85 year old hifi save...

[Michaels HiFi]

I wanted to save and try and restore the original 85 year old leather strap on my 1935 tube tester I am restoring. As you can see it was in rough shape. Extremely hard and brittle, it felt like it was about to snap in half at any moment.

Where to find true great leather products? Inquire with the horse riding crowd!

They recommended several product from a German company: a deep cleaning soap, leather oil and a protecting balm.

After almost 4 hours of hand polishing with the soap I finally got it mostly clean. Then I have applied 12 coats of leather oil and would simply let the leather soak it up (as you can see in this photo it is mostly soaked in).

I'm just reaching the point now where the leather is taking a long to to absorb the oil vs it absorbing it immediately, so it's about time to hand rub in the protecting leather balm tomorrow.

As you can see in these two photos quite a difference.

 

[Michaels HiFi]

20 Hours vs. 1940’s Lacquer

When my Weston 788 Navy tube tester arrived, it carried with it 80+ years of history — and a finish that looked like it had survived a war of its own.

The 1940 lacquer was heavily scratched, worn, and scarred, a surface that told every one of its decades.

I thought, “How hard could it be?” Twenty-plus hours later, I had my answer.

It took 30+ applications of every conceivable chemical (and combinations of chemicals!) to finally break through what can only be described as Chernobyl-proof lacquer. Each layer fought back. Each pass revealed just how stubborn 1940 chemistry can be.

And when the lacquer finally yielded, the real work began: 5 applications of different cleaners just to strip away the chemical residue!

A careful light sanding to smooth what was left.

And finally… the first of two coats of oil varnish, bringing the white oak back to life and showing a grain that hasn’t been seen in nearly a century.

It’s been exhausting, but also so much fun.

Photo 1: As received
Photo 2: Almost fully stripped
Photo 3: First layer of oil applied