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Phone Dyeing

Started by compubit, February 04, 2017, 02:35:32 PM

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AE_Collector

Quote from: compubit on February 05, 2017, 12:00:09 PM
Just remember to cover anything that is dye susceptible (e.g., Formica counter tops, painted walls). Being my first try, I did splatter a bit.

Jim

Either you're single OR we've likely seen the last post from you here on CRPF. Does anyone live close to Jim? Go by and check to see if there are signs of a recently dug hole in the back yard.

Terry

jsowers

Quote from: AE_Collector on February 05, 2017, 12:54:45 PM
Either you're single OR we've likely seen the last post from you here on CRPF. Does anyone live close to Jim? Go by and check to see if there are signs of a recently dug hole in the back yard.

Terry

That would be dyeing followed by dying.  ;D  Big difference in those two words. Hopefully Compubit is living to dye again.
Jonathan

AE_Collector


TelePlay

Quote from: AE_Collector on February 05, 2017, 04:25:37 PM
Does anyone play the trumpet or bugle?

This guy does, and quite well at that . . .

     https://youtu.be/WChTqYlDjtI

compubit

All is okay.

I live alone and own my townhouse.  Also, I'm about to renovate my kitchen, so the countertops will be gone soon. Third, with significant scrubbing, the color fades out... 

But, overcompensate with newspapers/plastic sheeting (or use an alternate location - not the kitchen...)

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

compubit

I completed test #2 today. Not much luck... But...

I brought the water to a boil, added the dye, brought back to a boil, turned off the burner, then added items. Mixed results:
1) coiled cord - nice bright blue - dyeing definitely works here - you have to watch the color and ensure that the coils separate. The color is essentially fixed - longer times in the bath have little effect. I'll need to adjust the color through dilution and/or color mixing.

2) WE 2500 Faceplate - this also worked on a  charcoal faceplate to give it a blue tint (to replace the default light gray faceplate on the country blue 2500) - picture to come.

3) ITT/Cortelco plastics and handset.  Color was significantly muted, plus showed all imperfections, scratches and unknown sticker residue (which had been fully cleaned and run through the dishwasher... (See pics).

I'm calling ABS shells a failure...

I'll focus on pink, mocha and grey coiled cords going forward...

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

compubit

More pics...
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

compubit

More pics...
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

TelePlay

Now that you have some shells that are scrap plastic, you could try sanding down an area or two just to see how far the dye penetrated the hard plastic, or cut out a square piece and fine smooth the cut to get a cross section of the outer layers, to see how far the dye penetrated (sort of like looking at a piece of broken Bakelite with the thin outer layer that was formed by being pressed against the smooth mold).

compubit

As I tested with the purple shells - the dye doesn't go deep at all - it's a surface layer at best.  Looking at the 2500 faceplate, the WE plate survived, but the ITT/Cortelco did not.

Also, the transmitter mouthpiece is now "flat", rather than having the convex curvature.

It was a fun project - one that's better suited to coiled cords - now to see if I can match the early 50s colored grey cords, as well as a mahogany...

Pink will be interesting - to get the right dye ratio, so that they are pink and not PINK

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!