Refinishing a console stereo

I have a Magnavox console stereo, a 1ST6160R that someone before I got it had tried to refinish the cabinet on.  It appears they used aircraft stripper on the entire cabinet.  This not only removed the finish, but it also removed the photofinish on the front of the cabinet, and on the sliding lids.  There is a huge water stain on one of the lids. The lids are now bare tempered Masonite that has been damaged by stripper.  They are worthless, and nasty.

My thinking, to save this stereo, is that I would like to "hot rod" the cabinet.  I have nothing to lose.  My wife likes the newer ebony finished furniture, and has suggested that I try going this route.  I am thinking using ebony dye on the hardwood portion of the cabinet, and on the front.  The inside of the cabinet appears to be painted with some kind of satin paint, a kind of brownish-gray color.  My idea is to paint this area satin black.  Then, for the tops, in Concert Grand tradition, have a couple pieces of tempered glass cut for the lids.  These I would reverse paint flat black.  Then, for grill cloth, I would get either some totally black grill cloth, or perhaps some black, silver, and red ala guitar amps.  Then I would paint the "Magnavox" script silver.  There are two strips of silver trim that go on the upper edge of the front grill cloth on each side.  I have an extra set of speakers out of a Maggie stereo, so these could be incorporated into a set of reproduced external speakers.  I have two "Magnavox" scripts that could be used in these speakers.

The only experience I have had with ebony dye is on trim.  I have never done an entire cabinet with it before.  Am I on the right track, here?  Are there any other/more successful ideas out there?  I am certainly open to suggestions.

Regards

WC

WC,

I'll probably get yelled at by others who are hard-core cabinet experts, but I like the MinWax line of stains when it comes to refinishing. Last I checked they do make an "Ebony" which might just be the ticket for you. On parts that would be considered "non-absorbant" for stains, you'd be looking at paint. For auto projects I really like Rustoleum in the aerosol cans. It stinks to high heck until it is cured, but does look nice with minimum prep. I use the "Satin" Black #7777 (a semi-gloss looking paint) and "Flat Black" #7776.

Just food for thought.

I agree, you really can't do it any harm if it has been trashed by a previous idiot.

I have the electronics all tuned up. It is a 1961 with stereo tuner and a multiplex adapter. I have gone thru the TT. It would be a shame to junk it or part it out. I like the Minwax line myself, so that would be a consideration. My experience with ebony stain on hardwood is that it does not get very dark. This is why I mentioned ebony DYE. I have water stains to hide, so it will have to be stained fairly dark to cover that. I will use satin poly as a finish. I don't care about what the purists think. If they want to give me, say, $500 for the stereo, then they can call the shots. Until then we will do it our way and have some fun with it. My frau seems to be leaning toward all-black grille cloth, so that is probably the way to go. I have a cabinet builder who is going to make speaker enclosures for the external speakers. This stereo is on my "honey do" list for the summer, and I wanted to get some ideas. Thanks, Doc. This gives me a place to start.

Oh I see. You're right. With the water stains and grain damage, the stain route probably wouldn't work so good.  

Don't really have any DYE experience. Be sure to post the results, I am curious now.

Here's an idea to throw at ya, Why do monochromatic theme? All black? Maybe you would consider this too "moderne", but why not go for a gray or silver-ish grill cloth treatment. The contrast might really make it "pop" with silver or chrome treated logos and details.....

??

Just my thoughts.

I've used the Minwax line of stains for years and love the product. They used to have charts showing how a particular color stain would look on different types of wood. I do remember them making an "ebony" stain

I wanted black, silver and red, or black, silver and white grill cloth, but the stopper was the frau. Hot rodded grill cloth is her contribution to my collection. It makes her happy and keeps her off my back, if you get my drift.   

It was her idea for the monochromatic look. She likes that. She feels that my idea of grill cloth would make it "look like it belongs in a brothel." How many Magnavox console stereos has she SEEN in a brothel? I digress. I like your idea of silver or silver/gray cloth. That might be a compromise. I will present that , and I thank you for the idea. This project is gonna be fun, I can see. Also, what if I paint the inside of the cabinet where the TT and tuner are in a flat medium gray instead of black? That might provide more detail, and would help break up the monochromatic look. The TT is silver or gray and black, so that will work.

Thanks, everybody for your ideas.

Regards

WC

I was out in the garage messing around, and decided to play some 78's on this stereo. I played records for about an hour. Everything went swimmingly, until I turned the function switch to FM. The set went dead. No tube filaments, no dial lights, nothing. When I turn it back on to "Stereo", which means phono in Magnavox-speak, it works just fine. Strange. For some reason I am blaming the switch in the turntable. The only position of the function switch I have any power to anything is in the phono position. Has anybody else experienced a problem like this? This thing has been recapped, re-resistored, a new quad of 6V6's the whole shot. It sat all winter not used until this afternoon. Thanks.

WC