[John L]

Hi All, this is my first venture into antique radio restoration, so please bear with me if I am a bit slow on the uptake.

I have been looking for a radio in this series, from the 40-180, to the 42-380. I even think that there is one made in 1946, following the war, but can't find any documentation on it. Anyway, I fell in love with the rounded "juke-box" looks it offers. In this case concave curves along the lower speaker section really sets it apart from those radios just going straight across or even convex.

I plan to collect a total of two of these radios and restore the cabinets first, so as to use them as left and right speaker cabinets for the component tube gear I already own. By taking out the existing speakers, storing them away, and replacing with another baffle to hold a pair of Hawthorne Silver Irises, or something along that line, I should be able to create not only a great sounding tube experience, but a nice feeling of yesterday along with the music.

At present, this radio looks terrible, in that someone has spray painted it with black paint all around. Some of the paint is coming off, which means that it may not be such a difficult job cleaning off all the paint and old finish. Here is a picture.

[Image: http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/34369/...500Q85.jpg]

There are a few places where some veneer has come off, due to neglect, orhard knocks. However, it looks like none of it is as critical as if the veneer was, bookmatched, or something more complicated as being highly figured. The biggest missing piece can be seen here.

[Image: http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/7478/2...500Q85.jpg]

There are a few other places where a small piece of veneer is missing, but it should not be hard to match and set with some of my existing veneer. From the looks of things, the veneer that is off in the picture appears to be walnut, but I need to get off more to know for certain.

And here is the shot of the rear of the radio.

[Image: http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/18440/...500Q85.jpg]

Everything seems to be pretty much all there. The amplifier has not been ripped out, and even the antenna is in place. The face plate for the radio, and all the push buttons will have to be replaced, but I have a couple of places where I can pick them up.

That is pretty much it for now. In the Raleigh area, we are getting much needed rain, so when the sun comes out again, I will begin stripping the lovely black paint from the radio carcus.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to what I should use for a paint/finish remover? And will 3M scouring pads, or sheets, work for cleaning off the residue?

Oh, one other question. Are the amps in these units single ended? And what sort of power do they put out? I'm not really expecting very much, so the efficiency of the speaker must be very high.

Thanks, up front, for the help, as I go along. I think I will find rebuilding radios to be a rewarding experience.