[Geoff]

I wet-sanded the cabinet last night with 320 grit. I started out using a small flat block to hold the sandpaper but after a little while I stopped using it. The problem is that the cheaper wood that was used to make the sides and top is not perfectly flat. It has a small amount of waviness to it (due to age I assume) which created too many large areas of low spots to make the block effective. I ended up just doing the entire cabinet without the block. For the trim, columns, and grille cutout edges I used #0000 steel wool with water. Here are some photos of the cabinet before sanding. You can see the overspray:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

Here are some photos after the 320 sanding:

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[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

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[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

It may have been a waste of time but after the sanding was done I went ahead and hit every area I sanded with #0000 steel wool and water. When I was done the cabinet felt as smooth as glass. Here are some photos:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

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Here are the grille cutouts:

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It is raining here today and the temperature has dropped so no spraying tonight. Instead I plan on applying the Philco decal and wait for the weather to warm up. I also plan on spraying some of the lacquer into a cup and using a fine paint brush to fill the pitting issue on the top corners that I had mentioned in a previous thread. I’ll do this in the garage and bring it inside to dry. The forecast says it should warm up by Saturday so I’ll be buying a couple more cans of clear gloss tomorrow.