Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Restoration Project: Radio/Record Player/8-Track Console

Anyone who knows Justin and I knows that we love antiques and thrift shopping. We've been able to find quite a few valuable items at thrift stores for little to nothing including antique cameras, records, projectors, and more. We were driving home the other day and we saw a cabinet sitting by the side of the road. I thought it was just an old cabinet, but when Justin got out to look at it, he saw it was actually a radio, record player, and 8-track console. I assumed that it was broken since it was by the side of the road, and it was really dirty and needed some cleaning, but we decided to bring it home to check it out. When we got it home and plugged it in, we realized EVERYTHING worked!!




I was so excited that everything worked on it, so I started cleaning it up. I actually had to vacuum it out to begin with (it was full of sawdust for some reason) and then cleaned it with mild soap and warm water. Some of the black plastic parts in the console would not come clean, so I used some "ultimate black" car cleaner to bring the color back, and then I conditioned the wood with some polish. Justin also had to a put a couple screws in where they were missing, but I think the console looks wonderful now!







I really wanted to try the 8-track player, but I didn't have any tapes, so Justin and I picked up a few at an antique shop in Michigan (Johnny Cash, Kansas, and B.B. King). Turns out the 8-track player works too!


So this is my current dilemma - it's a beautiful piece, but I don't have room for it right now. Do I store it for a future home or should I sell it? Let me know your thoughts!