a Statement to those who care
a message about my restorations

MY RESTORATIONS ARE QUALITY! 

And so are the items I sell that state "restored".   If I state "electronically restored", that usually means that the cabinet and finish is original or as found (although I have likely cleaned or spiffed it up). Please don't expect me to sell an item that I have spent my time carefully and meticulously restoring for some low price that you have seen a similar item sell for on eBay. Believe me, there is often a huge difference in those items that claim to work and the items that I have lovingly restored.

Electronic restorations

I have been collecting and restoring vintage radios as a hobby since 1962 and before that I repairs & destruction as a kid. I have spent my whole life in the consumer electronics service business as a professional and always made every attempt to make my repairs as undetectable as possible. I also consider my vintage radio restorations as professional and make every attempt that they be as invisible (above chassis) as possible. I love the old technology and have always been fascinated by how it all comes together. I believe when one of these wonderful old relics is brought back to life it should be done properly and with care.

How many times have you bought an old Radio that was supposedly restored, get it home and find out it may work but no where near as good as it should. That's because many of the patch it up, cap it up guys only do what it takes to make 'em work, doesn't matter how good they work, just as long as they squawk or make a noise. If you pin one of these guys down, he will retort; wadda ya expect, it's 60 years old! Many of these old radios made after the mid thirties will play better than most modern AM radio if properly restored.

When I decide to restore an item, I only do it one way, it does not matter whether I intend to sell it or keep it, I do it the same. Many times my original intention is prepare it for sale and decide to keep it after the restoration is done.

Unlike many (they tack in a new electrolytic capacitor and maybe a tube and call it restored) or "re-cap" it.  Most don't even clean the "crud" from the chassis, let alone electronically align the set and do all the other things necessary for a properly restored set.

The first thing I do is clean the chassis, sometimes I may spend several hours on this alone as I would much rather work on a clean set than a filthy one. It's is not always possible to make an old chassis look new, but it will be as clean as possible. I check and replace faulty tubes and capacitors. I check capacitors under their full rated voltage for leakage, proper capacitance plus power factor on electrolytic type. I usually replace all the paper and electrolytic's but with certain types that are still good, I may leave in place, the early types (those in the large sealed cans like used in the Radiola 17 & 18). I also check the value of critical resistors and replace those that are out of tolerance. I clean all controls, switches and the tube socket contacts. I check for the proper operating voltages and correct as necessary. If the set is power transformer operated and has no line fuse, I install one below the chassis. I also make sure that all visible (above chassis) components look original. I will leave an old can type electrolytic capacitor that is top mounted and replace it with a modern one installed under the chassis. I disconnect the original defective one from the circuit (many patch -up, type guys will just leave the old one in the circuit to cause more problems later on). I check the grid bias voltage (very important for good sound and proper life of the sometimes very expensive power output tubes. The final step is to perform a complete IF & RF alignment (very important for sensitivity and selectivity. I also make sure that the chassis and speaker are properly secured with all bolts and screws in place.

Sometimes small modifications are made to improve safety and performance. I make sure any such are carefully & professionally done. For example some of the AC/DC radios made before WW-II had "hot chassis's" (making a possible shock hazard). Some even used line cords that had resistance elements in them that could heat up causing a fire hazard.

I re-wire "hot chassis" radios and add a polarized line cord as a safety issue. Simply adding a polarized cord does not solve the shock hazard, the chassis must be re-wired as well. Radios that have the resistance line cords are modified and the cord is replaced with a modern safe cord and the internal circuitry is modified to eliminate the need for such a cord. I do this in a manner that is safe and does not cause additional heat build up in the radios like some do by adding large heat producing resistors inside the cabinet that in themselves create an additional safety hazard.

Cabinet restorations

If I state an item has undergone a  "complete restoration", that's means the cabinet may have been repaired and or repainted. The repairs done to the plastic (or any other type of material) is often very painstaking. To properly repair a fracture or crack in a plastic case takes a number of steps. 1st the crack or fracture must be cleaned to remove all foreign material (grease, dirt and other contaminants). Then the proper adhesive, usually a cyanocrylate or epoxy (depending on the type of plastic) must be chosen and worked into the crack or fracture. I then clamp in place until cured. After curing is complete I "micro-sand" to smooth it out and make the repair as invisible as possible (micro-sanding consists of using a series of flexible sanding cloths from 1500 to 8000 grit). Depending on the staining at the fracture depends on whether the repair will be invisible or not. Prior to applying the adhesive I also attempt to "bleach out" any stains. This is not always possible as some plastics absorb contaminants. After all the sanding is done the finishing touch is a good rubbing with a plastic polish. This makes a nice solid, smooth repair even if the fracture or crack is still visible.

If there are chunks or pieces missing and I deem it worthwhile I will mold in a suitable material that I have dyed to match the original color, then go through the above process to blend it in. I don't do this very often as it take sooooooooo much time, but I have been know to do it just for the challenge.

The above processes are very time consuming and often is not worth the time it takes. I would not consider doing it for anyone but myself. My practice is to do the best I can when I restore something whether I intend to keep it or not.

Click here for more info on Bakelite and plastic repairs.

 click here for an example of one of my complete restorations.

C.E. "Sonny" Clutter

PLEASE NOTE: I no longer offer any restoration services.

Check the "Resources" page of my site for those who do repairs and restorations