Yesterday I bought a Firestone air chief. Basicly it has no finish on it but, The owner states that she does wipe the radios down with linseed oil.

I want to restore the original finish. Can I just do numerous wipe downs with Acetone to remove the oil? I really does not feel oily but I can smell it.

Cheers
Mike

I usually start with the least aggressive stuff first. GOOP hand cleaner WITHOUT pumice, then alcohol (if not shellac coated), mineral spirits, naphtha, acetone, lacquer thinner in that order. Once you get to acetone and above, you are probably into refinishing territory.

Ron,

Thanks, nice to see someone beside me and Peter using Goop. I think it is one of teh best kept secrects of refinishing. Countless time I have bought a radio with a bad finish used GOOP w/o pumice and using 0000 steel wool scrubbed the bad "goop" off and then a nice coat of Johsnons furniture paste wax restored the finish to almost new.

LOOK above folks for the easiest finish repair. I almost always try that first.

Chers
Mike

You're not the only ones. I've been using it for years. For wood radios, I don't even use steel wool. I just use Goop and a rag. The crud comes right off, leaving the original finish and patina intact Rub it on, wipe it off, let it sit for a week (lets the Goop fully dry), and wipe it off again. Then, apply a light coat of linseed oil. The guy I bought my dirty, filthy Philco 70 from at a swapmeet told me how to do it. It even works on Photofinishes. The difference from the first swipe of Goop is amazing!

I've never thought of using it to clean Bakelite. I'll have to try it on my next one. For Bakelite, I usually use Formula 409 or Windex (whichever I grab first) to get the crud off, then polish with Novus #2 Plastic Polish , then follow up with Johnson's Paste Carnauba Wax. 409 and Windex are rather labor intensive. Goop is easy, especially with thick, hardened deposits.