I've had this little set for years. It's a curiosity really - when I bought it at a radio rally I'd assumed that a previous owner had done a crude paint job on it because perhaps the Bakelite cabinet was cracked and he wanted to disguise it. I later discovered that the sets left the factory in this 'livery' and I think perhaps that back in the mid 60s, brown Bakelite was seen as austere, old fashioned and drab. It was an era as I recall (I was 17 when this set came onto the market), when the term 'contemporary' came into use. Everything had to look 'modern' and as they would have said back then 'gaily coloured', so I guess the paint job that this little set was given was considered very much in vogue - at least by Pilot - if not by potential customers.
The set did work, so it was just a case of replacing the waxy paper caps and reforming the electrolytics - the main task being to re-spray and re-finish the cabinet. The electrolytics reformed well, with low ESRs and surprisingly, the 25uF/25V cathode bypass cap was good as new - low ESR and correct capacitance. I've attached a pic of the smoothing caps being reformed on my homebrew Radio Bygones cap reformer and at their rated voltage (275) after 4 hours, the leakage had dropped to a few uA.
I've attached pics of the cabinet as found, and after I'd resprayed and re-lettered the 'PILOT' incised logo on the top LH of the front panel, re-painted in the two gold stripes either side of the rather attractive dial, and sprayed the gold border around the front panel. When I stripped the paint off, the brown Bakelite was actually quite attractive and nicely mottled, so it was tempting to leave it at that, but I thought I'd bring it back to original finish as best I could.
I primed the cabinet then resprayed it gloss blue, and to paint in the lettering I used the technique I've used for decades now when re-painting incised lettering on such things as knobs (often with such words as 'Tuning/Volume/Tone/L,M,S,GRAM' etc). I scratch out all the old paint, then use enamel modelling paint of the desired colour (in this case black, but on control knobs, as often as not, antique white). I then fill in the lettering with paint, not worrying too much about any that strays outside the lettering. I let it harden off for 15 minutes or so, then use enamel thinners (not cellulose!) on a cotton cloth (old hankie etc), to wipe the surplus paint off from the surface, leaving only the incised lettering. In this case, the cabinet was sprayed with a blue cellulose aerosol, which luckily was an exact match, so wiping off the surplus black paint around the 'PILOT' lettering with enamel thinners had no effect on the blue cellulose. Same with the gold stripes either side of the dial. I painted them in as best I could, then wiped off any that went over onto the blue.
I masked off the cabinet and sprayed the gold border around the front edge.
When I bought the set, I thought it was gaudy and naffoloa, but now, I quite like it - a cheerful thing from an austere post-war era when rationing had not long ended. It reminds me of blue skies - a rarity this year!
Hope the tips might come in handy to others.
The set did work, so it was just a case of replacing the waxy paper caps and reforming the electrolytics - the main task being to re-spray and re-finish the cabinet. The electrolytics reformed well, with low ESRs and surprisingly, the 25uF/25V cathode bypass cap was good as new - low ESR and correct capacitance. I've attached a pic of the smoothing caps being reformed on my homebrew Radio Bygones cap reformer and at their rated voltage (275) after 4 hours, the leakage had dropped to a few uA.
I've attached pics of the cabinet as found, and after I'd resprayed and re-lettered the 'PILOT' incised logo on the top LH of the front panel, re-painted in the two gold stripes either side of the rather attractive dial, and sprayed the gold border around the front panel. When I stripped the paint off, the brown Bakelite was actually quite attractive and nicely mottled, so it was tempting to leave it at that, but I thought I'd bring it back to original finish as best I could.
I primed the cabinet then resprayed it gloss blue, and to paint in the lettering I used the technique I've used for decades now when re-painting incised lettering on such things as knobs (often with such words as 'Tuning/Volume/Tone/L,M,S,GRAM' etc). I scratch out all the old paint, then use enamel modelling paint of the desired colour (in this case black, but on control knobs, as often as not, antique white). I then fill in the lettering with paint, not worrying too much about any that strays outside the lettering. I let it harden off for 15 minutes or so, then use enamel thinners (not cellulose!) on a cotton cloth (old hankie etc), to wipe the surplus paint off from the surface, leaving only the incised lettering. In this case, the cabinet was sprayed with a blue cellulose aerosol, which luckily was an exact match, so wiping off the surplus black paint around the 'PILOT' lettering with enamel thinners had no effect on the blue cellulose. Same with the gold stripes either side of the dial. I painted them in as best I could, then wiped off any that went over onto the blue.
I masked off the cabinet and sprayed the gold border around the front edge.
When I bought the set, I thought it was gaudy and naffoloa, but now, I quite like it - a cheerful thing from an austere post-war era when rationing had not long ended. It reminds me of blue skies - a rarity this year!
Hope the tips might come in handy to others.
Regards, David.
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
