what should I do about this Valco chassis?

[alange5]

I acquired an Airline 62-9029A amp in horrible condition.  The face was covered in thick rust and the lettering was gone.  I used some non-acidic rust remover and got most of it off, but there's tons of black pitting remaining.


Is there anything I can do to shine it up a little more?  What about lettering?  I'm considering waterslide decal, but it won't last without a clear coat, and I'm not sure I can get a clear coat to adhere to the chassis.


Or is it at the point of no return? 




The good news is the transformers aren't rusted, and after new filter caps, power cord, and tubes, it sounds great.

[DummyLoad]

buffing wheel and polishing compound. seal it with rust inhibiting paint or have it powder coated. need to strip it clean for either to expect decent results.


--pete

[drew]

Have a faceplate made?

[PRR]

> Have a faceplate made?

+1

You can't buff out deep pits. On a very valuable car, you could etch out the rust, tin the whole surface, lead it, file flat, paint. (On a lesser car you would slather Bondo and sell before it fell off.)

Since it is a small flat panel with a few holes, I'd just make a faceplate.

[alange5]

Have a faceplate made?

Good call.  That's probably easiest.  I've never made one before - I'll do some research

[DummyLoad]

http://www.cam-expert.com/front-panel-express.php


they're reasonable with a respectable turnaround time.


--pete

[vibrolax]

One other idea (that I haven't tried myself) is electrolytic rust removal.  Just google it.  Pictures and videos seem to show dramatically good results in many cases.  Of course you would have to remove everything from the chassis.

I can also vouch for the quality of Front Panel Express's product, but to me it's an expensive path for restoring less valuable vintage gear.

Jon

[alange5]

I ended up making a faceplate.  I think it turned out nice.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[HotBluePlates]

Wow!!  Very nice job!  The appearance is at least as good as any other path you could have taken.

[punkykatt]

You are going to tell us how you made that faceplate. Please!  Beautiful job.

[alange5]

You are going to tell us how you made that faceplate. Please!  Beautiful job.

Thanks!  I used a sheet of .08" thick acrylic (purchased from Loews).  I did the graphics in Photoshop and printed a mirror image on a sheet of clear decal paper.  I applied the decal to the back side of the acrylic so that the graphic sits under it.  I then spray-painted the decal side with metallic paint.


It was pretty satisfying.  The whole thing cost about $20 and I still have material leftover to make another dozen or so faceplates.


Here's a pic of the finished amp (with fresh new tolex)

[punkykatt]

Thank you for that information.  $20.00,  love it. Looks like a pro job!  Thanks for sharing.