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Red Phone lost color in some places

Started by tommycam, March 25, 2021, 11:31:31 PM

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19and41

I have always been told that Dreft detergent was good on vinyl siding, helping to preserve it's color.  I don't know it's value on other vinyl objects.
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Quote from: 19and41 on April 05, 2021, 02:26:03 PM
Sorry about that, but it is still best to start with a minor abrasive as opposed to say, sandpaper.  If you move up to a ultrafine sandpaper you will want to use a sanding block with it to level out the sanded areas. a sure place to find such fine (1000 or 1500 grit) is a auto parts store.

Anything that doesn't greatly damage the plastic is worth a try. Brasso has a fine pumice like grit material in it but it is formulated as both an abrasive and chemical reactant to brass. That chemical component most likely won't help with plastic.

That is one way to do it but not knowing how deep the discoloration goes, starting with super fine may take a loooong time to remove the whiteness on this red phone. The best grit to start with is one that will remove the faded red plastic in 10 minutes or so using wet sandpaper and a sanding block. Then move up one grit at a time to get rid of the sanding marks.

All this was covered in other sanding topics and the use of a mixture of isopropyl alcohol (75%) and acetone (25%) on a soft cotton cloth between sanding grits speeds up the process from the original removal grit to 1500 or 2000 grit and then Novus. The mixture removes the high ridges left by the last sanding and softens the plastic a bit for the next grit (which must be used right after the chemical wipe otherwise the plastic will harden after the solvent dries off of the surface).

The white may be deeper than hoped for as indicated by that scratch in the whitness in the upper left area of the dial opening. It might take 600 grit wet paper on a block to get the job done. I would start with 1000 and that has no affect after a few minutes, go to 800 and if no effect 600 grit wet paper. As soon as you see a difference after a few minutes of wet sanding, you found your starting grit.