Overview
The front dial glass is one of the most distinctive parts of an antique valve radio.
It carries the frequency scale, station names, band markings, logos, decorative lines and visual identity that make a historical radio immediately recognizable.
Unfortunately, this component is also fragile. Radios imported into Iran often arrived with front glass that was:
- cracked;
- shattered;
- partly missing;
- heavily scratched;
- faded;
- chemically damaged;
- or no longer readable.
When an original replacement could not be found, I rebuilt the dial artwork digitally in Adobe Photoshop and prepared it for flatbed printing directly onto replacement glass.
This project documents that visual-reconstruction workflow.
The Problem
A damaged dial glass is not equivalent to a broken window.
The printed surface may contain dense historical information:
- long- and medium-wave scales;
- short-wave bands;
- FM/UKW markings;
- city and station names;
- frequency numbers;
- manufacturer branding;
- decorative borders;
- switch labels;
- musical or tonal symbols;
- and model-specific typography.
If the glass is broken, the information itself may be fragmented.
The challenge is therefore not simply to make a new piece of glass. The real challenge is to reconstruct the original information layer.
My Role
My contribution focused on the digital and print-production side of the restoration:
- documenting the surviving dial glass;
- collecting visual references;
- identifying missing graphical elements;
- reconstructing the complete layout in Photoshop;
- rebuilding lines, labels, frequency scales and decorative elements;
- matching the proportions and positioning of the original design;
- preparing artwork for flatbed printing;
- coordinating print orientation and glass placement;
- and checking the printed result against the radio.
The electrical restoration of the radio formed a separate workflow, while cabinet woodworking was handled by my brother.
Source Material
The source material varied widely.
A reconstruction might begin from:
- a complete but faded glass;
- several broken fragments;
- an old photograph;
- a scan;
- an online reference image;
- a surviving example from another radio;
- a related model;
- or a combination of several incomplete sources.
The first image in the surviving project material, for example, shows a dial glass broken into multiple fragments. In a case like this, no single fragment contains enough information to reproduce the complete front scale.
Digital reconstruction is therefore necessary.
Reconstruction Workflow
1. Capture and Documentation
The original glass or fragments were photographed or scanned as clearly as possible.
The purpose was to preserve:
- surviving text;
- line positions;
- scale spacing;
- decorative details;
- proportions;
- colors;
- logo placement;
- and physical dimensions.
Fragments were treated as evidence rather than as a directly printable source.
2. Geometric Alignment
Broken glass introduces distortion because fragments may no longer sit in their original position.
The artwork therefore had to be realigned digitally.
This included:
- correcting rotation;
- matching fragment edges;
- restoring the overall rectangular geometry;
- aligning scale lines;
- reconstructing missing sections;
- and checking the artwork against the dimensions of the radio.
The goal was to recover the original visual structure before rebuilding details.
3. Recreating the Dial Artwork in Photoshop
The reconstruction was carried out in Adobe Photoshop.
The work could include:
- frequency scales;
- horizontal and vertical guide lines;
- station-name fields;
- manufacturer marks;
- decorative borders;
- numbers;
- mode labels;
- wave-band identifiers;
- button labels;
- and model-specific graphic elements.
The second example image provided with this project shows a fully reconstructed Blaupunkt-style dial artwork, rebuilt as a clean digital graphic from historical source material.
The difference between the broken source and the reconstructed digital design is the core of the project.
4. Typography and Historical Appearance
Historical radio dials often use typography and spacing that do not correspond neatly to modern digital fonts.
Reconstruction therefore required judgement.
Where an exact font was unavailable, the objective was not to modernize the graphic but to reproduce the appearance closely enough that the final printed glass remained visually consistent with the radio.
This required attention to:
- letter width;
- weight;
- spacing;
- line thickness;
- alignment;
- capitalization;
- and the relationship between labels and scale markers.
5. Color Reconstruction
Color was another reconstruction problem.
Original glass artwork may have aged, faded or changed due to heat, sunlight, chemicals or decades of storage.
The digital version therefore had to balance two goals:
- respecting the surviving historical reference;
- producing a print result that visually matched the restored radio.
Typical palettes included combinations of:
- black;
- gold;
- cream;
- white;
- red;
- green;
- blue;
- and other model-specific colors.
The purpose was not creative recoloring. It was visual recovery.
6. Preparing the Artwork for Flatbed Printing
A screen image is not automatically a print-production file.
The artwork had to be prepared for the physical process of printing on glass.
Important considerations included:
- final dimensions;
- print orientation;
- whether the artwork needed to be mirrored;
- transparency;
- color handling;
- edge alignment;
- printable area;
- and placement relative to the physical glass.
Because the final output was used in a real radio, dimensional accuracy mattered as much as visual quality.
7. Flatbed Printing on Glass
Once the artwork was ready, it was printed onto replacement glass using a flatbed printing process.
This transformed the digital reconstruction back into a physical object.
The printed glass was then compared with the radio to check:
- alignment;
- visible scale position;
- control openings;
- visual balance;
- and overall historical consistency.
Scale
This was a large repeatable workflow rather than a single graphic-design experiment.
Across the broader antique-radio restoration activity, I estimate that I reconstructed artwork for more than 350 distinct dial-glass models.
