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to restore or not...

Started by gpo706, August 04, 2009, 05:59:19 PM

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gpo706

Just a general enquiry here, I have about 34 phones some are scrappers, some well used but work a few sparkling gems (not many though on my budget).

For my WE's my 500 black is presentable but not pristine, but doesnt bother me because it looks like something Kojak might have had on his desk.

My red 500 is a 4 out 5 star beaut, not perfect, slight fading but who apart from folks here would notice?

The 554 is a well beat up, (the chassis says 4/61, transmitter 10/6/71, receiver 10/5/7?) - the chrome is pitted on bits of the cradle, the mouthpiece has a triangular swedge where it similarly has been scraping on the body with that semi circle on the case, and the the earcap is pitted.

The only new thing on it is the line and handset cord, it even has a few specks of white paint on the top and a half torn off phone company instrucution sticker on the side.

But I'm happy to leave it "as is", coz it works like my other 2 WE's.

Does anyone else think a bit of character should be left alone?

I'm stunned by the restorations I've seen by people here, and all power to them, but my WE's I like them as they are, besides its not like mine are worth much, except to me!

Anybody else here like 'em "lived in"?
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

HobieSport

I don't intend to do any super pristine restorations of any of my phones, and I do like a little "patina" and time worn character.

But I do want to clean and polish them all, have the dials refurbished, fix or replace any worn or shot cords, and repaint a few metal 302s and SC1243s.  In other words, treat them well, but I'm not shooting for "perfect" and "like new". I just feel that I owe it to the phones since they will be in my care for some time. Does that make sense?

I do greatly admire those who do the amazing and perfect restorations though.

-Matt

Phonesrfun

Cleaning, polishing, and restoring an old phone is like restoring an antique classic car, but on a much smaller scale.

As anyone who has ever delved into the restoration of an automobile will tell you, it is a bottomless pit that no amount of money or time can ever make it perfect.  In fact, the more it gets "perfect" the less perfect it will seem to the restorer, and pretty soon you are in to see the shrink over some sort of excessive compulsive disorder.  Us phone guys are not immune to this psychological dissease.

All phones, yes, even the ones fresh from the factory, have some sort of blemish or another, so there is no such thing as a perfect phone.  Some will try to get all the dates to be perfect, but in actual service, parts were swapped out routinely, so it is hard to get a phone that has all the dates that are the same.

I give mine a good polishing on the outside, and occasionally I will fix a blemish.  I have tried the bleaching and other things, and I have added these things to my list of things I have tried, and will probably use from time to time in some form or another.  But, frankly all the possibilities can get in the way of enjoying the hobby.  I like mine to work, and that is what I try to achieve beyond anything else.  Other than that, I give them a good cleaning.

Some that sell their phones on e-By are justified in going to the max as far as cleaning every little spec off and even polishing the gongs of the ringers, which was not even done to a brand new phone.  They are always covered, and nobody sees them, but it does look nice on an e-Bay listing, and those are the phones that get the big bucks.

So, I say use your judgement.  This is not a contest to see who has the nicest looking old junk.  I treat it as a hobby that I like doing.  Once in a while I find myself going overboard and then wind up putting my project on the shelf because I don't like the way things have gone.  At that point I have to regroup and remind myself that I am in it for the relaxation, and not the compulsion.  I hate to admit all the times I have really screwed things up by trying to fix things that ain't broke.

-Long winded Bill
-Bill G

gpo706

I concur with you on the maestros here and their restorations.

Its practically impossible with GPO units as they didnt datestamp every bit, it's hard enough getting an earcap etc to match the colour of the other bits!

Like you, a quick spruce up, clean and polish, and if it plugs and goes I'm delighted.

For instance whats the point of me wasting a brand new mouthcap on my 554 when its just gonna start wearing more plastic off the case!

At least they are errrr "mated" as they are.

On the other hand, another thought occurs, does anybody here supply/loan props for TV or film, and have they had to "dirty up" a phone for the production?

"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

Phonesrfun

One other thought:

I have tried the bleaching and other polishing techniques as I have read along with other threads.  These are nice experiments, and it is nice to play around with these techniques, especially if you have a junker phone lying around that you don't mind screwing up.  This adds to the klnowledge base and gives a person new potential tools to work with.

That does not mean that I polish or bleach every phone that I have.

-Bill
-Bill G

gpo706

Yes Bill, I tried the "oxydising" process on an ivory 706. Was mustard coloured when I dunked it, left it out overnight outside in the solution in a plastic box with a lid sealed on, which when in the sun acts like a mini-greenhouse.

The results were amazing, its actually nearer white than ivory but looks fine for a scrapper.

Next I tried it on a handset and coiled cord (GPO handsets have the cord held by an almost unbreakable steel grommet holding it into place, WE had a much better idea with the U scoop to snag the cord), dunked the whol lot anad it again came out fine and matches the body etc.

