Preview of the film: Casablanca
That’s right, if you didn’t get a chance to catch this film in theaters the last time then this is your opportunity. It plays again on Thursday April 26th. It was a really cool experience seeing it on the silver screen. The story is timeless and entertaining. You don’t have to even like classic films to like this one. Make it a point to go and see it. More Info.
This had the joyful fragrance of mouse dropping and mothballs when I picked it up.
I drove way down to Los Banos California to pick this unit up. You might remember in an earlier post that I blogged about our other Telefunken unit. It is similar to this one but has a few different features. I am such a big fan of anything made by Telefunken. I was advised by Luis (owner of Stereoadvisor) that “Telefunken is one of the best stereos to own”, since he repairs stereos for a living that was all the convincing I needed. Anyways, I drove down to meet Steve the seller of the Telefunken and after a small demonstration of its operation and the bugs it needed to have worked out I decided to get it. It had some water damage to the top of it but that is a usual problem for these.
Why do people put things that leak fluids on top of wood furniture. I NEVER put a plant or any drinks on the surface of any wood furniture even if it has a polyurethane finish. I do plan on getting a piece of glass cut for the top of this so that should really protect it.
I took the back off the unit to get access to all the compartments to vacuum them out and to blow them out with air. I couldn't believe the amount of dust that was in there.
The first thing I did was sand the piece down. You must remember when refinishing one of these units they only have a thin veneer surface so you can’t use a real abrasive sandpaper. I use a 100 grit sandpaper to remove old finish and then I use a 120 to smooth out the surface (remember that the smaller the number the more abrasive the sandpaper is).
As you can see all the rings are gone.
Once the finish was removed and the surface smooth I then used Minwax Gunstock stain to re-stain the top. I only had to put two coats on it to achieve a finish similar to the original. Once the stain had dried I then sprayed the top with a semi-gloss polyurethane to help protect the finish.
Look at the way the new top shines.
This unit has shortwave, AM & FM. I am going to see if I can get that all running so I can tune into some shortwave stations.
This may sound crazy but I am going to see if Luis can install an iPod adapter so I can play the songs in my iTunes account through this unit. I have a lot of records but I have way more songs in my iTunes account.
I think it turned out great. Tomorrow I drop it off at the Stereoadvisor so Luis can tune her up. I am anxious to play some of my Perry Como 78's on her.
In our attempt to acquire every Carlo of Hollywood watercolor on the face of the Earth we came across these two smaller ballerina pieces. I really liked the tealish green around the upper edge of the art work and it gave me an idea on refinishing the frame.
The finish on the frames was worn and chipping off.
One of the frames had separated at the seams. The first step was to get some wood glue and put tape on the underside of the seam and fill the gap with glue and let sit overnight.
Whats the pink/purple stuff you might say! It is one of my trusty repair tools.....spackle! I use it to fill in the seams that still have gaps after the glue dries. This spackle turns white to indicate it is dry.
Just a dab is all you need.
Once you pack the spackle into the crack use a damp cloth to wipe off the excess.
Here one of the frames is painted drying. The other frame has spackiling that is hardening up in the sun.
And here it is. As you can see the seams of the frame are undetectable and with the accent of color on the edge of the frame it ties it all together.
I think they really pop now!
Every time I hang one of these re-finished Carlo's I just fall in love with his talent as an artist and just want to find more pieces.
