Some of my favorite sets.
Many of the sets shown here were basket cases when I started with them. Just goes to show what a little time and effort can accomplish.
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Truetone (made by Belmont) D731
This is how I found this set on eBay. Non working and looking like it hadn't seen much love in it's life. |
All American Truetone D731
After much patience, a lot of masking and a nice lacquer refinish as well as electronic restoration the Truetone is now proudly displayed. Hard to believe it's the same radio! |
Canadian Westinghouse "Rosie the Robot"
Rosie started out as a faded brown bakelite with no appeal at all. After a radical makeover she now beams her Machine Age grin for all to see. Thanx to Scott Primeaux for the color scheme idea. I saw one similar to this on his site and did this one myself. |
Belmont 519 Mystery Dial
After finding the cabinet only for this set and being told I'd probably never find a chassis for it one popped up on eBay almost two months later. This is the marriage of those two forgotten relics. Multi coat gloss black lacquer hand buffed, some glitzy grill cloth and electrical restoration make this a set a real Deco standout. Never say "Never"! |
Belmont 121 "Schoolbus"
Another full out radical repaint job. After stripping the original chipped ivory finish off I decided plain brown just didn't get it on this neat set so again I took to masking and repainting the set to bring out the lines of the radio. For some reason I always think of a schoolbus when I look at it. It has a new Belmont logo and an electrical restoration in addition to the refinish. |
Truetone Deco D2210 Metal Monster
A real nice example of the quality of days gone by. Heavy metal construction with chrome trim and a gorgeous maroon embossed dial. Designed by Darwin Teague it was originally a faux woodgrain finish which had gone south and had began to get surface rust but after a full sanding and gold lacquer with clearcoat refinish it now shows its true beauty. This radio does get results! |
Zenith 6D311/315 Black Beauty D-Dial
The epitome of true Art Deco design with the big D-dial, swooping lines and brass accents. Sometimes no finish is the only way to go and after finding this gorgeous black bakelite cabinet hiding under the original Ivory powder coated finish I decided to buff it out and leave it this way to accent the brass dial and logo plate. I later found the original bakelite Wavemagnet antenna back on eBay and gave it a new coat of brass/gold lacquer and added it to the set to make it into the 6D315 version. It is the best bakelite set in my collection by far and plays great after a full electrical restoration. A real Deco Dream! |
