Beige 5302 Refurb

[JimH]

A couple of weeks ago, I won this beige 5302 on ebay for about $111.  Probably way too much for a phone in this bad of shape, but I really wanted a colored 5302.  The case was badly damaged.  One of the cradle ears broken off, and the missing piece was not included.  The insides were so dirty and corroded, I used the donor phone (which I got for $1) for most of the parts.  Both front corners were cracked.  My only option, I decided, was to paint a black shell beige.  Matching the color took me about a week...it was not easy.  I'm happy with the results, it displays rather nicely, until I find an original specimen.  Here are some photos.

Jim

[Kenton K]

Nice job! I put a bid on that phone. Not high enough i guess!

Ken

[WesternElectricBen]

It looks really good, nice work!

Ben

[TelePlay]

For posterity, here's the eBay auction "ended" screen shot.

Broken ear, missing receiver cap and cracks on both front corners and it was still desired by 6 bidders.

And, a very nice job on the restoration.

[Dennis Markham]

Looks good, Jim.  That was a good alternative (painting a black housing).  Nice job.

[Phonesrfun]

Great job, and probably the wisest thing was to paint a black one beige.  Black 5302s are pretty plentiful, but just how many colored ones do we normally see?  Not very many.  And the fact that you had the beige dial bezel, I don't think you had much choice.

[JimH]

Thanks, all.  It will be a "placeholder" until maybe someday I get one that is all original. 

Jim

[WEBellSystemChristian]

That looks really good, Jim!

Did you throw the original housing away? I thought there was someone here who could restore cradle ears by shaping it with plastic powder in epoxy?

Also, what type of paint did you use? I've been looking for a matching WE beige for awhile.

[JimH]

That looks really good, Jim!

Did you throw the original housing away? I thought there was someone here who could restore cradle ears by shaping it with plastic powder in epoxy?

Also, what type of paint did you use? I've been looking for a matching WE beige for awhile.

Thanks, Christian.  I still have the broken shell.  I figured I'd keep it if a cure is ever found for it!  I know about the plastic-epoxy shaping fix...I might try that someday.  The paint I used was Rustoleum.  Home Depot only has black and white in the little cans, so at my local Ace I found the color "Sand". They were only $3.99 a can.   I had to get some white to lighten it, and then I bought a can of red, green, and yellow, and blue.  I used to mix paint in a hardware store in my younger days, so I know a little bit about matching colors.  It took a lot of trial and error, and I'd test it right on a "junk" handset I had, but I really tried to match the dial bezel.  It cost me about $25 for the paint (but I still have a lot left of the colors to mix other colors if I want).  Then I used a "Preval" sprayer, it's a glass jar with a spray unit on top.  I had to thin the paint, and that was trial and error.  They are not the greatest sprayers to work with, but with limited space in the basement, I didn't want to use my paint sprayer.  I did about 3 coats sanding in between, and then when it was cured, I used novus 2 to bring up the shine. 

[Doug Rose]

Jim.....what did you use out of the 5302 besides the number ring? It came out beautiful, I am just curious. I might try this with a red 500 set and a black 5302 from my parts. ....thanks...Doug

[JimH]

Jim.....what did you use out of the 5302 besides the number ring? It came out beautiful, I am just curious. I might try this with a red 500 set and a black 5302 from my parts. ....thanks...Doug

Thanks, Doug.  Besides the bezel and beige dial plate, I used the dial, line cord, and original pick up (I didn't have to paint that).  The handset had a chip in it, and the handset cord had a break in it, so those came from a 1965 500 I had.  The donor chassis happened to be dated 1952, like the original.  What I found strange is that the original shell was dated '59, yet the handset was dated '66, and the handset cord '68.  The dial is stamped "60" for light beige with a date of 1959.  What were you thinking of...making a red 5302?

Jim