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Nothing real special...

Started by Greg G., June 01, 2010, 06:08:04 PM

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Greg G.

...but for $7.00 each at a St. Vinnies, what the hell.  I've wanted a chocolate brown phone, but the more collectible ones are hard to find (and pricey).  

First up is a 77 brown SC.  Fully functions, exterior in real good shape, no cracks or gouges.

Next up is a 69 "white" AE 80.  Functions except for the frequency ringer.  It is actually a very yellowed white, but I kinda like the "butter" look of the yellowing better than the stark white.  I wonder what the reason was for the strapping tape on the bells?  The added attraction was it had a nice long line cord with one of those spade-to-mod adapters.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

gpo706

Shucks I love them "nothing real special" finds, they often shine up really nicely and a make a good functioning set, nice buys!
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

AE_Collector

I have always assumed that taped bells was to quiet them down a bit. Frequency ringers don't have volume controls although the gongs can still be rotated to make some adjustment.

Since your bells have fibreglass tape on them I'm going to declare it a DIY mod rather than the phone guy who would have used electrical tape. And electrical tape is usually wrapped around each gong, not as it was done on your AE80.

The set was shipped from AE with no ringer installed (the XX code). This was frequently (no pun intended) done to allow the Telco to install the specific frequency ringer that they needed on each installation.

It has always been a white 80 due to the code 19 (Gardenia White) on the base.

Terry

McHeath

Nice finds and a great price!  I'd not turn down either of them, but alas the odds of ever seeing them in my usual haunts are slim.  (cry me a river ;))

The tape is to keep those bells from disrupting the space/time continuum.  It's a little known fact that certain AE frequency ringers made in the same year as the first moon landing were actually a danger to the very existence of the universe and had to be taped down so that our very beings did not "flail apart" when Aunt Myrtle rang up Cousin Jeb. 


Greg G.

Quote from: McHeath on June 01, 2010, 11:39:43 PM
... made in the same year as the first moon landing...

Hey!  Great eBay line!  Much better than "Art Deco"! 
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Greg G.

#5
Funny how the entire exterior of the phone yellowed so much and so evenly, except for a bit in the cradle area.  It invented it's own new color, "butter".  I compared it to a tub of butter/margarine in my fridge, the butter is only slightly more yellow, (but almost as old).
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

HarrySmith

That looks like a perfect candidate for the "Retrobrite" peroxide treatment. I had a white 2500 that looked like that and after the treatment it looked brand new!

Harry
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Greg G.

Quote from: HarrySmith on June 02, 2010, 07:09:01 AM
That looks like a perfect candidate for the "Retrobrite" peroxide treatment. I had a white 2500 that looked like that and after the treatment it looked brand new!

Harry

That crossed my mind, but I've always been a little reluctant to mess with those harsh chemicals.  I'm not sure how the black lettering would be affected by the bleaching process, the dial bezel may have to be treated differently.  Brasso comes to mind.

To be honest, I would rather go the other way, keep the butter-yellow color and make the small areas that didn't yellow the same shade.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Dan

The black bezel lettering is through and through, the peroxide will not hurt it at all.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

gpo706

If that lettering if through and through as Dan says, its a candidate for the Oxybrite treatment, although I do know how you feel, despite doing a couple of mine I still have some buttermilk coloured cases, if they are evenly "tanned", they look OK.

I'm tempted to try one to make it white, not a GPO issued colour atall.
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

HarrySmith

I was apprehensive also but the phone I had was so bad I would have thrown it in the parts pile anyway. The numbers on the dial bezel are extruded, all the way through, I learned that while wet sanding my first 500, a Pink one. The peroxide treatment worked very very well on 2 white phones and a beige one. All 3 phones came out looking like brand new, no blotches and no discoloration. A litte Novus 3 to shine them up and presto, sold on Ebay! It was a whole lot easier than wet sanding and I did not lose the WE markings as I did when sanding. The results on a yellow phone were not good. If you are still skeptical do as I did, try a phone destined for junk anyway!

Harry
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Greg G.

#11
Took me two months, but I finally got around to polishing up the Chocolate-Brown SC.  For a 70s phone, I rather like it.  It's not a genuine WE Mahogany, but it will do just fine for now.  The exterior was in very good shape, no fading or big gouges, so all it took was a bit of Novus 2.  Then just for kicks, I happened to have an old can of Simoniz Vista auto paste wax and just used it according to the instructions.  It worked ok, but the dried wax really highlights any scratches and nicks after you rub it off.  I used a dry electric toothbrush to get the dried wax out of the logo and scratches.  (There was only one minor scratch on the back).

The repro "Wait For Dial Tone" dial cards I had on hand looked a little too vintage for a 70s phone, so I used a plain one from that bag of dial centers I got recently.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

HarrySmith

Looks good :)
I got an ITT brown one recently because I cannot get a WE chocolate brown either, I hope it cleans up as nice ;D
Are you going to try the peroxide on the white one? You will be very happy with it, the phone will look like new :D
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Greg G.

Quote from: HarrySmith on August 02, 2010, 04:36:08 PM
Looks good :)
I got an ITT brown one recently because I cannot get a WE chocolate brown either, I hope it cleans up as nice ;D
Are you going to try the peroxide on the white one? You will be very happy with it, the phone will look like new :D

Funny you should ask about the white one.  I was all set to try the peroxide treatment (mentally, just needed to get the chemicals), but when I saw what rubbing compound does on someone else's thread, I think I'll try that first.  I can't remember who, but somebody expanded on my experiment when I used an electric toothbrush and Novus on a logo, only they used an oscillating tool and rubbing compound on a yellowed white logo, and it looked like it took a lot of the yellowing off.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e