Joiner's Musings

Staining continues on the side panels The sides and top have been stained  Here you can see the results of the application of the lighter walnut stain to the veneered sections. I was afraid that there would be too much of a contrast between the darker trim and the lighter veneer when the stain was applied but that doesn't seem to be the case. However, I think I will stay with just one coat of the light walnut. I don't want it too dark. It seems to me that the original finish had badly faded over the years. The radio had been sitting in a sunny window for a number of years and I did not realize UV light could do so much damage to a finish. Lesson learned. My guess is that what I am doing now is probably closer to its original finish. It is beginning to look great. A little more staining, a steel-wool treatment and then for the satin clear lacquer final finish. The radio still has to be mounted,I am ordering a set of decals and grill cloth and that should be it.

The top section showing the sanded finish and stained trim pieces The next stage is the staining for the Stromberg Carlson radio model 662. This will occur in 4 stages; 2 applications of the dark walnut stain for the trim pieces and 2 applications of light walnut for the veneered surfaces. I used #0000 steel-wool with lacquer thinner for the final sanding, damp wiped to get all the dust off and after a thorough drying overnight applied the dark walnut stain to the trim pieces this evening (Jan 27th). I used a Bennett's 3/4" trim brush to apply the stain. I thought about taping areas off but the brush allowed me to apply the stain freehand though I did manage to make a couple of small paint-overs that are easily correctable through sanding. I might give it a second coat to darken it up tomorrow.  I will also begin to apply the light walnut to the veneered surfaces as well. it will be exciting to see how that turns out. This is what I started with Walnut sta