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Magnolia Glayzit Polish

Started by Bill, September 16, 2008, 11:15:54 AM

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Bill

Is there a consensus about this stuff? One of my buddies started a local business-phone company, and he loved it since he primarily installed used phones to keep the customer's cost down. But he sold the company before the long-term quality could be judged.

Bill

Mark Stevens

Were you thinking of using it on thermoplastic or bakelite? I haven't tried Glayzit, but for thermoplastic I don't think you can beat Novus #2. I believe Glayzit was formulated for bakelite, and while I've gotten good results with Novus on bakelite (as long as it's not too rough), Glayzit could be better. Brasso, that's good stuff for bakelite, too.

benhutcherson

"Brasso, that's good stuff for bakelite, too."

Glad to see that I'm not the only one to use it on plastic.

I use it a whole lot on thermoplastic, too. I've found it to be by far the best for getting paint splatters off of telephone shells.

BOB BONCHAK

From the Manufacturer's Catalog:  "Used by over 5000 telephone exchanges for the economical reconditioning of both metal and plastic telephone instrument cases.  As it cleans, Glaz-It restores the original luster and color of the surface leaving a hard gloss, dust resistant finish."  The manufacturer represents that has been in business since 1927 (How many can claim that!).  As a bakelite radio collector, I have used GLAYZIT with excellent results.  It is not cheap, but produces a finish equal to a Brasso (old formulation) treatment with a lot less effort.  I'm local to the manufacturer and thus can obtain a case at good cost, and pass on the cost saving to fellow collectors.  Contact me directly if you are interested in trying a can.
BOB
Bonchakrs@aol.com

Dennis Markham

Bob, Is Glayzit available in retail outlets??

BOB BONCHAK

Hi Dennis:
The only "retail" sources that I know of are Antique Electronic Supply, and Radio Daze, both of which cater to antique radio collector/restorers.  GLAYZIT, originally produced for telephone applications, has become a popular item for the cleaning/polishing of bakelite radio cabinets.  If you have a telephone "jobber" near you, you might check with it. 
BOB

Dennis Markham


Dan/Panther

"Brasso", is without a doubt, hands down trhe best polish for Plastic, Colored or Clear, Bakelite, Metal Ferrous or Non Ferrous.

As far as rubbing so much on bakelite that you actually polish right through the crusk, I've never had that happen. However you can sand past a point where the finish will not come back. I use "Brasso", and all the bakeilte does for me is get shinier.
Some may disagree, that is my experience.

Dan/Panther

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

bingster

Count me in as a member of the Brasso Bandwagon, too.  I've found it's absolutely brilliant for bakelite, and every other kind of plastic I've ever tried it on.
= DARRIN =



Dan/Panther

Bob;
I see you mention, "OLD Formula Brasso". I noticed the same thing on the last can I bought. I mentioned it on the ARF, and most suggested that I may have gotten a bad batch, but you seem to confirm my suspicions. They have changed the formula haven't they.
I seem to have to use a little more elbow grease to obtain the same results as before. Anyone else have that same experience. the formula seems to me to be a little on the pink side, as compared to a deeper beige color I have been used to. It smells the same, but seem thinner also.
Dan/panther

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

exray

#10
Hi folks,
BOB and I have compared GLAYZIT and similar products at length and come away with two totally different opinions of the stuff and its claims.

The Novus and Brasso actually have a slight abrasive content which is useful for erasing years of use and light scratching and leave no residual 'oil' on the surface.  GLAYZIT is just the opposite.  So you can see that the use for either is different based on what you are looking for.  The fact that they are both called "polish" is confusing.

I find this phrase "leaving a hard gloss, dust resistant finish." to be deceptive.  The hard gloss is the telephone material itself.  GLAYZIT adds no finish per se.  The dust resistant part is somewhat true.  I'm sure most are familiar with Endust furniture polish.  Same idea.

Brings up a question though and since there are some phone people here maybe I can finally find an answer :)  Years ago (302-era for example) it seems like some phones were coated with a thin 'glazing' of something almost like lacquer.    It was noticeable  as it started to peel or flake after use.  Does this ring a bell with anybody?  When I first heard of GLAYZIT I thought it was that stuff.  Maybe that is what their product was back in the 50s?  I've always wondered if that was original or something added during cleanup by our local company (Southern Bell) in the 50s.


