Ct-100

[jr_tech]

Here is an example of what I mean... The piece coming down on the right side is quite brown (almost like walnut to my eye) Below the speaker area Reddish brown, like *most* of the cabinet. Below that more reddish, except the foot is a little more brownish. I hope that it was a little more uniform when new! This set is un-restored (obviously) pretty much "as found" in 1971.

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

the foot is a little more brownish.

You may be seeing normal assembly-line variations. The foot is likely a different type of wood than the veneered front. Manufacturers used toner rather than stain because it did a better job of giving an even color on both the expensive veneer and the cheaper structural pieces. (Plus, toning lacquer dried very quickly, unlike stain.) Wood is a natural product, and not every piece of the same type of wood is identical.

Cabinets were made on an assembly line by humans, not robots. On ARF someone posted a video of RCA TV production in the 1950s. In the finishing segment, the cabinets are on a moving conveyor and the lady sprays on lacquer with a hose that looks like it could cover a school bus in a few seconds if she opened the nozzle a little more. It's remarkable what a good job the workers (generally) did under such production pressure. As you probably know from finishing, even a moment's inattention can produce unevenness, and different kinds of wood may still look a little different under a uniform coat, owing to differences in the tightness/depth of the grain and the way it takes the light at different angles. Then you need to factor in the unpredictable effects of UV fading over a period of decades. I have seen a photo of a CT-100 that sat in a sunny store window for years, and its color looked nothing like an original.

Phil Nelson

[Pete Deksnis]

I'm more of an electronic guts type of guy than a cabinet refinisher, but here are cell shots of what I like to think is pretty much a pristine CT-100.

shots 13-12-22 13.15.10 and 13-12-22 13.15.42 taken on the right side of the cabinet clearly show a dark area below the seam. But the dark clearly begins below the seam. The area was illuminated with a 6500 degree K lamp and looks the same by eye as in the photo. Phil is probably on the mark.

shot 13-12-22 13.17.38 is of my operational CT-100; it has an early history of poor storage environments. It too shows a darker lower member although it is harder to tell compared to the other set.

A new observation for me: In both cases it is evident that the grain pattern flows from the veneer side panel to the lower member. Perhaps you can detect it in the marginal cell photos. Did they use the same sheet of veneer to cover the side panel and hardwood frame members? Seems a bit extravagant, but perhaps a quality damn-the-cost practice was invoked because of the status of RCA's first color set?

Pete