This seems to be the month when people bring me very expensive radios to restore. Just finished an Atwater Kent model 12 breadboard -- which seems to be worth nearly $2000, from what I can tell.

Now I've got a Sentinel 284 Catalin to work on. It's got a couple cracks, so maybe that means it's only worth $1000. Not sure about that.

Anyway, I've got to be careful with this one, since it's valuable.

Right out of the chute, there's a problem. I can't get the chassis out! I get the impression that the catalin has shrunk a bit over the years, and that has resulted in the chassis being clamped into place with tremendous force.

Anyone seen this problem, and what do you do about it?

Before I got applying heat, lubricants, and whatnot, I'd like to know whether this is a lost cause before I start, and what things may further damage the catalin.

I gave the one I was brought to work on right back for the same issue. I could not get it out and I did not want to ruin the cabinet trying. So it became a shelf queen.

I went to an auction house (several years ago, before the recession) that was displaying a lot of Catalin radios. None were restored, all looked like the cabinets shrank and trapped the chassis. They still sold for big bucks. Send the radio back and save yourself from a lawsuit if you crack the case. I'm sure no one else would service the set, don't be a sucker.
Don

I have had TWO catalin sets that were shrunk to the point where the chassis was frozen inside the case. One was a Motorola, the other a GE "Jewel Box". Ridiculously, both were purchased well over 10 years ago when I knew little about catalin and wanted all my sets to work. A local radio guy who had a vast catalin collection took them both (at different times) and grinded down the chassis at one end with a dremmel. Swear! I know it does not make alot of sense but thats what he did. This friend tends to fly by the seat of his pants and throws caution to the wind. I would not today allow him to do that.
Ironically, he managed to get BOTH chassis' free to restore, which I did. Big deal. I haven't played them since chassis restoration anyway. What an idiot. Fortunately, both sets are ok. I agree with my forum friends who say "leave it alone". Having them play is unnecessary. Who the heck plays catalin radios anyway?
One last note on this topic. Catalin's pretty, for sure. But, I think, in the last 10 years, they have really lost their cache. And this is only one of the reasons why. In time, catalin will deteriorate. It will change color and shrink, maybe even crack if the chassis is still inside of it when its shrinking. I'm not saying sell your catalin radios QUICK. But, in the long run, metal, wood and bakelite are better investments. Since I don't collect for the money, I'll hold on to my 4-5 catalins and enjoy them. Peace- Ken

interesting. shrunken radios. my brother in-law will be having a rude awakening come his planned retirement investment in catlin radios. I do like the butterscotch color change but not enough to go crazy buying the stuff for thousands of dollars. even more reluctant now if what you wind up with is shrunken distorted investment

Some may not believe me but I have gotten chassis's out of solidly shunken catalin cases more then once. Tap on the shafts one side and then the other with a lead or nylon hammer/mallet. It takes time but the binding area will soon be past the binding spot and out comes the chassis. Grind down the chassis edges with the Dremel and its done.

I found some good advice here: http://www.pontrello.com/radios.html

Basically you heat the whole radio in an oven and tap the chassis out with a screwdriver and hammer through the knob holes in the front. Similar to what hoffies2 recommends above. Sounds risky, but in fact worked beautifully. Chassis is out.

I'm also going to try to repair the cracks and see if I can get it as good as what is shown at that website.

Maybe we can get this into really beautiful shape.

The objective here is to get this radio into the best possible salable condition for the guy that owns it.

It came to me as a filthy mess -- a real sow's ear -- and we'll see if we can turn it into a silk purse.

I didn't realize Paul still had a web business. I gave him a high end catalin 10 years back for repair and he did an incredibly nice job on it. Could not imagine a better repair considering previous condition. Cannot see any damage now. Cost was high but reasonable. Like any work of art, restoration usually restores value by far more than its cost. Pre-catalin price for mine would have been maybe 500. With his work at maybe 200, set is worth 2000 today. Well worth the investment and the set is georgeous now. -Ken

Well, we've got it into pretty decent shape. Can't make this one perfect, because it has a red burn spot on the left side (not visible in this picture) and the dial glass is not perfect, so I'm not sure it's worth sending out to someone like Paul. I cleaned it up, bonded and filled the two broken areas (left side of bar between dial and speaker was badly broken, with a significant gap; lower right of speaker had a fine, but highly visible, dark red crack). Cleaned up and remounted the grill cloth. Fixed the radio (the easy part).

Gave it a full resurfacing and repolish, so it shines beautifully now with something close to its original color. Might need to do the same to the knobs to get better color match, although it's not particularly unattractive with the knobs a little darker than the radio. Obviously, my technique for repairing the cracks isn't as good as the best that can be done, but they're way better than before.



Looking at prices on eBay, it looks like all the pristine ones with asking prices over $1000 are not selling. I suspect people are figuring out these things are nice, but not quite that nice. I imagine prices on these will drop a bit in the coming years.

Camera close ups and it still looks good. The dial glass had a habit of breaking being squeezed in on either end due to shrinkage. Catalins in the $600.00 price range seem to sell more easily. What did you mean by a complete resufacing?? I though butterscotch colored radios were actually alabastar color after sanding.

It's actually a bit lighter and yellower than it appears in this picture. Before resurfacing, it was very much dark orange. I sanded pretty vigorously. The areas I repaired needed sanding, which lightened up those areas, so I ended up sanding the whole thing and repolishing it. Catalin is pretty tough stuff, so it was quite a workout to resurface it. One thing I can say, however, is that the nice shine on this radio is from true polished catalin, not clear coated like some folks do (I'm surprised that buyers don't seem to care).

I'll take some better pictures before selling, so that I get the color in the pictures just right.

Dial glass on this one isn't broken, but a little bit of the numbering is worn off (see the "170").

I understand that Dan Blake is doing repairs again, he's THE man, his old email is dblakeart@hotmail.com you might try him there

Tom-

Nice job on the 284. If interested, dial glass for this model is being reproduced. Can be found on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sentinel-284NI- ... 1041157815

Not cheap at $30, but might be worth it on a higher priced set like yours.

I recently finished a 284 in the bakelite case. Neat little radio.

Good luck,

Matt

Tom,
Thanks for sharing your experience and bringing some light to this corner of the hobby.
I may never own a catalin radio but from reading the linked info and seeing pictures, at least I won't unknowingly pass one up at a flea market.

Best wishes,
-Sam T.