2 Questions about Wurlitzer 206

[3L3TRIC]

Hi.  I have 2 questions about restoring a wurlitzer 206.  First, I have a guy doing the electronics and fixing keys etc.  I plan to redo the lid myself.  We have converted the 206 into a 200a.  However, I've been told you are not able to add a pedal to converted 206's because the pedal function was part of the cabinet, which this unit no longer has.  Is this true?  It just doesn't seem right to me.  Just a little disappointing that after the work of restoring I won't have the option to have a pedal.  Second question.  I've read several places that a great way to repaint the lid/case of a Wurlitzer 200a is to use vinyl and fabric dye.  I plan on sanding the lid a bit, using Dupli-Color CP199 Clear Adhesion Promoter Primer and then using a spray paint vinyl and fabric dye. I am looking to use Dupli-Color HVP104 Gloss Black Vinyl & Fabric Coating for the final color.  My question is two fold here.  Has anyone had experience using the glass vs matte?  I guess I could test it but just curious about that.  The next part of the question is do I have to stick with vinyl & fabric dye?  It seems the dyes are limited color-wise.  I'd kind of like to paint it army green (not lime green).  I found Rust-Oleum 1920-830 1920830 Camouflage Spray, Army Green as well as Krylon Camouflage Paint, Ultra Flat, Woodland Light Green.  Both of the latter sprays I mentioned appear to be used on metals and plastics, like guns, helmets and cars.  Would this also work?  All these parts can be found on Amazon.  I just didn't know if I could paste links here.  Thanks very much for any input you can give.

[jam88]

The pedal connection on a 206 is just like on a 200. Once you remove the the speaker cabinet and 206 pedal linkage, the threaded damper rod (identical to the 200) remains. A standard (or aftermarket) cable-type pedal can be used.

I'd opt for satin. The gloss looks unrealistically shiny.

Be careful sanding so that you don't remove too much of the texture in areas. Yeah, speaking from experience here

The plastic tops are ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), vacuum formed from Royalite brand sheet. ABS accepts solvent-borne paint very well, unlike polyethylene and polypropylene that paint won't stick to, or PMMA & polycarbonate that are crazed by some solvents. There is a ton of misinformation and generalizations about painting 'plastic' out there...
   

[pianotuner steveo]

In other words, if you buy a replacement 140/200/200A sustain pedal, it will work just fine on this piano. Only some early models such as the 112 used a different pedal.

 If you kept the pedal parts from the case bottom, they can either be made into a free standing (ugly) pedal with a few parts added, or you can sell the parts and put that money towards a pre made replacement. You can't just connect the old parts the way they are and have it work. You need the coupling piece that connects to the outer cable sheath and of course a base for the pedal.

[agarcia]

Hey 3L3TRIC, spray aerosol Vinyl dye is 100% the way to go. The main reason is because it doesn't add any thickness and it won't run. If you're using spray paint, you'll have to be careful that the paint wont drip and those drips will dry into an uneven surface. With the dye, there might be a slight drip when spraying but it will dry flat into the finish.

I painted my 200 a year ago with vinyl dye and the lid is a nice dark green, not lime green. Finish is more matte than gloss, very similar to the original wurlitzer plastic finish.
https://imgur.com/a/RLa3QPL

For the dye I used SEM VP-5084 "Dark midnight green metallic". If you're unhappy with duplicolor I'd recommend looking at the SEM color catalogue, they have a large selection of colors. The picture of the can makes it look like a metallic "sparkle" green but this is actually very close to the original forest green wurli colors. FWIW, I've had my wurli professionally serviced by a company that sees a lot of EPs and they couldn't tell that I had painted it. I'm very happy with how it turned out and think that this is the best way to refinish the a wurlitzer.

I also didn't use the primer, I simply just did a light tack coat to give the full coats something to adhere to and it worked fine for me.
1. I didn't sand the finish at all. Just make sure it's clean of any dust and wipe it down with a damp cloth or something and let it dry.
2. Tape off the faceplate and trim. This is the longest part but important to make sure you don't miss any of the plastic. Also so you don't get dye on the metal trim, but if you do you can scrape off carefully.
3. I just put it outside on a cardboard box and sprayed. I used 1 full can and it was cutting it close, to be safe you might want to buy a 2nd can, but you can refinish a whole wurli top with a single can. I think I did 3 full coats total.
4. Buy a respirator and spray outside or in a well ventilated area.
5. Let it sit for 24hrs and enjoy!

Good news is that if you missed a spot you can repeat the process and there shouldn't be any noticeable spots because each layer isn't adding much thickness or drying. The layers will all blend into one another.

[DocWurly]

The only thing I'd add to what's been said above is that on some 206's, the position of the hole for the pedal cable is drilled a little sloppily, because they weren't thinking anyone was going to convert it later, to accommodate the stop housing of the standard portable pedal.    So the ferule (which you already have) might scrape against the stop housing if the hole is misaligned.

The size of the hole will be right, though.  Buy a pedal from Vintage Vibe and see how it goes.  Worse comes to worst you can fill in the hole and reposition it slightly.  Should be OK, though.