SCOTT CABINET AND GRILL CLOTH

[Lance Hughes]

Good afternoon,

            It's been awhile since my last post of my Allwave 12. I have been unable to work on the Allwave 12 for awhile due to taking care of my father and his estate while he was in assisted living. Unfortunately, he has recently passed away in December and I'm now dealing with the estate. Hopefully before the year is gone. I will be able to continue full throttle on the restoration process. Having said that, I had my furniture refinisher work on the Napier cabinet and to replace the defective Veneer. He is about to wrap up the project and I'm excited about the results. He plans to add the holes through the side of the Veneer for the power switch. I wanted to ask your opinion on the cabinet. Personally, I like the way it looks at this time. I lean toward the look it probably had from the factory. Looking at the pictures, what do you think on the current status? Too shiny not shiny enough?? What imperfections do you see?? I look forward to your opinion. Second question. I chose to have the grill cloth removed so it would not get in the way of the cabinet restoration process. We knew at the time that it would almost be impossible to realign the grill cloth back in the cabinet so the fade marks would not show up. I have posted a picture of the faded grill cloth. Is it possible to clean the existing grill cloth and if not I would like your opinion on what type of grill cloth to use as a replacement. Thanks for the help.

[Brad Winder]

Wow, your cabinet looks nice now!

As much as the grill cloth is original...I think it is too faded and worn to put back into such a beautiful cabinet...

There are two Scott cloths being reproduced right now. I think the one from Michael Katz would look appropriate in your cabinet. Just my two cents...

https://www.radiogrillecloth.com/products

[Lance Hughes]

Good afternoon Brad and thank you for the prompt rely. I will check out the link and see what they have to offer.

[Scott Seickel]

In my opinion the sheen is way too low.  (but the repairs look great). 

As for grill cloth, the only thing available that is "Scott" specific is the Aztec pattern, and neither reproduction is very good.  You might want to look around to see what else is available that matches what you have closer. 

[Lance Hughes]

Thanks for the input Scott. That was my concern was the Sheen. I was not for sure how it came from the factory. I'm confident it was not coated with 10 coasts of lacquer. 

[Scott Seickel]

 EH Scott did state that his cabinets were given 3 coats of shellac, then 4 coats of lacquer (totaling 7 coats) and the final coat was rubbed down with pumice to a smooth glass like surface by an expert polisher.  He stated that this was what set apart his cabinets from others that were not rubbed down and polished.  Personally, I would wet sand my second to last coat with 400 and then spray a final coat with 60% gloss lacquer that is reduced maybe 30% with lacquer thinner.  I have had good results doing that but you have to be careful of runs in the thinned lacquer.    

Here is an AK 328 I did like that:

[Kent King]

Here is a picture of my Napier. The lighting makes it look flatter than it is, it does have a sheen when viewed in natural light. I agree with Scott, it needs additional finish - but the woodwork looks FANTASTIC. You will really enjoy the set when you get it done.

Kent 

[Lance Hughes]

Thank you Scott and Kent for the opinions and your radios look fantastic. Three questions to Kent. 1. Is your grill cloth original on the Napier? I like the looks of that cloth. 2. The wooden faceplate on the radio. Does it sit behind the edge of the cabinet or does it sit on top of the edge?  3. If you have time, could you please send a picture of the side of your Napier cabinet where the power switch is located? I want to verify the correct placement of all indicators. If that makes sense. Thanks again.

[Kent King]

Lance-

Here are two pics of the side of the Napier, showing the inside and the outside. My set is original, including the grill cloth. The only thing I did with this cloth was to gently brush it with a camel hair brush and a vacuum cleaner. The front panel sits behind the trim on top. If you want additional info, just let me know.

Kent

[Kent King]

[Lance Hughes]

Good morning Kent.

       This cabinet looks great! To me, the grille cloth looks amazing considering the age. On the side of the cabinet where the function selector knob is located, would you say there is roughly a half inch between the shaft hole and the metal escutcheon? The reason I'm asking, new veneer has covered the old screw holes and we need to reposition the metal escutcheon to the correct position.  Some of the knobs were missing. Were all the knobs the same except for the tuning and band selection? If so, I could use one of the smaller knobs to judge the placement of the escutcheon.

[Kent King]

Lance - First, off, yes, all the knobs are the same except the larger tuning knob, so you can use one of the smaller "ship's wheel" knobs as a reference. I'm adding a couple pics that should help you with this...Kent

[Lance Hughes]

Good evening Kent. Excellent pictures as usual and thank you. These pictures will work well. I plan to take one of the existing knobs and use as reference along with your pictures. I have not had time to really study the new grill cloths and concerned I will be disappointed. I will say that my existing grill cloth has seen better days. Thanks again and I will keep you updated.