03-26-2013, 08:15 PM
Hi Art,
I used a very light coat just to give the cloth some color again, so there's no problem with the dried paint restricting the sound at all. In fact, with age the cloth becomes so paper thin and brittle that the (equally thin) coat of paint actually helps give it some rigidity again. Since that V pattern grill cloth is virtually impossible to find, based on what I found, I'd say definitely give the spray painting a shot. I did the same thing on my 1938 Silvertone console (see the pics in my post in the Non-Philco radio section). It can't hurt and at least you'll be able to salvage a large piece of rare fabric! You might just be surprised at the results, as I was. Because of the dark staining on your cloth, you may have to give it several light coats, letting it dry in between coats, to get the paint to cover the darkest parts of the stain. Keep us posted!
I used a very light coat just to give the cloth some color again, so there's no problem with the dried paint restricting the sound at all. In fact, with age the cloth becomes so paper thin and brittle that the (equally thin) coat of paint actually helps give it some rigidity again. Since that V pattern grill cloth is virtually impossible to find, based on what I found, I'd say definitely give the spray painting a shot. I did the same thing on my 1938 Silvertone console (see the pics in my post in the Non-Philco radio section). It can't hurt and at least you'll be able to salvage a large piece of rare fabric! You might just be surprised at the results, as I was. Because of the dark staining on your cloth, you may have to give it several light coats, letting it dry in between coats, to get the paint to cover the darkest parts of the stain. Keep us posted!
Greg V.
West Bend, WI
Member WARCI.org
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