Hi all!
I thought I'd stop for a moment on my project to share my experience thus far- Recently I picked up a Crown CSC-950F for 20 bucks off Craigslist. I was immediately struck with the classic retro look of the boombox. My plan was to clean it up, have some nostalgic fun listening to some old cassettes, then sell it on Ebay...
Fast forward a week or two, and I've fallen in love with it. The construction is impressive, the sound is incredible. This Crown is a few years older than I am, but definitely from a "high water mark" era of consumer electronics. I've decided I'll keep it around and make some modifications to bring it into this era while keeping the stock aesthetic. Primarily, I intend to add integrated Bluetooth. If that is successful and my ambition remains, I'll look at adding rechargeable 12v battery.
Now, while there's probably nothing extraordinary here to the grizzled veterans of Boomboxery, I still want to record my progress. It is after all just a cleaning. But, I figure I will share it here for posterity, and as I progress along, will have access to tips and help if I get stuck.
So here is Step 1: Cleanup, assessment, and repair of my Crown CSC-950F.
The box was covered in patina of paint splatters, adhesive & glue stains, and general "hazy, yellowish/brown dirt grime" (I suspect it was once owned by a fry cook who did some handyman jobs on the side):
The pause button was bent, and a top switch was loose and wobbled around (note: bottom half of pic is after cleanup):
And lastly, there was... This.
I didn't know what to make of it at first. I thought the top foil layer was delaminating and I would need to be careful not to make it worse:
Soon it became clear that this was only the protective sticker that covers brushed metal! It was so satisfying to peel it off and see the virgin surface underneath:
Also, look at those knobs! Prior to starting, I thought that was paint worn off plastic knobs. However, they must literally be chromed metal or some other very decent coating/construction. Either way, it was shaping up to far surpass what I was expecting to see play out.
After meticulous tooth-brushing with isopropyl, polishing the clear plastic, dismantling and fixing minor things, it was starting to really shine:
Without further ado... Here she is all detailed from top to bottom. Rewound back to former glory and ready for a nice new lease on life:
Enjoy!
I thought I'd stop for a moment on my project to share my experience thus far- Recently I picked up a Crown CSC-950F for 20 bucks off Craigslist. I was immediately struck with the classic retro look of the boombox. My plan was to clean it up, have some nostalgic fun listening to some old cassettes, then sell it on Ebay...
Fast forward a week or two, and I've fallen in love with it. The construction is impressive, the sound is incredible. This Crown is a few years older than I am, but definitely from a "high water mark" era of consumer electronics. I've decided I'll keep it around and make some modifications to bring it into this era while keeping the stock aesthetic. Primarily, I intend to add integrated Bluetooth. If that is successful and my ambition remains, I'll look at adding rechargeable 12v battery.
Now, while there's probably nothing extraordinary here to the grizzled veterans of Boomboxery, I still want to record my progress. It is after all just a cleaning. But, I figure I will share it here for posterity, and as I progress along, will have access to tips and help if I get stuck.
So here is Step 1: Cleanup, assessment, and repair of my Crown CSC-950F.
The box was covered in patina of paint splatters, adhesive & glue stains, and general "hazy, yellowish/brown dirt grime" (I suspect it was once owned by a fry cook who did some handyman jobs on the side):
The pause button was bent, and a top switch was loose and wobbled around (note: bottom half of pic is after cleanup):
And lastly, there was... This.
I didn't know what to make of it at first. I thought the top foil layer was delaminating and I would need to be careful not to make it worse:
Soon it became clear that this was only the protective sticker that covers brushed metal! It was so satisfying to peel it off and see the virgin surface underneath:
Also, look at those knobs! Prior to starting, I thought that was paint worn off plastic knobs. However, they must literally be chromed metal or some other very decent coating/construction. Either way, it was shaping up to far surpass what I was expecting to see play out.
After meticulous tooth-brushing with isopropyl, polishing the clear plastic, dismantling and fixing minor things, it was starting to really shine:
Without further ado... Here she is all detailed from top to bottom. Rewound back to former glory and ready for a nice new lease on life:
Enjoy!
