Aging cabinet ideas wanted.

[Mike_J]

As I mentioned an obnoxious number of times the amp I am currently working on has some mileage time wise on it. In the picture below you can see some rust stains on it from the feet of the revibe unit right behind it on top of my 5E3 Deluxe that is pretty close to perfect I must say. Except for the rust stains it will have on it if I don’t take that revibe off it.


Anyway, the obvious answer is to either try to remove the rust stains or to make the amp look even older. Like the older idea because the cabinet has some flawless dovetail joints that should be admired. The amp had some shellac with orange something in it applied to it 22 years ago but a darker appearance would help the aged look. Any suggestions would be appropriated.


Thanks
Mike

[scstill]

If mine I would leave it. It has earned its age spots and they look good. Probably have a good story too.

[acheld]

Ooh, that will be tough to get it back to "normal."  In reality, this is what old amps look like (in my experience); they all have their own flavor.

You could try dabbing some water on the circles, and then dabbing it off.  Unlikely that would do any harm, but honestly it probably won't do much. 

IF this is rust, diluted Rust out might do the job, followed by water rinsing it out (dabbing it, not an actual rinse like with a hose).  However, the areas treated will NOT look the same as the other areas.

Alternative would be to retreat with shellac.  I'd suggest diluting the shellac with denatured alcohol to allow a controlled application.  Shellac normally comes in amber (can look orange) and clear (in the stores) -- amber is your color.   Of course, that will lock in the character of the stains, for better or worse.