JVC RC-550 Restoration!

[BlackMoses]

Fellow Boomers!

I just picked up this JVC RC-550 on the bay for $260:

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem ... 1043536568

So far out of the box everything seems to work except the VU meter seems to be pretty sporadic. I'm not sure if there's a switch for it or if it changes based on the input. It definitely needs a good thorough cleaning! The only downfall so far is that I realized the handle is missing, so I need to find another, or steal a handle and cut it to fit. Any recommendations on how to get one would be appreciated! I'll get the cleanup pictures posted when I get home.

 

[redbenjoe]

while you are awaiting a handle -
buy a heavy duty wide strap -
this model was often carried like that

 

[bklyn sound]

thats a relly nice box...sorry i dont have no info on parts for that ...but i would love to see pics of the teardown and rebuild...we all love pics

 

[BlackMoses]

Alright, time for some pictures!

Right out of the box, still bubble wrapped. I must say the seller did a great job safely packing and shipping this box:

Here's a better look, a little rough around the edges but definitely fixable:

Time to crack it open:

As an engineer myself, I can seriously appreciate the effort that went into this box by JVC to make it easy to disassemble. The fact that everything is modular makes the whole process 10 times easier:

Plenty of dirt to clean up:

Post bath tub time, it's looking pretty clean:

Now I need your guys' opinion, after cleaning it pretty thoroughly, I'm not completely satisfied with the finish on this thing and I'm thinking about painting it. I'm definitely going to paint the speaker grills, but I'm still not sure on whether or not to mask of the metal and paint the front of the box. You can see some splotches from years of use:

Also, my JVC emblem had all the paint come off I'll have to mask that off and repaint it too:

Finally, the speakers, to paint or not to paint, these babies are looking a little sunbleached and they could definitely use a sprucing up:

I'd appreciate your guys' thoughts! I'm not new to painting boxes, I recently repainted my Sanyo MX-650 with some automotive paint I got from AutoZone and that came out great! If I could replicate those results and get this thing looking as close to stock as possible, I'd be happy.

Also any good suggestions on removing the corrosion on the metal? I cleaned the whole thing with some CLR and that helped remove the corrosion from the chrome plastic pieces, but as for the controls face plate, it's still pretty rough. I was considering getting some metal polish, but I'm worried that I'll remove the lettering at the same time.

 

[redbenjoe]

i hope a member will jump in here and remember .............??

forget the exact polish name
' almond orange ' ?????

its made for hardwood floor cleaning --

but the great feature --is the member said it cleaned metal parts of his grail -
without hurting the lettering

 

[fresh produce]

Can't wait to see it finished I'm waiting for mine to come in so i can give it a custom paint job

 

[floyd]

i hope a member will jump in here and remember .............??

forget the exact polish name
' almond orange ' ?????

its made for hardwood floor cleaning --

but the great feature --is the member said it cleaned metal parts of his grail -
without hurting the lettering

almond glow ?

 

[Reli]

i hope a member will jump in here and remember .............??

forget the exact polish name
' almond orange ' ?????

its made for hardwood floor cleaning --

but the great feature --is the member said it cleaned metal parts of his grail -
without hurting the lettering

almond glow ?

lol