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Bakelite repairs?

Started by jm19063, May 28, 2022, 01:20:14 PM

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jm19063

Can anyone recommend someone to do bakelite repairs?  I have an AE34 with a cracked shell.  I've read through the forum on tips to perform the repair, but I don't feel confident that I wouldn't ruin an otherwise beautiful phone.

Thank you,
John Martin

countryman

#1
Would you mind showing a photo of the object?
I hope someone is going to tell I'm wrong but doing Bakelite repairs for others, or even on a commercial basis, is not a really good idea.
I have seen incredibly perfect repairs on this forum but I bet it took hours and hours to achieve these results. Your best bet will be in most cases just getting a replacement shell from a parts donor. Yes you'll have to buy the same phone twice when a part is missing :-( I also learned this the hard way.

That said, I had good but not perfect results using Milliput epoxy putty for repairing missing Bakelite chunks. It's a British product. I haven't found any other types of black epoxy putty being  available yet.






After taking the picture I found I could further improve the result by using black Bitumen paint (Mipa Bitumenlack or Black Jack) on the repaired spot. I waited until the paint started to dry and polished with a rag drenched in rubbing alcohol.
An "invisible" repair will be next to magic though.

Etienne

I once used simple epoxy glue, mixed with crushed black carré Conté. the result was quite good, color and aspect matched well, the material was easy to work with. What made the repair obvious was the mediocre alignment of old bakelite parts, rather than the materials' difference.