The AM Forum

I got around to working on a rather forlorn Johnson 250-23-3 Matchbox this week. It was given to me some years ago and had evidently been left out in the rain. The knobs had become quite bleached from the Sun.
I removed the knobs and the skirts from the two larger ones. I soaked them overnight in a mild natural kitchen soap which did a great job of removing all of the dirt and scum. Naturally, I removed all set screws first.
I laid the knobs out on several sheets of paper towels, then used a can of spray coconut oil that I use for cooking,
and sprayed a generous amount onto the knobs making sure they were completely coated.
This oil is obtained from Trader Joe's and it works VERY well. The idea is to impregnate the missing oils that would normally reside in the Bakelite. The result is a shiny beautiful finish that makes them look brand new. Seriously, they look fantastic and the bonus is the added aroma of Coconut. :) You have to rub on them with a towel to get all of the excess off but it's worth the effort. There may be other ways that are better but I used what I had on hand as an experiment and the result is very gratifying in as much as the knobs are now better looking than the rest of the tuner.
Now onto the task of getting the paint to look good.
73 de Billy N6YW

This is the result.
I could have used a buffing wheel and rouge to get them nice and smooth before the oil treatment, but I don't have one set up yet as I just moved to Tucson in February and haven't had time to put my new shop completely together.
Enjoy.

Lookin' good, Billy..... maybe I should try that on my Valiants?  I picked up another yesterday and it is beautifully restored, recapped and retubed... I hate to say it, but I stole it, but yet I havent fired it up...waiting to install a fuse block and 3 wire cord tomorrow.  There is always something lurking that could go wrong.  Waiting for you to fire up that Bauer 707 too.. cu on 40 or 75 meters..

John W6ZKH

Something else to consider...remove the meter face, scan it and print a new one minus the stains and reinstall.  That will add a finishing touch to the nice knob job.