Mark Stevens

#11
Quote from: exray on September 21, 2008, 06:57:42 AM
Brings up a question though and since there are some phone people here maybe I can finally find an answer :)  Years ago (302-era for example) it seems like some phones were coated with a thin 'glazing' of something almost like lacquer.    It was noticeable  as it started to peel or flake after use.  Does this ring a bell with anybody?

Welcome to the forum, exray!  I remember the clear coating you describe, but not necessarily on phones. In fact, I can't recall where I've seen it. It's been a long time since I've noticed that coating, and I'm remembering it being on bakelite items.  It was a very thin glaze, thinner than what one would expect from lacquer or varnish, but it didn't flake off quite in the same way. Sorry I don't have any info. to contribute, but I definitely know what you're talking about.

bingster

Quote from: exray on September 21, 2008, 06:57:42 AMYears ago (302-era for example) it seems like some phones were coated with a thin 'glazing' of something almost like lacquer.    It was noticeable  as it started to peel or flake after use.  Does this ring a bell with anybody? 
Welcome aboard, Exray!  I've seen 302s on eBay that show this, and I always wondered what was behind it.  It looks like a very thin coating of black paint or something, and is usually worn and chipped just like paint would be.  I've seen it too often for it to be a homeowner's fix, so it seems like it must have been part of a refurbishment process.
= DARRIN =



Dan/Panther

#13
Exray;
So glad to hear from you, and welcome to our little world, that is growing very rapidly.
Funny you mention that coating.
The other night I soaked the black plastic cover to my WE500, in a warm bath of mild detergent to remove the dirt.
When I pulled it from the water, much to my surprise, my black phone was now a milky white, some kind of coating got washed off.

Somewhere recently I read that years ago they recommended wiping down bakelite with a slight coating of mineral oil, I would think that would be a big dust magnet ? Maybe that is what that gooey, impossible to remove susbstance is that lurks in the corners of bakelite cabinets.

Dan/Panther

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Dennis Markham

I will put my 2 cents worth on a couple of topics here.  (I've just logged in after being away for 24 hours and have a lot to catch up on!)

Dan/Panther, the milky look you describe on your soft plastic model 500 case will return to normal color once the phone has dried.  I have learned in soaking them to not let the water get too hot.  The first time I did this I thought I ruined the phone, but it returned to its original color after returning to room temperature.  I like to use water that is not quite HOT but a warmer than warm.  That is on the plastic housings.

With regard to Brasso, I used to use it all the time for cleaning metal parts.  I have to admit I never tried it on plastic as I thought it may be too caustic and ruin the plastic.  I refurbish a fair amount of telephones and would go through the stuff quickly.  It's been about a year now since I went to  buy another "can" and found that it was now in plastic squirt bottles.  The product is absolutely changed.  It's a thicker, foamy type cleaner.  I used to soak screws, nuts, washers, etc., completely submerged in the stuff.  That alone would clean a lot of surface corrosion off the part.  But I can't do it with this new formula.  It reminded me of Old Coke vs New Coke.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Brasso has been around since the beginning of time and some genius decided to change it. 

I would also use it on the ringer gongs exclusively.  However since then I discovered Simichrome polish.  I think it does a much better job on all metal parts, especially the gongs.  Another trick I learned was to boil the gongs in a mixture of vinegar/water before polishing.  It cuts the cleaning time in half.  You can see what I wrote about it here on my blog site:
http://www.vintagerotaryphones.com/?p=91

Another collector friend of mine swears that Novus2 does the best job on his gongs.  After polishing he likes to wash them in warm soapy water again to remove the polish residue.  So I guess it is whatever each person feels works best.  I was chastised a while back by a man that believed the gongs should be left alone and not polished at all.  He said that in his opinion the gongs left the factory without a shine.  In fact they do have a thin layer of lacquer on them when they come from the factory.

That's my take on Brasso.  I will give it a shot on plastic/Bakelite but I use Simichrome polish pretty much exclusively now.  It comes in a small tube like toothpaste and is rather expensive, just under $10 for a small tube.  But a little goes a long way.