Magnavox TP-241D record player cabinet restoration

[electra225]

Mr. Mogul, I apologize for not responding to your post. I appreciate your input. The 45 adapter and bracket were gone when I got the unit. I think Gary has them. That will be one of the last things I do. I will be careful to secure the changer properly before I tip the record player on its side for storage.

Whoever put the material on the inside of the lid, used double glue on it. Boy, is it on there well. It may take longer to remove the material from the lid than it did on the rest of the cabinet.

The local Staples store referred me to the first guy I went to. I want to get with that Staples store and make a recommendation of the guy who did the decal for me. I may also see if there is interest on here for decals and other items associated with particularly Maganvox stereos. If there is interest, perhaps we could make a run to satisfy everyone's needs.

[electra225]

I got all the material off the inside of the lid. I made a mixture of warm water and dish washing soap which worked well. I had to get the wood wetter than I had hoped to. I will let it dry for maybe a week, then fix the relatively minor damage caused by the errant spindle. The wood needs to be well dry so I don't get moisture under any filler I may use. Then just finish sanding and prepping for Tolex. I will paint the areas where the Tolex on the sides joins the Tolex on the top of the inner lid. This so bare wood doesn't show if I make a boo boo when I apply the Tolex.

[electra225]

I am still working on this project. My spare time has been limited, due to my working too much at the store. I have been tending to little issues, fixing little places that I don't like. The holidays also limit my shop time. As soon as the holidays are over, I'm going to start putting on the new Tolex. I have practiced all I can. I hope I know all I think I know when it comes time to do the deed. Keep a good thought, if you would, please.......

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

We will look forward to the next installation of
the project.

Thanks for the update !

[electra225]

Today is a "Chamber of Commerce" type weather day, which I will not go into any further.....

The project for today was to dead-head the "germaniums" and put Miracle-Gro and water on everything. That done, I can make some progress on the cabinet. I am hoping today will be the last sanding session before I install the Tolex. I have petted this thing, and done enough worrying about messing it up, that the next step is to "just do it".

The plan right now is to do the black part around the middle, folded over to the inside of the changer compartment. Then do the sides of the changer compartment. Then the plinth in the changer compartment. Then turn it over on its top and do the bottom in two pieces. Do the bottom solid, then piece in the back. The black part in the middle will be done in three pieces. Each side then the back. I found the paint I wanted to repaint the metal mesh over the speaker cloth. I went to an auto parts store and found some really sparkly aluminum paint. I'd still like to find some red cloth to use for grill cloth, but I haven't found what I want. The "Magnavox" script I found does not have any tabs sticking out to mount it with. So the hunt for a Magnavox script is on again. I want to get the cabinet completely finished before I worry about the changer.

[TC Chris]

The "Magnavox" script I found does not have any tabs sticking out to mount it with. So the hunt for a Magnavox script is on again. I want to get the cabinet completely finished before I worry about the changer.

Epoxy some tabs on the back? You should be able to get some nice copper or bronze annular nails with a flat head for gluing, and ductile enough to fashion some method of fastening.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I thought about doing something like that, but really don't want to. I also considered just sticking them on with clear silicone. I have the plastic backing that the tabs go thru to the other side of the metal mesh. That part was still stuck to the mesh. There is a Magnavox script on ebay that they want almost 20 bucks for, which offends my "cheap" sensibilities. The original setup had the Magnavox script held to the plastic thingy thru the mesh with those metal clips that you always have to destroy to remove them. So I guess what I want is a solution that I don't have to work for, but is still cheap.......

I have some plastic toothpicks that will work perfectly if I decide to go the reasonable route and fix what I have so it will work.

[electra225]

I called AES this morning to ask them a question. They had no idea of what I was talking about. I got aggravated at that. But I learned something that might help someone else working with Tolex.

If you ask ten people, or watch ten different videos on how to install Tolex, you'll get eleven different answers. There seems to be no wrong way. My biggest issue was the glue. I can't handle breathing strong fumes. I have to be really careful. I wanted to know how fumy the glue AES sold me might be. Do I need to find some breathing protection outside of N95 masks? The product I selected and that they sold me is latex-based and water soluble. If it's anything like latex paint, the fumes should be manageable. Contact cement is probably the better choice as far as adhesion goes, but it is known by me to be extremely fumy. A guy in England who put out a Tolex video uses contruction glue, like Elmer's. It dries really fast, but you can get the Tolex off and move it if you need to. The kind I got and contact cement both give you one shot at getting it right. You can't move the Tolex once it makes contact. I plan on pre-cutting the material and trial fitting it before I use glue. I'm probably over-thinking this.....

Next time, I'll buy from a place that knows their product and can help if I get stuck. Sometimes saving a buck is not the most cost-effective. I specifically DO NOT recommend AES if you want to get involved in a Tolex project.

[electra225]

After I quit feeling sorry for myself, I was able to develop a plan to move forward. I saw a video that suggested marking off the cabinet with pencil lines so you could start the Tolex straight and would have a guide if you got to going crooked. It was suggested in yet another video to give yourself a bit of extra material to compensate for minor boo boos. And yet another that suggested using paint to fill in between the different colors so if you make a miscut, it might not show as bad. I'll get some of those little hobby paints at the store close enough to cover those areas. I am using Frog tape, masking tape, to measure the runs. It's hard to measure accurately with a tape measure around all the corners and lips on the cabinet. I use tape to measure the span, then measure the length of the tape. I will mark the center of each run of Tolex and the cabinet. The outside of the top gets done in one piece, the bottom of the cabinet gets done in one piece, the popout gets done in three pieces. I have changed my mind on colors, but will keep you all in suspense. A clue would be I decided to make it as original as I could.

