[Bob Andersen]

Sure, the aerosol rattle cans work fine once you get the hang of it. I think most of us use Mohawk toner lacquer. I've used Deft, Mohawk and Watco clear lacquers with good results. I really like the adjustable fan spray nozzle Deft has, but they all get the job done.

[Marsupial]

I just purchased Watco clear lacquer satin spray. That we have in Canada.

What we don't have is Mohawk toners. We have Varathan and Minwax.

So I got special walnut (that's their "medium" colored walnut) and dark walnut - both Minwax wood finish. There isn't anything identified as "toner" and this seems to fit the bill, it says "penetrates, stains & seals" <-- is it any good for my needs?

I also got birch preglued tenderized wood veneer. Is that any good?

[Marsupial]

... I got birch, I guess what I needed was walnut.

[Arran]

They have Mohawk toners in Canada, go look up their website and see if they have a local dealer, Mohawk products are not sold through large retail chains like Canadian Tire or Home Hardware. Deft also manufactures shading lacquer but I don't know who sells it in Canada. Also don't use satin lacquer, use gloss lacquer, satin lacquer looks wrong and is too soft, you can make gloss into semi gloss or satin by rubbing it out afterward. I have a C.G.E cathedral that someone refinished with semi gloss and it's full of scuff marks now.
Regards
Arran

[Marsupial]

Aran, I went directly to Mohawk's webbsite and clicked "where to buy"

...

they have nothing else than US selling spot. there are people who import it from the states to Canada, the trick is to find them. I have found one guy in Montreal who might have Tone Finish is that the same as the toning lacquer? What would I do for the toner itself? they don't seem to have toners.


regardless, would the Minwax products work?

[Marsupial]

Meh, I'd need another place. The guy is open "on appointment" and not during week-ends. On the other hand, he seems to have both toners and toning lacquers I am looking for.


I think I'll just use the minwax products.

[Marsupial]

I went back to the store and changed the satin lacquer for glossy lacquer.

However, they don't have walnut veneer. They have maple, oak, pine and birch. The cut isn't mentionned. Would it be OK to use birchwood on the shoulder tops?

[Marsupial]

Ron, you might be right about perfect brown for the grill bars; they aren't all that dark, but stripping them brings them paler for sure.

In addition to the escutcheon, the trim, and the whole side that leads to the shoulders, seems to be darker.
That colour seems harder to strip out.

Here's the current progress. I stopped as I am out of steel wool. I think I was using 000,

   

[Marsupial]

I had issues with the toner, so I ended up using the dark toner to cover up issues (fighting against time, weather getting colder, etc)
I still needed the cabinet to be in OK shape for winter, and the chassis back in the radio to prevent undesired damage, so I figured wrong coloration was better than nothing.
Being that I had spakle issues followed by mispatched corrections and then blushing, I think it turned out OK:
   

This week I received my new (corrected) decals. I figured I have enough to give it a try (Radio Daze makes very good decals, I recommend, easy to work with) without fear of not having what I need when I do re-refinish the cabinet.
The radio deally looks better with its company identification...
   

I was tempted to use the knob identification decals as well (they have two of each of them) but I figure if I make it too good, I won't have any incentives to re-refinish it in spring.

When I purchased the caps, I also got circular felt thingy that I wanted to put between knobs and console to reduce possible rubbing - the radio had its share of rubbing near the knob holes and I figure felt would reduce that. It works and you can't see it
   

Oddly enough, since I reassembled everything, AM and SW doesn't catch anything else than whitenoise. FM works great.
I guess I need to finish the recap of that AM section some day... lol.

The radio is finally back to its premium place near the library and dining room, and looks way better than before I refinished the cabinet, despite not being like I wanted.
   

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Looks great, Mars! Love the vintage hat, camera, and newspapers on display on top. Very period!

[Marsupial]

Thanks!