Hello All,
In February I got my first and only phonograph, a Victor VV 4-40. The
cabinet is in fairly good shape, considering, but someone, at some point, did a
really bad job of covering it with a coat of clear finish. It has dull
blotches in it and in at least one place there are actually dried dribbles of
finish.
The guy I bought it from is also a phono collector, and he recommended
rubbing down once a month or so with Old English Scratch Cover furniture
polish. He said after about six months that would bring back out a lot of the
colour and texture of the wood grain. And it did, but as the wood started to
look better, the dull blotches in the clear finish started to stand out more
and look worse.
I'd read good things on-line about Howard's Restore-A-Finish and
Feed-N-Wax, so I tried these. At first, it didn't seem to do have done
anything. After a while it seemed it made the finish look worse by uncovering
a lot of little blemishes that time and the Old English had been working to
conceal, and it did nothing for the dull blotches.
I do not want to refinish the cabinet, but I'd like to get what's there to
look as good as possible. Should I try repeating the Restore-A-Finish? Once?
Repeatedly, with "moisturising" periods in between? Apply with fine steel
wool? Try another product?
I'll be grateful for any input. Thanks!
Lee Cloninger
Durham, North Carolina
