Hi you all,

I was going to restore an early 60s Emerson (made at the Italian Emerson plant) but i had to leave the set alone as i found asbestos all over the place, large power resistors are mounted on asbestos washers, and the inside of the wood cabinet is fully lined with asbestos sheets :yikes:

Is there a way (like painting or spraying something over the asbestos to prevent it from releasing dust) to make this set safe to restore and own? it's a nice set and i'd hate to throw it out

I haven't seen too much asbestos in televisions, but I've seen it plenty of times when restoring old radios. Generally, I'm of the opinion that it's just as afraid of us as we are of it - and leave it alone. If it's damaged or flaking though, I remove it. I spray it with water to help reduce dust, take it outside and pull it off into a garbage bag. The asbestos in the radios I've worked on has been thin sheets, tacked into the cabinet with staples. If you remove the asbestos, check to see if that area gets unusually hot - a tin heat sheild might be a good addition.

I've heard of people spraying it with laquer to seal it together. But I'm not an expert. I personally don't worry about the tiny (relatively speaking) amount in a television set. Remember, buildings used to be lined with the stuff (and in some cases, still are).

-Ian

Wear a mask or other breathing protection while removing the asbestos. Other than that one thing the previous posting is all good advice.

This has been discussed many times in radio forums. Some people apply Ambroid cement, mixed in 50% solution with acetone, to stabilize the asbestos and prevent future flaking, etc.

Here is one discussion:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.antiques.radio+phono/browse_thread/thread/ac683195c226d8e6/bae3989b11046a9b?lnk=gst&q=asbestos+seal#bae3989b11046a9b

Ambroid is heat-resistant, and apparently good for this application.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

The asbestos in this set is of two different types

The cabinet's asbestos lining resembles thick grey cardboard and is in good conditions, this was probably put there for fire safety purposes, as the chassis is very close to the cabinet's wooden walls

The asbestos washers and plates used around some large wirewound power resistor are much softer and they tend to crumble if you disturb them.

I'll try the Ambroid cement... but i'll have to get a mask before doing anything

Be on the safe side - send any antique TVs with asbestos in them that you have to me, for 'proper disposal'. Especially early DuMonts and 50's vintage color sets, which are LOADED with asbestos... ;)