News:

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

Main Menu

Plastic Repair Techniques & Results

Started by BDM, October 22, 2008, 12:43:01 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

winkydink

#15
Quote from: Dennis Markham on November 02, 2008, 10:29:25 PM

As far as sanding Bakelite, one must be careful.  Sanding can eliminate the thin layer of plastic and a gloss shine will never return.  If you must sand the Bakelite us something finer than 600.  Nothing lower than 1,000.  Better yet use 2,000 and lightly sand off the imperfection.  Rubbing in more polish with a buffer, like a hand held Ryobi is best.  The friction of the moving pad against the Bakelite along with the polish really removes a lot of dirt.

Dennis (and all others who have a hand held Ryobi)

I am trying to determine if my hand held Ryobi buffer is behaving properly

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100041947


Initially is spins at a rapid rate but after I make contact with the surface the rate of spinning decreases and any type of pressure causes the spin rate to go down to near zero (although I can tell it is still doing it orbital action thing).  In certain situations the spinning of the polishing head will actually go in the oposite direction of the inital spining.

Does this seem correct.  Is this buffer more of an orbital polisher than a spinning polisher.  I am just trying to determine if this is proper behaviour or if I need to return mine because it is defective.

Thanks.

Steve


sounds like it's working fine to me. use a light touch, and it might work a bit better.
If you're a long way from home,
Can't sleep at night.
Grab your telephone,
Something just ain't right.

Dennis Markham

My Ryobi doesn't slow down a bit during use.  I'm on my second one only because the foam pad on the first one finally disintegrated from use.  It still spins as fast as usual.  That pad appears to be a replaceable but for $20 I figured it was just cheaper to get a new one.  I also trimmed up some of the plastic housing....to give more room between the moving pad and the plastic shroud.  So I wouldn't damage the phone by bumping it into the phone.

Dan

Quote from: Dennis Markham on November 02, 2008, 10:29:25 PM
Matt,

I'll have to ask Mark.  He gets the hardener from a nail salon but it requires a beauticians license to purchase.  He has a friend that gets it for him.  The hardner is mixed with a powder and hardens very quickly.  The odor is intense and must e used with ventilation.  The hardener is very expensive...like $25 for a very small bottle.

When I repair a corner crack I simply use Super Glue or Krazy glue.  I pull apart the crack and bathe the crack on the broken edge as well as inside and outside of the case.  I hold the glued part together firmly while it dries then use a heavy rubber band to hold pressure on the case over night.  It's best when the glue is dripping out of the crack making a good bond.  Later I sand the repaired area with a progression of wet sand paper, beginning with 800 grit, then 1,000, 2,000.  If you can find finer sandpaper above 2k then that's great too.  Sand in one direction for a certain grit, like up and down for 800, then back and forth for the 1,000.  If you see any of the up and down marks left after using 1,000 then use the 1,000 again and again until no 800 marks are left.  Continue in this manner.  With good sanding the crack will often--not always disappear.  Then use Novus2 to polish.  Be careful when sanding not to put too much pressure on the crack or it will pop again.  Also I use a dremmel tool to file down some of the plastic on the inside to prevent further cracking.  Shrinkage of the plastic case is often what causes the crack in the first place.  It shrinks around the metal base resulting in a crack.

As far as sanding Bakelite, one must be careful.  Sanding can eliminate the thin layer of plastic and a gloss shine will never return.  If you must sand the Bakelite us something finer than 600.  Nothing lower than 1,000.  Better yet use 2,000 and lightly sand off the imperfection.  Rubbing in more polish with a buffer, like a hand held Ryobi is best.  The friction of the moving pad against the Bakelite along with the polish really removes a lot of dirt.

Those are just my tips.  Everyone has their own method and if you do it enough you will develop your own techniques.

Dennis, I know this is an old thread, but I was trying to minimize threads. Will this method work on a soft tenite  500 housing too? My 500 has a corner crack on it.

Thanks!
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Dennis Markham

Dan, that highlighted quote talks about two different methods, the nail hardener mixed with a powder that can be used to fill gaps.  It is really more for larger holes or missing plastic. 

The Crazy Glue, Super Glue method works pretty well for repairing a crack but may not make it disappear.  The example I gave in this paragraph was on soft plastic.

Dan

"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

marty

Hi All;
Which or would either of these repairs work on my E1 Mouthpiece ??? I have never tried anything like this and as I am all thumbs, I am debating whether I should try ???? I am mainly concerned about the Crack on the one side..
THANK YOU Marty