This is what you can do if you have a vision of a radio in your mind's eye when you see what appears to be a "junker" set at that next swap meet or eBay session.

 This radio started out looking like a real piece of junk with it's faded, splattered, ugly paint job and dirty exterior. It had no knobs and no price tag. Still, I saw that neat half-moon dial and the neat smooth shape that screamed "DECO". Best of all it was a metal set with a full covered rear panel and was an unknown brand, "ELEC-TONE", so it had to be mine.

 I spied it sitting in the back of another collector's van at a swap meet last summer. When I asked him about it he said he was planning on restoring it but that he had just bought it from another collector at the meet and if I was interested in it to "make him an offer" We bantered about a bit and settled on a price that to me was more than I had planned on spending but less than I knew the set would be worth restored. I had an idea in my mind of what the set would look like done up in automotive finish to accent the dial with some eye-catching red knobs I knew were in my parts box at home.

 The deal was struck and the restoration began...