[Arran]

Hello everyone,
I have seen some great info here about restoring wooden radios, but what about the metal cased ones? I got 2 (a 65 and a 511) at a swap meet and they are both in need of some work. Can someone give us a rundown on how you strip such a thing and how to paint it afterwards (prime, paint, varnish etc.)? I'm still working on the innards, but It's something I want to plan.

Thanks,
Ken

If they are rusty, the paint badly deteriorated, etc, I would try using electrolysis to strip the steel, but you must remove any non ferrous metals first. If they are a little worn around the edges but not bad you could wet sand the old finish and paint over it but I would leave it alone. Don't use a grinder or sandblasting, it will score the metal and require lots of primer and spot putty to get it smooth again. Sometime you can use chemical paint stripper but electrolysis is easier all around, the rust and paint will come right off leaving bare metal with minimal mess and no nasty solvents to deal with.
Basically you use a mix of washing soda, or baking soda, and water, a large plastic container, some scrap steel or iron as a sacrificial anode, and a high current low voltage DC power supply. There are multiple videos of you tube documenting the process as well as several web sites.
Regards
Arran