I will be picking up a 1936 Silvertone Model 1970 console some time this week. I have already looked at the set, and know it will need new grille cloth after the cabinet is restored. Only problem is, reproduction grille cloth is no longer made as the only manufacturer has closed up shop and AES and Radio Daze are out of stock (I would have used Pattern 46, more than likely).

Any suggestions as to what I can do to replace the missing grille cloth so it at least looks decent? Is there anything my local Jo-Ann Fabrics would likely have that would look decent AND work well?

I feel your pain. I have a post now on the classified asking for a trade to get the proper cloth for my Crosley Super 11.
I have had some luck with 2 sellers on eBay. You can look up what they are currently offering and perhaps contact them as well.
They are user-names: brets-old-radios and speaker-fabric-supply
Use the advanced search to find items currently listed by them.

Thanks! Have to wait until I have the radio "in hand" so I know what size to get...

This Italian company has the cloth thats very close to the cloth on my Super 11. Email them and see if they have the cloth in stock.
Click on grill cloth tab on left and its onpage 3, MAT PARIGI is the name.

http://digilander.libero.it/oldradios/engver/index.html

Have you checked ebay for Bretts, he has several patterns. I would just find one that you like or looks close.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/brets-old-radio ... 4340.l2562

Let this be an excuse to HAVE SOME FUN!

(don't panic.... it's a pic I stole from radiomuseum and 'shooped' )

BigBlue:
I am curious which one of the Italian companies cloth is close to the one on your Super 11? I looked on their website and found nothing close although they seem to have the vertical wave which is used on Zenith Walton's I believe. I think my cloth is original and the right style based on the brochure photo posted on the forum and similar websites. See below .
Thanks, Lou

Like, wow, man....totally trippy!

It's on page 3 of the grille cloths. Look at the ones titled "MAT PARIGI" or "PARIGILUX".





Larry

Ah yes, I see it now. I will email them. Thanks so much!
Lou

Thanks for the assist, rocketeer. If this company has the cloth for sale, there has to be other places . I will continue my hunt .

I emailed Nico today in Italy with my request. He responded very quickly which was nice.
I sent the email in both English and Italian and speced measurements in centimeters. That may not have been necessary, but I figured I would just be thorough and Google Translate is so easy to use.
Anyway, for a 16X25 cloth of the pattern I need, the quote was 48 Euros shipped which is $63 at the current exchange rate.
A bit pricey perhaps but, after all, his competition just went away. He does take PayPal by the way so that is easy.
I might make the plunge and report back here on the cloth I receive.

Well, I just sent in my money to Nico in Italy for the grill cloth. Guess I just had to see if this is another possible supplier. Since I sent in the order today, April 12, I will report back here with shipping time, quality of product, and photos of the cloth. Although the price is high, maybe this will be a supplier we can use until someone in the USA comes back online.

This seems to be our lucky day !! Check: http://richmonddesignsinc.com/ May 6th they'll start selling the walton cloth on eBay !!

Rich...

AWESOME!!!

Meanwhile, I found some grille cloth for my Silvertone from Brett's Radios.

Plus others..... including the Zenith Block pattern .

It is very good to see the wave and the block patterns coming back. I do not need either but I certainly know that the final touch for a very nice Zenith is the proper grill cloth. Now I want to see the prices charged and see if my Italian high purchase price is "the new norm".

Oh well.... this has been removed from the announcement, as has the time frame ( 60 days) to when the other patterns will be rolled out .

Anyone buy any of this yet ? It's like $23 for a 12"X12" or $63 for console size...

Rich...

I bought some "Roma" Grille Cloth for my WR-8 Columnaire Nico in Italy, he responds within a day to an e-mail.
http://digilander.libero.it/oldradios/engver/index.html
Click on the "Grillecloth" link, see page 3 for the "Roma" pattern.

Cost was 21 Euros, shipped for a 12" by 18" piece, paid with Paypal which did the currency conversion, and the cloth arrived in about 10 days from Italy. His "Roma" patern is the same cloth that which Grillecloth.com sold as "Pattern #8" (for Westinghouse, RCA and GE sets), as that's where he said he bought it from when it was still available. http://www.grillecloth.com/grillcloth/majestic.php)

The cloth is EXACTLY the same as the original cloth I have from the set!

Maybe he has some of the other patterns that Grillecloth.com used to sell?