The models varied significantly in:
- manufacturer;
- country of origin;
- frequency layout;
- language;
- typography;
- color;
- scale density;
- and physical dimensions.
The count is based on my historical project experience and is presented as an approximate scale indicator rather than as an audited production statistic.
Why the Work Matters
This project combines several capabilities that are usually treated separately.
Digital restoration
The source is damaged historical material, not a clean design brief.
Graphic reconstruction
Missing visual information has to be rebuilt carefully rather than invented freely.
Print engineering
The final output must work on a physical glass surface.
Historical sensitivity
The radio's identity depends heavily on the appearance of the dial.
Production repeatability
The workflow was used repeatedly across hundreds of model variations.
Connection to the Full Radio Restoration Workflow
The dial-glass project was part of a broader multidisciplinary restoration process.
A damaged antique radio could require:
Technical diagnosis and functional restoration
Schematic analysis, troubleshooting and correction of electrical/functional faults.Rear-panel reconstruction
CorelDRAW-based vector reconstruction and CNC fabrication.Dial-glass graphic reconstruction
Photoshop-based visual recreation and flatbed printing on glass.Cabinet woodworking
Performed separately by my brother when the wooden body required restoration.
This separation allows each contribution to be described accurately.
Historical Evidence
The surviving project material includes:
- broken dial-glass fragments;
- reconstructed digital artwork;
- photographs of damaged original radios;
- restored radio photographs;
- and historical Instagram posts documenting the process and final results.
One historical post from March 2019 shows the relationship between a damaged original radio scale and a reconstructed graphic. Later posts show completed restored radios in which the front visual identity has been recovered.
These images are useful because they demonstrate the complete transformation from damaged historical object to usable production artwork.
Attribution and Boundaries
This case study describes my own reconstruction and print-preparation work.
I do not claim:
- ownership of the original radio manufacturers' trademarks;
- authorship of the historical dial designs;
- creation of the original typography;
- manufacture of the original glass;
- cabinet woodworking performed by my brother;
- or museum-certified conservation status.
The purpose was technically accurate and visually sympathetic restoration for real antique radios.
Manufacturer names and logos, where present in reconstructed artwork, remain the property of their respective rights holders and are used only as part of the historical object being restored.
Tools & Methods
Primary Design Tool
- Adobe Photoshop
Production
- Flatbed printing on glass
Supporting Methods
- Photography / scanning
- Image alignment
- Perspective and geometric correction
- Layer-based reconstruction
- Typography matching
- Color reconstruction
- Dimensional preparation
- Print-layout preparation
- Visual validation against the physical radio
Professional Competencies Demonstrated
- Reconstructing graphics from fragmented source material
- Historical visual research
- Photoshop-based precision artwork
- Image cleanup and restoration
- Typography approximation and alignment
- Dimensional print preparation
- Flatbed-print production workflow
- Working across digital design and physical manufacturing
- Repeating the process across hundreds of distinct models
- Preserving historical visual identity without unnecessary redesign
Website Publication Version
Reconstructing the Front Dial Glass of Antique Radios
The front glass of an antique valve radio carries much more than a frequency scale. It contains the visual identity of the entire object: station names, bands, numbers, logos, typography, decorative lines and the exact layout that makes one radio model different from another.
Many imported radios arrived with this glass broken, faded or partly missing.
When an original replacement was not available, I rebuilt the artwork digitally in Adobe Photoshop.
The process began with whatever evidence had survived: broken glass fragments, photographs, scans or related reference material. I aligned the surviving geometry, reconstructed missing sections, rebuilt frequency scales and labels, restored colors and prepared the complete design at the correct physical dimensions.
The artwork then moved from digital reconstruction into production. After print preparation, the design was reproduced directly onto replacement glass using flatbed printing.
The workflow was:
Broken Glass → Documentation → Digital Reconstruction → Print Preparation → Flatbed Printing → Physical Validation
Across the wider restoration activity, I estimate that I recreated artwork for more than 350 distinct antique-radio dial-glass models.
This project represents one of the clearest examples in my portfolio of digital technology supporting physical heritage restoration: a damaged historical graphic is converted into a precise digital asset and then returned to the physical object from which it came.
Compact Portfolio Card
Antique Radio Dial Glass Reconstruction
Photoshop · Visual Reconstruction · Digital Heritage · Flatbed Printing
Recreated damaged or missing antique-radio dial graphics from surviving fragments, photographs and historical references, then prepared the artwork for flatbed printing on replacement glass. Applied across 350+ distinct historical radio models.
Resume / Interview Summary
Reconstructed front dial-glass artwork for 350+ antique radio models using Photoshop, historical references and fragmented source material, then prepared the designs for flatbed printing on replacement glass.
Suggested SEO Metadata
SEO Title: Antique Radio Dial Glass Reconstruction in Photoshop
Meta Description: Historical dial-glass artwork reconstruction for antique valve radios using Photoshop, visual restoration and flatbed printing on replacement glass.
Suggested Slug: /portfolio/antique-radio-dial-glass-reconstruction
Cover Direction
A square before/after cover:
- left: broken antique-radio dial glass fragments;
- center: Photoshop-style reconstruction grid;
- right: clean restored dial artwork on black glass.
Cover title:
Antique Radio
Dial Glass Reconstruction
Secondary line:
Photoshop · Digital Heritage · Flatbed Printing