News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

White mold on plastic?

Started by guitar1580, January 11, 2011, 12:19:40 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

JorgeAmely

Quote from: ae_collector on January 12, 2011, 10:44:47 AM
Quote from: Kidphone on January 12, 2011, 09:52:37 AM
Jorge....Finlover....cars not fish. Greg pops on now and then. He is the master of plastics. His work is top notch. ....Doug

No...I think it was fishlover.

(Jorge is in a quirky mood these days...needs another sanding project)

Terry


... and you have the right phone for this project: a gray AE80, right?
Jorge

NorthernMan

Best thing you can do for eliminating the growth of mold is to get the damp air moving out of the house. Air exchangers are the best way to go, HRV/ERV's are expensive but IMO worth every cent. No more mold !! The dehumidfiers and bags in the basement are just stopgap measures.

I am sure by selling just a couple of your phones you will have the cash to get a 21st century air ventilation system and presto no more damage to your valuable collection. And no i don't sell HRVS. :)

AE_Collector

Quote from: JorgeAmely on January 12, 2011, 12:30:43 PM
... and you have the right phone for this project: a gray AE80, right?

Well....only if you think you need some practice....

Terry

guitar1580

How's that for mold?  I hope to get time to clean it with the bleach tonite or tomorrow.  I'll probably do the inside with some 409 or ammonia based window cleaner.

Josh

finlover

#19
Quote from: ae_collector on January 12, 2011, 10:44:47 AM
Quote from: Kidphone on January 12, 2011, 09:52:37 AM
Jorge....Finlover....cars not fish. Greg pops on now and then. He is the master of plastics. His work is top notch. ....Doug

No...I think it was fishlover.

(Jorge is in a quirky mood these days...needs another sanding project)

Terry
No no no--it's fishLIVER, which is a reference to my practice of coating each phone in cod liver oil to acheive a nice glossy finish.  It doesn't smell that great, though.  Kidphone and I are developing a less odoriferous product called "Scales So Soft", which can be used on both bakelite and pet goldfish.

Seriously, it's my New Year's resolution to be more of a participant on the forum than I was last year.  Now that I'm getting more comfortable playing bass again I'll be able to devote a little more time to my OTHER hobby, and to my "phony" friends!

P.S.  Our band, tentatively called "3 Chord Rodeo", has it's first gig next month at a dance hall called The Happy Cow--wish me luck!

JorgeAmely

I always knew there was something fishy about you.  ;D ;D ;D

Welcome back, stranger. Or should I say, partner?
Jorge

Wallphone

I've been away for a few days and trying to catch up on things here. Thanks Brinybay, Guitar, and Jorge for the compliments on my 5302. Once I got the mold off it wasn't in too bad of shape. I put the nicest G1 that I had on it for the pictures for Russ Cowell's TCI Singing Wires article. The rest is pretty much what I learned here on the Forum, and mostly from Jorge and his great pictorials. Novus 2, Meguiar's Carnauba Wax, and some Turtle Wax F21. I like the Meguiar's Carnauba over some of the others that I tried only because it smells so good. If they made syrup that taste as good as that smells I would put it on ice cream. And no, I wasn't a paste eater when I was a kid.

guitar1580

Hahaha.... well I gotta admit, I ate some paste in second grade, but  not as much as my schoolmate.  It tasted like spearmint.

I've always used Mother's Californie Gold on the phones, because it lasts forever on a car, and does a nice job with no smearing.  I know what you mean about the smell.   The Calif. Gold smells like cotton candy.

Also,  I bleached the mold off of mine in the pic, and polished it up a little while the playoff games were on yesterday.  It's scratched a little, but should look pretty nice when done.

Josh P

GG



I had this happen to a date-matched 1952 WE 500 set that was stored in an area I thought was safe.  After a few rounds of cleaning and it coming back, I figured I could kill it by putting the phone housing in the dishwasher.  Bad move.  Ohboy.  During the last part of the sanitize cycle, the plastics warped to the point of being un-usable. 

I replaced the housing with one from an ITT-Kellogg 500, so it all looks "casually OK," but the loss of the original material and intact whole was "a bummer" to put it mildly.   

Bottom line: Do Not put soft plastic housings through the dishwasher on the high-temp cycle.  (And it's been since forever-ago that I've made a mistake like that which had the effect of destroying viable equipment.)

guitar1580

Yikes, luckily I don't have a dishwasher or I'd probably be sticking everything under the sun in there too.

I cleaned the mold off of the 5302 pictured earlier,  soaked it in some bleach water, and found a better place for it which is not in the basement.  I used Dennis's idea of polishing up the bells.  Sure makes 'em shine, too bad they are hidden for most of their lives.

Josh P





guitar1580

I just now noticed that my old post became a sticky.  Since the photos were lost to photobucket, I'll re-post them here.


SUnset2

I'm wondering if that is really mold, or is actually butyric acid leaching from the Tenite?

If it's Butyric acid, it would be greasy or waxy, and cleans off with aqueous ammonia or mineral spirits.  It might also give off a vomit odor.

Dan/Panther

I think SUnset2 has the culprit nailed down.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Doug Rose

Brasso will remove it fast and easy...Doug
Kidphone

Babybearjs

with me, I'd just wash the dial plate in hot soapy water. using dishwasher power, that works the best for me. if that doesn't work, then I'd go on to the next suggested method... plastic cleans up quick and easy when washed and cared for correctly...
John