11-04-2012, 08:38 AM
Im my experience you have to be really careful with paint strippers on radio cabinets. With the needed washing off in white spirit or meth etc they can be very damaging to old veneer. If there are any tiny gaps they get in and you have just made another and possibly worse task.
A maxim of restoration is always start with the weakest solvent first and its good to keep that in the front of the mind. Unless forced to, by someone who has used polyurethane for example, I much prefer to remove old finish with thinners and meduim wire wool. I am close to the action, unlike stripper where you cant see whats going on, and so can adjust as needed. For old 20's to 40's radios the finish comes off surprisingly easy and it helps if you have some anti chill thinners... chuck in about 20 - 30% of this to slow evaporation. I did have to resort to stripper (Nitromoors Varnish not paint) for a radio I decided to do again after 12 years... the modern lacquer took some budging.
Do need to take precautions of course, glooves, mask and being upwind.
Gary
A maxim of restoration is always start with the weakest solvent first and its good to keep that in the front of the mind. Unless forced to, by someone who has used polyurethane for example, I much prefer to remove old finish with thinners and meduim wire wool. I am close to the action, unlike stripper where you cant see whats going on, and so can adjust as needed. For old 20's to 40's radios the finish comes off surprisingly easy and it helps if you have some anti chill thinners... chuck in about 20 - 30% of this to slow evaporation. I did have to resort to stripper (Nitromoors Varnish not paint) for a radio I decided to do again after 12 years... the modern lacquer took some budging.
Do need to take precautions of course, glooves, mask and being upwind.
Gary
