I am thinking of trying Howards restore a finish on my Kl-66 console. I see that they have it in Oak, walnut, maple.... I am not sure what this wood is, any suggestions on which wood color to use? Thanks.

Before you use anything on it, clean the 50 years of dirt and grim off it. You can use any number of cleaners with paper towells, such as, GoJo, Goop, Windex, 409, simple green or my favorite, plain old paint thinner.

Then you can apply Howards, Old English Scratch Remover, Lemon Pledge etc. All are oill based and will eventually collect more dirt and grime and evenuattly need to be redone. If it's a decent finish under all the grime, you'll be fine.

For colors: I just use dark walnut for everything. Different woods take the color differently and all will look OK.

Lemon Pledge = silicones

Oh, what Howard can do! This Philco was in good shape, but the finish was dull and colors flat. It was hard to detect the nice wood and decorative stripes around the dial. I used a single application of the regular walnut color (not dark walnut) and the radio was considerably darkened. However, now it glows and the colors "pop" so it's a major improvement. I used Howard Feed-N-Wax after the restor dried. Great stuff!

Color choice will make quite a difference, I think. I guess if the finish problems are severe, more darkening will better hide flaws.

Another thing: notice the scratch. It was almost invisible for a week or two after applying Howard. Now it's reemerging. I'm wondering if that's typical with Howard, and if so, is there a fix?

Finally, the entire radio has been lightening over the three weeks that have passed since applying Howard. Some folks seem to think of Howard as a long-term solution, but I've heard others argue it will need to be redone. What say ye?

Well I have heard that it does need to be re-done but I did not think as quickly as three weeks. I saw it as an option when the finsih is not perfect but it's condition kind of add's something to charicter of the radio, which is what I think of this GE KL-66. If you refinish after striping the old finish off it may look nice but it will look like a totally different radio. I just don't know if it is worth doing every three weeks??

I think the redos might be more like once a year, but I'd like to hear from a more experienced Howard user.

That radio appears to be a good candidate for Howards.But it depends on what kind of restoration you ultimately want. Some people like to make their radios newer looking than when they came out of the factory and will give them a squeaky-clean mirror-finish overhaul on the finish. Then there are others like myself who prefer to have some of that patina that took 70-80 years to create. Unless the radio is totally trashed. I'll generally give it a Howards job and that usually works just fine.

this is what i usually do as well, but I have a very clean set I picked up the other day (wood tombstone) that the varnish has turned grayish green and howards doesnt phase, any suggestions?

I think by default that Gojo and Goop hand cleaners should be tried first on ALL radios that your thinking of restoring. I have had three radios now that I was thinking of stripping or using Howards to liven up a finish and the hand cleaners totally cleaned the finish to the point that I am totally happy with the way they look, the original finish just glows now. Of course I followed the hand cleaners with a quality wax. Some radios I tried the cleaners and they had no effect. Those radios got the Howards or a total stripping. So give the hand cleaners a chance. They could save you tons of time and effort.

What sort of wax did you use?

Yeah, Howards won't work on radios that have gotten that gray-green look to the varnish. (I wonder what causes that... ) As far as reapplying Howards, it depends on the initial condition of the radio. If the finish is really dry it might take several applications. OTOH if there are just light scratches and scuffs, a single application should work fine. I have radios that still look good after a single application of Howards many years ago.

Bob

U106,
Pbpix(peter) Gave me and others the best stuff to remove the greenish gray old
lacquer or varnish.It is a 50/50 mix of lacquer thinner and acetone and a not to coarse
steel wool pad.Just keep washing the wood till all the old comes off.It is the fastest i
have ever worked with.

Doug

thanks Doug, so it takes the varnish completely off?

You will not believe how fast that stuff comes off.I bought a big shallow cheap aluminum
roasting pan to set the radio in to catch all the excess.Then set the radio on some newspaper to dry.
as it dries you will see if you missed any spots.If the stain is good the mix will not harm it.Let me
Know how it works for you.

Doug

I just tried it recently, 50/50 lacquer thinner and acetone. I'm totally sold. It rinses the finish off fast. Just do it with plenty of ventilation

One further question on the Howards. How do you handle the area's where there are decals if you want to kee the original one?

Fumes can be harmful. A quick camoflage, stain and mineral spirits combination that hides imperfections.
Great for that refreshed look and easy to use for those that don't do cabinet restorations the old way.
http://www.howardproducts.com/prod-restor-a-finish.php

Fumes harmful? All cleaning, refinishing, stripping chemicals have fumes that some deem "harmful". Life's too short to get excited about such things.

The OP's question was will it harm the decals. The answer is NO it won't harm anything. It's just like using a tinted petroleum based product to give a temporary shine and scratch cover finish. Much like Old English scratch remover. Absolutely great for collecting dust, dirt and grime so you can redo it in a few months. But it will not harm your decals.

davemcm912

Thanks that is what I wanted to know.

Its great for a quick fix when your flipping an item, long term its not magic.