New To Forum...A Few Questions

[davark]

I am a long time lurker and a first time poster.  This is my third attempt to get this message to take.  The telephone collecting bug bit a few years ago, and I have just a few.  I have recently picked up a couple of 500's in poor shape to use as practice sets as I begin to attempt my own restorations.  They are a '56 black and a '62 pink. The pink one was badly yellowed and I tried all less invasive measures to clean to no avail, then set out to wet sand.  This has worked well so far, but I have only done the handset caps.  My problem seems to be that I must be a lousy polisher.  I have both Novus and F21 which I have applied, but the best I seem to get is a matte shine, certainly not the gloss I see in other pics.  I have been applying a small amount of the Novus to a terry rag and rubbing it on the cap, although it feels like I am ultimately just wiping it off.  After some drying time I have buffed with a Ryobi buffer.  Is there something I could be doing wrong during the polishing process?  Too little pressure while applying the Novus?  I'm stumped.  Any tips someone might offer would be so appreciated.  Mark

[KeithB]

What type of sandpaper are you using?  Typically, you should use wet/dry automotive sandpaper (available from most auto parts stores) in grits starting at 1000, then 1500, and finally 2000.  If there are no deep scratches, you can probably start with 1500 grit.  Dennis Markham has advised many times, work in one direction with the first grit, then at 90 degrees to that with the next grit.  Use Brasso or Novus #2 after the 2000 grit, applying it with the Ryobi bufffer.  Then finish with the F21 for the gloss.

[McHeath]

Welcome.  I concur with checking the grit you are sanding with.  Use a 2000 grit auto paper wet before the final polish, it works wonder for me.  I've even taken this method to a few CD's that were so badly scratched as to be unusable and they came out great.

[Greg G.]

Sanding is tedious, to state the obvious.  One thing I learned from another forum member is when you go to the next higher grit, sand at a right angle to the direction of the previous sanding until the lines from the previous sanding disappear.

[KeithB]

Don't forget to keep the surface wet while sanding.  Not flooded, just keep enough water trickling over the piece to remove the sanded plastic from your work surface.

[Dennis Markham]

Mark,

Welcome to the Forum.  Over the course of time we have talked about sanding plastic many times.  But some of those posts are intertwined with other topics.

Here is one where Jorge Amely discusses finding higher grit sandpaper to give the plastic a better finish.  In this instance it was with ABS plastic, but it works with Tenite as well.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=2599.0

I use the Ryobi buffer to apply the polish and then buff it by hand.  On some occasions I will buff a part with my high-speed bench wheel but extreme care must be taken as it will burn through plastic in a heart-beat!  For the added benefit, the risk is not really worth it---or at least that has been my experience.

Good luck.

[davark]

Thank you all for your responses.  I have used wet/dry sandpaper.  I started out with 1000 but it did not tackle the discoloration, so I moved to 600 and eventually 400 but very carefully, then worked my way back up from there.  I have kept the pieces wet while sanding.  When done sanding they are very smooth with no noticable sanding lines.  Dennis, I just cant get the visual of using the buffer to apply the polish...do you saturate just one area of the bonnet? I want to make sure I am doing this as correctly as I can, even though I am a rank novice.  How naive I was to think the ebay seller would have mentioned the severe discoloration in the description!  I thought I was getting a nice little old 500 in decent condition that would allow me to wade into the world of restorations...nothing like diving in the deep end first!  I take solice in knowing I am probably not the first.  Thank you all again.

[AE_Collector]

How naive I was to think the ebay seller would have mentioned the severe discoloration in the description! 

Frequently "Needs a good cleaning" is ebaY speak for "this phone looks dirty but the dirt doesn't seem to wipe off even with cleaners"

Terry

[HarrySmith]

Hi Mark,
Welcome. If the bug bit you a few years ago and you "only have a few" there may still be time to save yourself
Kidding aside, you are definetly not the first. The first phone I restored about 1 1/2 years ago was a Pink 500. I got it as a parts phone knowing it was not prety but it was complete and it worked so I decided to refinish it. I spent about 2 weeks wetsanding it every night. I started with 400 grit up to 1500 then I used Novus 2 and Novus 1. It came out very nice, Pink and smooth and shiny. The only drawback is the loss of detail, the corners are not as sharp, the WE logo and the ridge around the mouseholes is gone. I did not use any power tools for fear of melting the plastic. It was tedious to say the least but it came out nice. I am currently sanding a Blue 500 which I am chronicling here. The only change I have made to my method is I no longer use Novus 1 , I have been using car wax but I may try the Armorall on this one.

[Dan/Panther]

Mark;
The obvious question is are you polishing thew base of the phone or the handset. if you are polishing the handset, it's probably Bakelite and will take a long time to get a shine which will never be as good as new or as good as the base shell.
Welcome to the forum, don't get discouraged. Photos are a big help also. It is possible someone has painted the phones also.
D/P

[Dennis Markham]

Mark, there is no "right way" and no "wrong way".  You will establish a method that works good for you.  I squirt the polish on the plastic and then begin working it in with the Ryobi.  I use the terry cloth type pad cover, not the real soft cover.  Eventually the cover becomes brown, black, nasty dirty and goes in the wash machine with my other cleaning rags.

I often sling Novus in every direction with this method.  You can always put a thin layer of Novus on the plastic, maybe work it in a little and while wet then hit it with the Ryobi.  Works good for me.

[davark]

thanks again all.  I am currently working on the handset and caps, but I think it must be ABS as the handset itself is dated 65 and is a replacement as the phone is 62.  I'll try to post some pics, although for me that may be more challenging than my polishing/sanding issues