[OldRestorer]

I have not worked on an easy cabinet in a long while so this one should be a 5 day restoration.

My question is, I have only seen these in white and I believe the finish is original so... Was white the only color or were some toned?

[OldRestorer]

Stripping away!

Bottom was very loose so it had to come off and will be re-glued.

[morzh]

White here is not likely an original.

It once was a beautiful radio and then some idiot got creative with a wall paintbrush and some oil paint. Was popular back then.

[Ron Ramirez]

No, Mike...White was indeed the original color.

Kirk, these were never toned originally...they were produced only in white...to match Philco refrigerators of the time. This is the reason the base is curved, to match the contour of the top of a Philco refrigerator.

And Kirk, what did you use to strip your cabinet? I tried my usual recipe of acetone and lacquer thinner on my 41-KR cabinet a couple years ago, and it would hardly touch the paint. I gave up and set the cabinet aside, and it's still waiting for me to get back to it.

[OldRestorer]

I used basic stripper from Home Depot. Send me yours and I'll do it.

Thanks for confirming that for me. Now I need a Philco fridge

Weird because the wood underneath is nice. Looks like walnut.

[morzh]

That's what I thought....too nice a wood, with nice grain pattern, to be painted white.
Wow...Philco did do that!

[Ron Ramirez]

Send me yours and I'll do it.

Thanks, that is very kind of you to offer - I may very well just take you up on that!

[Arran]

That's all I use to get paint off, paint and varnish remover, though sometimes it's difficult getting baked on enamel paint off of a Bakelite radio from the 1950s. With regard to the grain sometimes you run into a nice grain even in junk wood like poplar, if that's what they used, I doubt whether they would have wasted something like walnut on a cabinet they intended to paint but you never know. I would have thought that they would stick to a species of wood that is easy to cut and shape, maybe it's alder? I would be tempted to refinish it without the paint, even though it is not original, you can always paint over it at a later date.
Regards
Arran

[OldRestorer]

I am a stickler for original so it will be white. I got a real nice refrigerator enamel white spray paint for it. I tested it and it is very nice and very durable. I would have thought of toning but there is damage that will need filler. The wood is very hard so it is not pine.

Doesnt matter anyway. I really want a philco fridge now.
Problem is as always, the clock does not work. Out of 2 PT-69's, the 41-KR, and 2 41-22CL's, one clock works...

Grrr.

[tab10672]

Not sure about the 41 model but the 42 colour was more ivory, antique white than plain white. I have seen them painted white and it looks too bright compaired to the knobs and dials.

[OldRestorer]

This was definitely white to match the Philco fridge.
The paint under the cabinet was unfaded and was a bright glossy white.

Kirk

[tab10672]

I wonder if fridges of 42 were ivory? The 42 kr I have actually has a yellowish tint more so than plain ivory.

[Ron Ramirez]

The paint probably "aged" over time...also consider how many people smoked cigarettes "back in the day" and the deleterious effect that had upon everything...

[tab10672]

Im glad I found this out before refinishing it, like Kirk I want to be as original as possible. The reason I thought it was ivory is because after cleaning the knobs they were still the same colour as the paint.

[TA Forbes]

Recommend you consider white lacquer. You can work it and any clear coats much better than you can work enamel.