Much recommended, my recipe is:

pre-clean parts (I use antibacterial spray) some light scouring pads for paint etc.

Dry off the put in a clear plastic container with a lid (intensifies the sunlight and heat), in bath temperature water.

Add one scoop Vanish Oxy Action (40g?), mix till cloudy- I put mine out at night and left them till 9ish next day.

Rinse out with clean water, best not use the bath, in case the Vanish makes your bath white...

Leave to soak off, another rinse, then leave to dry.

Does this work with coloured plastics (or blacks), I have a few yellowed coloured cases here but afraid to try it in case they turn out white-ened.

USE rubber gloves my hands were quite peeling for a couple of days.

PS I would putting small pieces in the large tub useless, as they tend to drift and face the wrong way up to the UV exposure, so I bought a couple of smaller tubs to dunk them in, differing bits may need different exposure, depending on the amount of yellowing, you should get a good match eventually.

Scot
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

McHeath

I like my phones to look pretty much either new or near to it.  Of course the only phone I have that looks like that is my 2003 Cortelco, which I was the first person to pull out of it's box last December.  All of my phones in regular rotation get pretty good exterior cleanups and some interior cleaning as well, the outsides are always washed, rubbed and then waxed.  None of them look like the amazing work that Dennis or Jorge or Finlover have achieved, but they look purty to me and mine. 

Having said that some phones I keep as found, with only a mild cleanup just to get the crud off so I don't feel like I'm going to get an exotic disease when I use it.  Funny how some folks can use a phone for decades and it stays pretty clean while others look like a germ testbed run by the Center for Disease Control. 


bingster

I tend to do what Bill does--a good scrubbing... make it work... call it "done."
= DARRIN =



foots

I have a few that I want in like new condition but the rest I intend to clean and repair them but leave them as they look after all those years of service. My 202 was refurbed in 1951 and was apparently not used very much and I intend to leave it as is, though I am considering an E1 handset.
"Ain't Worryin' 'Bout Nothin"

jsowers

I agree with long-winded Bill too. I like my phones presentable on the outside. No cord tears, tape goo, paint spots or stickers added in the last several decades. It's nice if it works, but I've gotten to the point I don't test them any more. I do have some phones I've left the way they were when they arrived because they already looked presentable. I do find it amazing how some survived fifty years unscathed and others look like the chicken coop extension.

Oh, and that swath made on 554s where the handset rubs, I saw someone call it "swivelage" once and thought that was a great name for it.
Jonathan

gpo706

"swivelage" thats perfect mine's well swivelaged, how many 554's aren't, unless some dainty 50s housewife picked up and replace the handset with the lightest of touches before and after a polish.

Mine looks like something in a auto repair garage, with the guy being told the part won't be there for a week...
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

jsowers

One amazing but true fact is soft plastic suffers less from swivelage than hard plastic. But both have it to some degree. Every now and then you see one with a label on it that prevented it, but you're right -- all but Aunt Fanny's velvet pillow phone would have it.

And speaking of refinishing a phone, here are some shots of a turquoise 554 from 1970 I bleached in 2004. The first shot is before bleaching. Notice the Mr. Yuck sticker on it. I think that's very appropriate. It was yucky. Then it went into a bleach bath of one part bleach to two parts water, in the sun, for about two days. It could have been three days. The last picture is the finished product. There was still a little fade on it, but most of it is gone.
Jonathan

Dennis Markham

That Turquoise 554 looks pretty good Jonathan after its bleach bath.  I started on a Turquoise 554 a while back and now the parts are sitting in a box.  I was waiting for technology to improve so I wouldn't have to sand so much.  :)  I suppose it is a candidate for the peroxide treatment but I already have sanded off the top layer.  I just have to go through the progressions now.  You don't see a lot of nice Turquoise 554's....except for those from Canada---as was shown here on the forum.

jsowers

Quote from: Dan on August 03, 2009, 11:55:25 PM
I wouldn't try peroxide on a turquoise. I'd polish it with Novus like Dennis does.

Dennis, Dan said the above on the turquoise/aqua blue thread. He must know something about that color and peroxide. I'd try bleach first, but it doesn't work every time and I'm not sure about combining it with sanding. And sometimes the fading does return after bleaching. It's an unusual thing. Using the sun to take out what it put in. I'm always amazed when it works. This particular 554 is still as you see it in the "after" picture.

I have an NOS turquoise NE 554. Still in the plastic in the original box. I don't want to display it and risk it getting faded, but I do have what you call "mushroom" lighting conditions in my living room where the most valuable phones are. No direct sunlight. All my plants are in the kitchen or the bedroom.

And I HATE sanding. I've tried it, but it just wears out my hands.
Jonathan

Dan

I have whitened many phones with peroxide. Although I haven't done a turquoise, I did a moss green with less than desirable results. It will work great with ivory, white, beige, and pink. I haven't tried a yellow yet.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright