Capacitor Question for my Predicta - Page 2 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

leadlike · #16 03-09-2009, 08:21 AM

Question-did the Princess Predictas come from the factory in anything other than antique white? I ask as The cabinet to mine was so damaged I had to strip it (it had been painted once before anyway) and I wanna get some fresh paint on there. I'm gonna use some kind of heat resistant spraypaint, as I've heard of bad restorations where the body paint began to bubble after a few hours.

I see the Telstar folks that make the repro Predictas make them in a variety of colors, but I thought Philco also issued cabinets in maroon and baby blue as well. Any thoughts much appreciated...

spudz64 · #17 03-09-2009, 08:45 AM

The Princess came in all biege, vermillion (bright red), and mahogany, which is dark-reddish brown color. The perforated front was beige on all models regardless....

The Debutante officially came in just charcoal (almost black), but biege was used for the motel model Debutante which is very common. These sets used the gold cloth fronts.

The Siesta (Princess with a clock) came in all biege too, as well as gold, with the perforated front being beige as well.

I know of no other colors than these for the 17" metal Predicta sets. I attached a pic of my 3, a gold Siesta, a biege Princess and a charcoal Debutante.

I don't know about repainting them, but I would say using a good quaility enamel paint would be best. Maybe go to a local auto shop and have them do it? Anyone out there with advice on this, and how best to match the original colors too?

leadlike · #18 03-09-2009, 09:19 AM

I'm pretty good at painting, and I know of a good high temp paint that should be a very 50's vermillion.

The plastic screen is oh so shockingly scratched, but only in a very minor way. Your predicta screens look quite ready for inspection. How did you go about getting them so flawless? I have all three grits of Novus polish, plus somewhere around here I have a couple of grits of buffing compound for auto finishes...

This is exciting...I just got it working! I had it all hooked up and with raster, but no signal, even hooked up to the swamping signal of a DVD input. Well, after smacking around the tuner for a bit, I got a picture! I made a few adjustments, and it looks great! I have the next two days off, so let's see if I can get it back in a new red cabinet by Wednesday! No pictures yet, but here is the thread where I brought it home which has a pic:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...light=predicta

spudz64 · #19 03-09-2009, 10:38 AM

Oh yes, I recall your posting when you found it now! Glad to know its working for you and you are on the way to restoring it!

My 3 Predicta screens are in really good shape, I so lucked out, no cracks on any of them and only a few small scratches here and there. I used the Novus plastic polish that you have too, to brighten them up. I have read that the plastic headlamp restorer kits for cars do wonders for clear plastics, and I am tempted to try it on the few spots that need work. One kit I saw uses super fine wet sandpaper sheets (up to 2500 grit) with plastic polish and like the Novus stuff it will buff the spots out in steps.

These 17" Predicta screen covers seem to be a harder, more durable plastic than the 21" ones, which evidently grow mold on the inside (!) and fog up easily. I would still be very care as they are 50 years old after all and may be fragile and dry. Have you removed it and cleaned both sides, as well as the screen front? That alone brightens up the CRT nicely...

Good luck with the repaint! My favorite Princess is the mahogany color, with the contrast of the beige face going well with the reddish-brown sides and top. I would trade in my biege one for that combo if I came across one!

marty59 · #20 03-09-2009, 11:35 AM

My Barberpole screen had the typical molded/crusted over appearence too. I removed it and cleaned it with warm soapy water and a soft cloth laying on a towel in the bathtub. The outside was the moldy side, inside just dirty.....
And it smells better too!

Electronically, it's getting there, I watch it occasionally but I would'nt think of making it a daily watcher but it's cool to show off!!

leadlike · #21 03-10-2009, 12:36 PM

It liiiiiives....here are some pictures with a new coat of paint and a polished up screen:

and barring that the hypertext won't work, here are some direct links that do:

http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/l...t=100_1444.jpg

http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/l...t=100_1442.jpg

spudz64 · #22 03-10-2009, 02:50 PM

Wow that was quick! It looks good!

Did you use a spray gun or just use a can of paint?

leadlike · #23 03-10-2009, 02:58 PM

Thanks! I did use spraypaint. I started with lots of primer and wetsanding to fill in the scratches and smooth out the crummy old paint job to a glass like finish. Then I applied the gloss red in a similar manner, and it shines great. Once the paint cures, I'll put a coat of wax on to protect the finish. I used Novus polish on the crt shell, and that took out all but a couple of small but deeper scratches. I think I'll leave it that way.

I keep losing HV after warmup and I can see the damper tube shutting down. Fiddling with the socket has made things better, but I think anyone stomping across the room would be enough to cause intermittents in this set. I may just add jumpers to the filament pins on the damper socket. I tested and retested the board for bad solder joints, but looks like one got by me.

spudz64 · #24 03-10-2009, 03:11 PM

Well nice job! BTW which brand paint did you use? I happen to be helping someone with info who came across my Flickr pics (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9998191...7604694313416/) and they want to paint theirs red too, so good timing for him!

leadlike · #25 03-11-2009, 10:50 AM

The primer I used was Rust-Oleum Painter's touch primer gray. This wet sanded very well with 400g one the base coats, with 800g on the final primer coat. With using primer, all of those little nicks and imperfections will come out, affording your the opportunity to deal with them. I had a deep scratch on the top, and after every coat, I would sand it back down to the old paint, but the scratch would be filled with primer, creating an even surface.

The top coat is Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Apple Red-in Gloss finish. I wet sanded the first two coats, and used a cloth to buff the final coat.

I soldered jumper wire to the damper filaments and it works flawlessly now. I have an RCA that uses these PC boards, only they still used hand-wired stuff for the HV tubes. If only Philco had done that, and these sets would not have had such major issues.