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    Home » projects » Transform A Vintage Radio Cabinet: Remove Radio, Add Shelves, Paint Cabinet

    Transform A Vintage Radio Cabinet: Remove Radio, Add Shelves, Paint Cabinet

    This post may contain affiliate links

    This is a complete tutorial on how to remove the radio from a vintage radio cabinet and replace the insides with shelves. Then we paint it!

    Wood Radio Cabinet

    I know ya’ll remember this vintage radio cabinet. It was at a local flea market shop and I passed on it because of the condition and the price. The price was $60 and the cabinet was in terrible condition.

    I was really torn about passing on it. Several of you offered advice on whether to purchase it and also suggested offering less money for the cabinet. The comments were running close to  50/50  leaning slightly toward buying, but at a lower price.

    I went to back to the shop and was so glad to see the cabinet was still there. It was a mess but it was still calling my name. I was planning to offer $40 for the cabinet. But guess what?? There was a 30% off sign on the vendor’s booth. The sale price of the radio was $42……sold.

     

    radio cabinet inside look

    Here’s a look at the inside of the cabinet with the radio still in place. You can also see how the piece between the legs is falling off.

    missing veneer Petticoat Junktion

    There was a lot of missing veneer and the top was a disaster. The JTS and I will have to take the radio out and do a major overhaul if this piece is going to look like anything.

    removing the radio from a vintage cabinet Petticoat Junktion

    We hauled the cabinet home and the first thing the JTS (aka Junktion Technical Specialist, aka Hubby) started to work. The first thing he did was remove the base and start gluing the legs and stuff back together.

    making repairs vintage radio cabinet Petticoat Junktion

    The top of the base was coming apart as was the bottom, and the legs were all wobbly. I’m surprised the cabinet didn’t fall over. That’s how bad it was.

    The glue and clamp a vintage radio cabinet Petticoat Junktion

    He used a lot of glue and clamps and straps to hold all of the pieces together. The hubby is so good at this stuff. I hate the gluing part because it slows me down. I just want to start painting but can't always do that first although sometimes I try.

    vintage radio project Petticoat Junktion

    Next, we started removing all of the insides. Finding the screws and bolts holding everything in place and figuring out how to proceed was half the battle. Even though I've painted several of the radio cabinets this is the first one I purchased with the radio still inside. Don’t worry, I’m saving the good parts of the radio. Who knows what I might do with them?

    radio casing Petticoat Junktion

    Removing that shelf was the hardest part. We used crowbars and hammers and took turns working on it. The shelf was tightly wedged into the slots on the walls of the cabinet.

    project Petticoat Junktion

    I'm surprised we didn't tear the whole cabinet apart between all the hammering and the crowbars. Not that you would notice if we did.

    vintage radio cabinet project Petticoat Junktion

    The never-ending story of removing the radio parts continues. I'm ready to get on with the most important part.....the painting. I tend to be a little biased when it comes to paint time. I mean….that is what makes it pretty.

     

    attaching furniture base Petticoat Junktion

    Once the cabinet was empty and the glue was dry on the base we put the two pieces back together.

    The radio cabinet is actually pretty now compared to what it looked like before. All of the details make it beautiful!

    prepping furniture for painting Petticoat Junktion

    The cabinet was really really dirty and the clean up has to be done before painting can start. The JTS is awesome. Have you guys noticed that? I should be nicer to him.

    IMG_5855

    The original back was missing so the JTS cut a new back for the piece using a sheet of luan. Then he attached it using a nail gun.

    IMG_5862

    Seems like the repairs are never-ending. One of the doors was coming apart so out came the wood glue and clamps again. See my feet….I was there….taking photos.

    IMG_5857

    Those straps come in handy for all kinds of things. As you can see the cabinet now has shelves. I didn't get photos of the JTS cutting the shelves and installing them. Sorry. He put the shelves in before attaching the new back.

    furniture repair repurpose transformation Petticoat Junktion

    The radio cabinet is actually pretty now compared to what it looked like before. All of the carved details make it beautiful!

    vintage radio cabinet amazing transformation Petticoat Junktion

    Now it's time to move on to the painting after a few more repairs....

     

    painting the inside of cabinet

     

    There was a lot of missing and loose veneer. Instead of stripping all the veneer I  glued the loose pieces and didn’t worry about the missing pieces. The areas with chipped veneer will look great painted and distressed. The top had no veneer at all and big gouges in the wood. The JTS filled the worst parts with wood filler.

    The cabinet was finally ready to paint. I used Off-White Beyond Paint on the shelves and interior walls.

    loose veneer glued and clamped Petticoat Junktion

    I didn’t notice the loose and gaping veneer pieces on the front of the doors until I was painting the inside of the cabinet. I used wood glue and clamps to take care of the worst areas.