[TC Chris]

I called AES this morning to ask them a question. They had no idea of what I was talking about. I got aggravated at that. But I learned something that might help someone else working with Tolex.

Sometimes email is the best way to inquire because it lets them think about the answer, direct the question to the right person, look up info, etc. That's what I do at work all the time. Sometimes it's an email followed with a phone call later. Phone bank people range in competence and knowledge. Get the right one and you are rewarded. The wrong one and you get nothing except frustrated.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I'm sorry, but that's not how I roll. I have neither the time nor the inclination to play penpal with a company that is getting some of my hard-earned money. If they have a customer service phone number, I'll use that. But have a customer SERVICE individual to answer that phone. Know what you are selling, how it provides value to the customer, make them feel good they made the right choice dealing with you. In the future, if I need something and AES seems like the best option, I will simply purchase the item and go about my business. I now understand that their customer service personnel are merely clerks who fill orders. Done.

[electra225]

I see I may be missing a trim piece that goes on the upper part of the cabinet and holds the speaker grill in place. There are three holes there with nothing in them. I found a picture of a similar model on ebay that shows what I need. I believe if I find a piece of aluminum angle it should work.

[electra225]

I believe I am missing a piece of trim, but maybe not like the one posted above. My model is not easy to find on the internet. I found this one, two-tone brown. It appears there is a channel of aluminum that runs along the top like on the sides and is held in with the three screws I found holes for. If you look real close at this one I found, you may see what I'm referring to. If anybody has a clearer picture of the front of a TP 241, I'd like to look at it.

[electra225]

I worked for about 5 hours this afternoon and don't quite have the lid done. Tolex is not hard, but it's messy and tedious. I didn't buy a heat gun, which would have helped shorten drying time for the glue. The latex glue I'm using seems strong and it's not fumy. It dries quickly in the brush. I keep a container with water and put the brush in water immediately after use. I'm using a ceramic container to pour the glue in, which works well. The glue doesn't stick to the ceramic. The glue sets up faster on wood than it does on the Tolex, so I put glue on the Tolex about ten minutes before I put it on the wood. My blade slipped when I was working with the white inside the lid. This three-second slip cost me a couple hours to fix. I watched a video that recommended having a container of Super Glue to fix places that didn't glue well. I didn't do that, but I'm going to get some tomorrow. Careful as you can be, there will be places the glue doesn't stick to the Tolex well, usually in corners. The guys posting YouTube videos make Tolex installing look easy. It's not. It takes practice. And lots of patience. I walked away a couple times today. Better that than working when I'm tired and really messing something up.

[William]

One step at a time and before you know it, it will be done and looking like new. Keep up the good work.

Bill

[electra225]

I didn't get a lot accomplished on the Tolex today. I did get the middle color panels cut, pre-fit and ready to go. I have all the pieces cut for the changer compartment. These have also been pre-fit. I am going to do the big piece for the inside of the lid in two stages. I can't "steer" it right without getting wrinkles. I only get one shot. I'll put glue on a quarter of it, get it started straight, then glue and stick the balance. I have it cut a fuzz too long to eliminate the possibility of having a gap. The middle color panels will be three pieces. I need to find the holes where the parking bumpers went. I hope I measured right..... I still need to buy some paint to outline where the dark color goes.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

We look forward to photos whenever you
post them !

[electra225]

Truth be told, I chose a cabinet to refinish that is not a good first project. All the YouTube videos show putting Tolex on a guitar amp box. The cabinet I'm working on has the popout and a couple reverse angles, not the best pursuit by a rookie. Guitar amp boxes are square. This one takes a lot of time, letting glue dry, pre-fitting panels, taking pictures, and, to be honest, generally dinking around, not getting in a big hurry. I'm using three colors. It is vital to outline the lightest and the darkest colors with similarly-colored paint so your meeting lines won't show. You can cut the panels with a straight edge, but the wood in the cabinet has warped somewhat and is not perfectly straight. No way not to get a gap somewhere. The paint hides the mistake in plain sight..... This project as your first Tolex project is like trying to restore a color TV before you do an AA5.....

[electra225]

I have the lid completely done, save installing the latches. Those may need some engineering. I installed the "Magnavox" decal I had done. Hint....don't install that decal in one piece. Cut it in three pieces, get the "Magnavox" centered and installed, then install the "High FIdelity" and the coat of arms under them. Close enough would be good enough. I installed the decal in one piece. One twitch, one touch by the blade of the razor blade I was using and it could have gone south really quickly. Each little image had to be "urged" off the backing with the sharp edge of a razor blade. It worked out though, and looks nice. I made it more work than it needed to be.

I also have the inside of the bottom cabinet done, along with the motor board. Next up is to start on the popout. I'll do it a bit at a time in order to get started straight. I hope to get the popout done yet today.

[William]

Wow, you are making great progress and before you know it, you will be done and grinning from ear to ear.


Bill