PYE P53 Cabinet re-Finish

[Geaney]

I bought this P53 on eBay as a donor set for parts for the other radio - the one where I re-built the cab from scratch. As it turned out I didn't really need any parts from this set so I got it working and thought I may as well sort out the cabinet which is is poor shape. The set has been dropped at some stage so plenty of dents and scratches.

First step is to remove the original finish and see exactly how bad the wood really is and if I can repair the dents, etc. By careful working around the logo on the top I think I've managed to save it.

I must say I love the grain on the veneer - four strips on the stop all nicely book matched - so I won't be covering that up with a dark toner. Apologies to the purists.
Hopefully I'll be able to steam out many of the dents even though its a painstaking and boring process.

Next update once I've got the wood surface as good as I can get it and we get on to the new finish. I'm still considering what finish to apply. No rush though - it's waited a while for it's new makeover so another few weeks won't hurt!

Cheers, John

[Radio Fixer]

Very nice veneer, is that the original decal? Did a good job of cleaning / preping around it if so. Can tell you where to get a fantastic repro (true gold on black) if you mess it up (I did the art work for it).

I refinished one of these but at the mo. I cant find the job done pics. I used cellulose lacquer (rattle cans) and it came out super. Grain fill first of course.

But well done so far... showing promise.

Gary

[Retired]

Hi,

What beautiful veneer you found under the original finish John it looks superb. With the old finish in place it looked a mediocre cabinet but what a transformation already; it will look stunning once fully finished. Keep up the good work.

Kind regards, Col.

[Andrewausfa]

Nice work John. I have its twin! The toner, as Col, says make it looks very dull but there's a lovely bit of wood under it.

Andrew

[AlanBeckett]

I wonder if my P35 and T19D look like that under the muck. They appear to have the same cabinet.
Alan

[Geaney]

I found some time over the holiday weekend to do a bit more on the P53 cab. I decided not to steam out the dents because the steaming was removing the stain from the wood so it was starting to look a bit 'patchy'. I'm paranoid about keeping the lovely tone of the wood so I decided to fill what I could with grain filler (the small ones) and see about the others when I do the lacquer coats.

So I grain filled, sanded, gave a coat of very diluted brown stain (to get a better match between filler and wood) and then a coat of sanding sealer. I think I've managed to keep the general tone of the wood so far. I'll probably do about half a dozen coats of sanding sealer then start on the lacquer coats.

So far so good.

I was messing around with the chassis one evening and discovered there's no long wave so that will need attention. The volume was also erratic so I took the volume control apart to clean and lube it - it is one of those pots that is pretty much sealed so you have to open it up to spray anything into it, etc.

Cheers, John

[Mark R]

Nice cabinet John!

cheers Mark

[Tedzed1]

Excellent work John, a job well done, I also have a P35, and like Alan, I wonder what mine looks like under the old finish,
By the way, is the P53 the identical irish version of the P35?

[Geaney]

By the way, is the P53 the identical irish version of the P35?

Hi Paul, the set I'm working on at the moment is a Cambridge one. The chassis is essentially the same as the Dundrum set but the Dundrum cabinet is a bit different in that it has additional side panels and a more decorative base. You can see photos of the Dundrum one in my other project where i rebuilt a new cab from scratch - but here's a photo of the finished item!
Cheers, John

[Geaney]

I've put a clip of the P53 work up on my YouTube channel in case anyone is curious -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZvn1T-eoYA

I've been side-tracked into a different repair project for the time being (also up on YouTube) so it may be a while before I finish of the P53 cab.

Cheers, John