I have a Philips bakelite era chassis and box which I got cheap but top is cracked
I've used it as a project chassis for one of my own simple designs ,
I just had the top gafa taped together for around 25 years so its time to properly fix it .
I was able to use a couple of clamps to hold the broken part back in place , I used electrical tape on the outside to prevent the glue seeping through and making a mess .
I then mixed up some epoxy and applied it from the inside turning the until upside down initially so the glue gets down inside the crack .
I had tried super glue before which tacks it in place but isnt strong enough to do the job in the longer run , even still with the crack not fitting absolutely perfectly back together
it all glued up nice , once the glue is paritally set I peeled off the tape , then I was able to use a razor blade scraper tool to trim any excess glue that had seeped down onto the top surface of the cabinet . The overall result was excellent , the crack is still visible but strong and the small gaps are filled , so Im happy with that .
If the surface of your bakelite set has gone all paternated and you want to return it to its original glory Ive had good results with very fine grade wire wool and solvent , wear a pair of gloves when you do it because the phenolic residue is an irritant/toxic/cancerous to some degree . Rub down the surface with the wire wool , for solvent a mix of alcohol ,water and dish washing soap will do .
when you have worked the entire visible surface over evenly in small circles with the wire wool wash it off with hot water , allow to dry .
Any really stubborn bits of oil or grease I use a q-tip with tea tree oil to remove .
Once its dried it you'll be left with a matt finish , some discolouration might still be apperent at this stage ,
I apply a layer of traditional bee's wax based furniture polish which brings back the shine , the usual applies ,wipe on allow some drying time and buff off the excess with a lint free cloth .
If you've done the job right it comes up like brand new .
First pic is after Ive taken off the tape and residue but before hitting with steel wool a few minutes work and all the discolouration due to tape residue and heat over decades is gone and it looks great again , I just about left the shaddow that remained of the tape visible to the eye under closer inspection .
As I said before the case of this unit came to me broken but also missing a corner , as you can see , I trimmed the bakelite square with a saw and fitted the expanded aluminium mesh , keeps the two class A triode EL84's you see inside happy for at least 2 decades without needing `any kind of service , mee ould reliable .
I've used it as a project chassis for one of my own simple designs ,
I just had the top gafa taped together for around 25 years so its time to properly fix it .
I was able to use a couple of clamps to hold the broken part back in place , I used electrical tape on the outside to prevent the glue seeping through and making a mess .
I then mixed up some epoxy and applied it from the inside turning the until upside down initially so the glue gets down inside the crack .
I had tried super glue before which tacks it in place but isnt strong enough to do the job in the longer run , even still with the crack not fitting absolutely perfectly back together
it all glued up nice , once the glue is paritally set I peeled off the tape , then I was able to use a razor blade scraper tool to trim any excess glue that had seeped down onto the top surface of the cabinet . The overall result was excellent , the crack is still visible but strong and the small gaps are filled , so Im happy with that .
If the surface of your bakelite set has gone all paternated and you want to return it to its original glory Ive had good results with very fine grade wire wool and solvent , wear a pair of gloves when you do it because the phenolic residue is an irritant/toxic/cancerous to some degree . Rub down the surface with the wire wool , for solvent a mix of alcohol ,water and dish washing soap will do .
when you have worked the entire visible surface over evenly in small circles with the wire wool wash it off with hot water , allow to dry .
Any really stubborn bits of oil or grease I use a q-tip with tea tree oil to remove .
Once its dried it you'll be left with a matt finish , some discolouration might still be apperent at this stage ,
I apply a layer of traditional bee's wax based furniture polish which brings back the shine , the usual applies ,wipe on allow some drying time and buff off the excess with a lint free cloth .
If you've done the job right it comes up like brand new .
First pic is after Ive taken off the tape and residue but before hitting with steel wool a few minutes work and all the discolouration due to tape residue and heat over decades is gone and it looks great again , I just about left the shaddow that remained of the tape visible to the eye under closer inspection .
As I said before the case of this unit came to me broken but also missing a corner , as you can see , I trimmed the bakelite square with a saw and fitted the expanded aluminium mesh , keeps the two class A triode EL84's you see inside happy for at least 2 decades without needing `any kind of service , mee ould reliable .
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