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Firestone S-7398-11942 six tube AM BC band radioThis neat little radio was bought at a local auction, nicely painted green. Getting it back to it's original appearance was a challenge ! |
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| There was also a half inch hole in one side, a chip out of the front at the top and no dial 'glass'. This radio has a printed, simulated woodgrain, strip around the top and bottom. So, the paint could not be simply removed with paint stripper, which would also take off this strip, believe me, I know from experience. I found the paint could be removed with lacquer thinner, which is nasty stuff, work outddors and use rubber gloves. The best technique was to start using the thinner with fine steel wool to break the surface of the paint, the remove the rest with thinner on a cloth. This work slow, probably took about three weeks of evenings and weekends, but it removed the paint without taking off the printed strips. |
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The original black paint around the top and bottom corners was also removed. With the paint removed I found that the original finish was crazed and cracked. This was removed from the top, front and sides between the printed strips using more lacquer thinner with fine steel wool. The hole in the side was patched with a wood plug and small piece of veneeer, which is a story in itself. The chip in the front corner was made good with quick drying wood filler carefully sanded to shape. |
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| Finally the bare wood was given a coat of stain matching the original color. The corner molding top and bottom was repainted black, and the molding around the dial was repainted brown matching the original colors. I get the best results by using paint sprays, mast off other areas with masking tape and newspaper. The whole case was then given several coats of clear lacquer, rubbing down with fine steel wool between coats. |
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These two pictures are the chassis before restoration, I forgot to take 'after' pics before the
radio went to a new owner.
Restoration of the chassis was much easier than the case, this is a simple six tube
ac/dc radio, an AA5 plus an RF stage. All capacitors were replaced, except the small mica's
and ceramic's, all resistors checked and changed where needed. The only rubber
covered wiring was on the IF transformers leads, and it was brittle and cracked, so
the transformers were removed and the leads replaced. |
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| A line fuse was fitted, together with a new power cord with a polarised plug, checking that the neutral side of the supply goes to the chassis. The original grill cloth was re-used. Because of the grill design it was possible to move the cloth about 1/4 inch exposing clean cloth and hiding the dirty parts behind the wood. Finally, a new clear plastic cover was made for the dial, using the method of melting a clear plastic sheet around a mould in the oven, but that's another story! The schematic and alignment procedure are in Rider's vol.13 Tubes: 12SK7,12SA7,12SK7,12SQ7,35L6GT,35Z5 This radio had the 35L6 replaced with a 50L6, which helps cope with today's higher line voltages. Please click on the small picture at the top of the page for a larger view of the finished product. |
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