    Frogtape paint project Petticoat JUnktion

    Before painting the outside of the cabinet I used FrogTape to protect the white paint inside. Didn’t want gray on the white. My first plan was to paint the doors white and the rest of the piece gray. The paint is Benjamin Moore and the color is Gray, yes it's simply called Gray.

    furniture paint project in progress Petticoat Junktion

    With this plan in mind, I used FrogTape around the doors too. As we all know my plans tend to change halfway through a project. I painted the doors with off-white Beyond Paint like the inside.

    white paint dry brush technique Petticoat Junktion

    Now I’m ready to dry-brush off-white paint onto the gray. All it takes is a dab of paint for dry brushing.

    dry brush technique Petticoat Junktion

    I dipped the brush bristles into the paint and then wiped most of the paint off the brush with a paper towel. Next, I ran the brush over the raised details. This is how you dry brush paint onto anything.

    hand sanding paint Petticoat Junktion

    Then I distressed the whole cabinet by hand using 100 grit sandpaper.

     

    gray cabinet with white accents Petticoat Junktion

    This is what it looked like after the distressing. I kept looking at the piece and kept having doubts about the look. I showed the above photo to Sara at the shop and she said the white looked like a tombstone. That did it for me.

    vintage radio cabinet makeover with shelves

    I can tell you the paint process after that, I just don’t have photos. When I’m working on a project and using the trial and error method  (and throwing a few fits too), I forget to take photos.

    Benjamin Moore Gray Paintvintage radio cabinet makeover with shelves and paint 14

    I painted gray over the white and then painted gray over some of the dry-brushed white areas because there was too much white. Then I distressed the whole cabinet again.

    Decorative Calender Shelf Liner Recycle Idea Petticoat Junktion project

    When I was trying to decide on the paper for the interior I noticed how the white paint on the front edges of the shelves popped out at me. So I painted them gray too then I covered them with an old calendar. You can use anything as shelf paper.

    vintage radio cabinet makeover with shelves and paint 12

    How to replace a radio in a vintage radio cabinet with shelves and paint the cabinet

    And that was the process Ladies and Gentlemen. Sometimes my first plan, second plan, and sometimes third plans don’t work.

    vintage radio cabinet makeover with shelves and paint 13

    Have you ever worked a project over two or three times before you got it right?

    I think you will enjoy my video on How To Antique Painted Furniture....

    As always thanks for being here, Kathy

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Metina

      October 09, 2022 at 12:19 pm

      Hello! I have this exact cabinet.

      Does your husband remember any of the details of how he took this part off? I have removed the screws and a hammer is NOT budging it. https://petticoatjunktion.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/project-Petticoat-Junktion_thumb.jpg

      I really don't want to damage this as I want to use a portion of it when putting it back together so banging it from the other side is not an option.

      Reply
    2. Laura

      May 22, 2022 at 2:29 pm

      I love this! I have antique raisin that looks similar. Might just be same. I’m wanting to repurpose it to hold my homegrown canned food. Thank you for this! It’s beautiful!

      Reply
    3. Rose L.

      July 28, 2015 at 8:35 pm

      JTS is a sweetie. Good for him to have something he enjoys doing. I could sure use a JTS here!!

      Reply
    4. Ellen

      July 28, 2015 at 5:06 pm

      JTS is a rockstar. All your followers appreciate him and you. Both are very talented. I would love that cabinet. Could be many things. Keep on creating.

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 28, 2015 at 6:48 pm

        Thank you Ellen! You made my day!

    5. Karen

      July 28, 2015 at 11:34 am

      oh my...jts has rocked it again!

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 28, 2015 at 6:48 pm

        Yes, he's good!

    6. chris aka monkey

      July 28, 2015 at 10:57 am

      the jts is super awesome that cabinet looks like new old now xx

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 28, 2015 at 6:48 pm

        He is awesome. Ya'll are giving him the big head, lol.

    7. Marcia Banach

      July 28, 2015 at 10:21 am

      Wow, the cabinet is starting to look even more awesome! I definitely need a JTS of my own

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 28, 2015 at 6:49 pm

        Everyone needs a JTS. Ya'll can't have mine.

    8. Donna Marie

      July 28, 2015 at 8:08 am

      It's hard to keep a good man down!!!

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 28, 2015 at 6:49 pm

        True

      • Debra

        January 14, 2023 at 12:16 pm

        I have two of this same cabinet. I think they are just a gorgeous style. Bought one for $12 at an estate sale and refurbished her. She is a beauty now. Working on the second one now 😊

      • Kathy Owen

        January 14, 2023 at 6:10 pm

        Yes, I love them. I never find them for $12!

    9. Sherry Fram

      July 28, 2015 at 8:04 am

      Can't wait to see it finished!

      Reply

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