Paint Stripping Bakelite - GPO Bellset #26

[FABphones]

I needed another Bakelite Bellset and this was found literally hanging off the farmhouse wall by a wire.
The seller wanted £15 for it, so it came to me for some TLC before it gave up and fell off the wall of its own accord.

I already had paint stripper left over from my last Bakelite paint strip project (a multi-purpose gel). It took four applications to remove all of the paint, but far from being protected over the years by paint, I think this one had seen a bit of life prior to painting. The surface is lightly scratched, but thankfully no paint hidden damage.

I gave the inside a quick clean up too whilst it was open.

My method for this project

Step 1: Anti-bac wipe over
Step 2: Application of paint stripper, remove gelled paint (x4)
Step 3: Wipe final paint/gel residue off Bakelite using a soft clean cloth
Step 4: Rinse under tap and dry with another cloth
Step 5: Leave for few hours to let some air get to it
Step 6: Brasso/000 rub down, wipe off residue
Step 7: '3 Day Mineral Oil Beauty Treatment
Step 8: Polish to a shine, using a soft lint free cloth (and elbow grease)

For this one I wanted to see just how much of a shine I could get using polishing tools. I tried an orbital buffer and a mini tool buffer. The results weren't good as they left it looking dull. So I reapplied the oil, left it for a further day and finished with a hand buff.

I have various potions and lotions on order to see what can be done to improve the finish on this .....another day.

Photos:

[HarrySmith]

Nice!

[Jim Stettler]

I like the "bow tie" cover.
JMO,
Jim S.

[Owain]

I use black shoe polish on my bakelites occasionally.

[FABphones]

I use black shoe polish on my bakelites occasionally.

Thanks Owain, I'd forgotton that one. I'll give it a try. It's not shiny enough at the moment.

[Owain]

Thanks Owain, I'd forgotton that one. I'll give it a try. It's not shiny enough at the moment.

http://counties.britishlegion.org.uk/counties/beds-herts-counties/bearing-the-standard/how-to-spit-and-polish

[FABphones]

   Very good! I like it.

I'll be trying that this weekend. 

[FABphones]

Today the cotton bonnets arrived for the orbital polisher ( another teleplay tip  ) and they really do give a nicer finish than the faux sheep wool type that came with the machine, so I set to on a 'shine using boot polish' experiment.

Following the guide on the link above I spent about an hour and forty minutes applying black boot polish to the cover. In total I went over the bellset cover seven times. I buffed by hand and used the polishing machine for the last buff.

It has come up nicer, and to my surprise no black polish rubs off the bellset onto the hand afterwards.

I'll still be experimenting to see if I can achieve that over the top high Bakelite shine, but I think this is as good as this bellset is going to get using this method. I'm pleased with the result, much nicer than when I got it, so it's on to the next project...   

[tubaman]

I like the "bow tie" cover.
JMO,
Jim S.

I've got a couple of these and I'd never thought of it like that before.
Now when I look I can't see anything else but a bow tie!

As well as being decorative it also locates perfectly into the corners of a 162 or 232 phone when in the 'King Pyramid' configuration as per below (my 162 with Bellset 25).

Good work by the way FabPhones - it looks super, and a very good buy for £15.
Also nice to see that it has the right screws for mating with a phone if need-be, as they can be hard to get hold of.

I really should get the polish out on some of my phones  .