suffered from the same fate as the PT95's that I currently have. Some unknown person it looks like created a wood frame to replace the plastic grill. I have seen this technique done on other PT94's and 95's.
C) Does any one know of a source for this type of grill "replacement".
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this topic.
(This post was last modified: 09-11-2012, 01:06 PM by winkydink.)
A) No, no one reproduces this escutcheon, and most likely, no one ever will. It's a shame, but it's a fact.
A few years ago, I tried to get one of the people who make reproduction parts interested in making reproductions of these. I even offered them the use of a grille from a 47-204 I bought just for the purpose, so one of them could make a mold from it. Both declined.
B) If you can straighten one of these things, good luck to you...because, for the most part, these escutcheons cannot be easily straightened.
C) The homemade wooden escutcheon in your third photo is probably your only viable alternative.
The original escutcheons of this type on 1941 and 1942 Philco sets were made of Tenite, a notoriously bad type of plastic that shrinks and warps over time. The identical escutcheon used on the 47-204 (ivory only) was made of an improved plastic that has withstood the test of time.
I have a 41-226C "Sled" that is in pretty good shape, save for the warped escutcheon (same style of escutcheon). It will just have to remain warped, unfortunately.
It's too bad...but no one wants to make these...and don't ask me, I don't have time to go into the plastics business, nor the $$$$ to invest.
To me, your grills don't look too bad. If you want to try to straighten them, use a heat gun or hot air torch. Heat the back side of the grill up just enough to move the bars back into alignment with a flat tip screwdriver. Do each bar one at a time, then let it cool off a bit before starting on the next one. Move the heat gun around so the plastic doesn't get too hot. If it bubbles, smokes or starts to char, it's too hot. The heat may discolor the plastic, so it may need a coat of paint afterwards. If it doesn't discolor, then use Novis scratch remover followed by plastic cleaner to bring back the shine.
Any ideas on how to get the grill off the radio. I don't want to break it by forcing it off , so I am looking for a little guidance with regard to this .
thx.
Oh - and you say possibly touch it up with paint. What kind (brand and type would be helpful). I have Novus scratch remover (#2) from my work with rotary phones. What plastic cleaner would you recommend. Thanks again.
(This post was last modified: 09-11-2012, 09:53 PM by winkydink.)
The escutcheon on the 47-204 is held in place by some type of clips. I do not remember exactly what they look like, and my 47-204 escutcheon is put away somewhere.
I did just look at my 41-221 (same escutcheon), and it appears to have mounting pegs similar to the 47-204 escutcheon which go through the cabinet - only these are hidden by the grille cloth and cardboard backing on the speaker side. I did not pull the chassis to look on the dial side.
I suspect if you removed the grille cloth and backing which is stapled inside of your 42-PT95 cabinet, covering the inner grille portion of the escutcheon, that you will see the mounting pegs and the clips.
Thanks. When I saw the staples on the cardboard, I thought that this was a "hack" repair, not done in the factory. I will attempt to remove the cardboard and grill cloth to get at the grill.
I am assuming that the best (and possibly safest) way to clean the grill and straighten out the slats would be with it detatched from the wood body.
Winkydink, I know this is a bit old of a post but your grill is actually better than many I have seen. Cleaning and repainting should do just fine. Messing with the grill structure with heat or anything else I think is futile and will probably result in more damage than correction. Let us know if it worked. With good exemplars of nice ones, it would seem fairly simple to make more. Not a money making proposition but should be simple. A plaster mold of the original made up by pushing the original down into it. Remove and cast a new one of a resin. Paint and away you go. You could reuse the mold to make many. Would be fun to try.
So Jerry How did you make out with making the mold for this escutcheon???
For that matter has anyone given it a try?? This could be the way you could make your first million$$$
Terry
ps I picked up this little 42-854 at Ktown. Nice set as it cover a good section of SW 6-16 MC. It's too bad the grille looks terrible. I think this is the only portable I have that has any SW coverage. Want to get the old gal working to hear how well it preforms.
(This post was last modified: 10-14-2013, 10:22 AM by Radioroslyn.)
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