Well, we’ve replaced the cords, gotten the ringer to work, adjusted it to perfection (frighteningly loud), and have used it as a primary phone in the Stevens’ household for the past couple of weeks, a test that it passed with flying colors. It still looks a bit more “rugged” than I’d like, so lets see about cleaning and polishing, shall we? While y’all weren’t looking, I took it upon myself to clean up the inside of the phone just a little. No, I didn’t do the whole “fully disassembled and ultrasonically cleaned” thing… that’s wacky. Now hold on there, Mister Ultrasonic, what I mean is that it’s wacky for me. Lest we forget, I’m still a card-carrying rookie, and where telephones are concerned, have never attempted anything more technical than a couple of prank calls. I’m not after an immaculate restoration. This project is all about functional, reliable and presentable. Functional, reliable and presentable… sort of rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? By golly, that could be the battle-cry of a new movement… “Down with FR (fully restored), long-live FRP!!!”     Or not.

As I was saying before my meds wore off, I’ve cleaned the chassis and housing internally, got those gongs nice and shiny, and am now targeting the exterior. The dial leaves the most to be desired, with a good deal of paint issues to be found on the fingerwheel. So what do you think I did? Why, I zipped over to Lowes and grabbed a can of Rust-oleum Professional High Performance Enamel, semi-gloss black. No powder-coating, lacquer or fancy spray rig, just a garage floor and a manly can of Rust-oleum! Oddly enough, this approach worked well, and with three swipes of the can I was done. It’s not too glossy, and should blend nicely with the rest of the phone. I might give it a 2nd coat. We’ll see. As my bud Dennis pointed out, the real trick is longevity. How long will a finish hold up before the finger holes show wear? That’s probably where powdercoating has a real advantage. How much does it cost to have a fingerwheel powdercoated I wonder? Fifty or more probably gets the price down…
The dial’s faceplate was really grungy but in good condition otherwise. Very easy to clean. Once I’ve got the dial looking good and reassembled, it’ll be time to work on the plastic housing and bakelite handset. The housing looks pretty good already, and I’m not too worried about Novus Polish #2 doing the job. The handset, now that’s another story. I’ve seen much worse, but it does have a little of that orange-peel texture. Novus #3 makes me nervous, as I tried it on another (very rough) bakelite handset, and it was tough to get off. In fact, I had to use #2 to remove it! I’ve heard it said that Novus turns bakelite white, and I’m sure it’s #3 they’re talking about. It doesn’t turn it white, it just won’t come off easily, leaving a white residue behind. So, do I spend days polishing with #2, take a chance with #3, try Simichrome Polish? (Someone on the net said Simichrome was great for bakelite…anyone know?) Stay tuned…