Did I mess up?

[Gary G]

So, I'm new to restoration and I lightly sanded the top flatside of a G1 bakelite handset with 2000 grit sandpaper.  Bad me !  I'm over it, but is it possible to get the luster back?  I tried brasso, but that made no difference.  I was able to get some shine back with car polish or minwax.  It's not bad, but you can still see some mottling when viewed closeup or under certain light conditions.  Is there hope, or just a good lesson learned?  Thanks.

[LarryInMichigan]

Gary,

I have never personally seen a bakelite handset which looked solidly black.  There is always some of the brown, from the wood flour, showing through.  I usually lightly sand out rough spots and then rub with Brasso.  There is usually a dull film over the bakelite, and enough polishing makes the surface shiny.  I then polish with plastic polish.  If the surface is not black enough, black wax shoe polish can help.

Larry

[Craig T]

A picture would be great, but just off the cuff, Novus #2 may still help at this point. It will give you some color back.

If you have the speckled brown or tan bits showing, you are into the wood flour and may need to hit it with a coat of black shoe polish as your are beyond the thin layer of bakelite on the handset if you want it to be one color black.

There are other options too, so just hang tight a bit and some of the others will chime in also. Those are a couple things I have learned from the folks here at the forum. I have had great results with both.

Larry you beat me to the punch 

[Dan/Panther]

If all else fails you could apply a clear coat to the handset to regains the glossy finish. I did this to one F1 handset I wanted to display but it was very dull. The gloss made it look very nice for display purposes. For something you want to keep for personal use or for sale, I would not recommend the above, at that point bite the bullet and get another Handset. The other mentioned ideas will work great, the alternative is like I said,; If all else fails".

D/P

[Gary G]

Here is the result after applying the minwax.  I also tried Novus 2, but the shine was more subdued.  I appreciate the suggestions.

[McHeath]

It's my understanding that once the outer surface of a Bakelite handset or shell is removed the phone won't have that piano black type finish again.  I had a really badly worn G1 handset and painted it as nothing I did was bringing it back. (painting bakelite is frowned on by some)  Here is a pic of the painted handset:

[Craig T]

Agreed, you are down to the wood flour, now can leave it or use the polish, clear coat, or paint.

McHeath I have one worn one here. You are going to make a painter out of me with results like that. Looks great!

[Gary G]

Being this my first restoration, I'll leave it as such and chalk it up to experience.  This phone was given to me by my mother-in-law last Sunday and she has another similar model she'll bring by soon.  This time, regardless of any damage to the handset, I'll refrain from sanding.

[Dan/Panther]

McHeath;
That's an excellent job, what type paint did you use, and how did you do it ?
D/P

[Greg G.]

Being this my first restoration, I'll leave it as such and chalk it up to experience.  This phone was given to me by my mother-in-law last Sunday and she has another similar model she'll bring by soon.  This time, regardless of any damage to the handset, I'll refrain from sanding.

What kind of phone is it with?  This is new to me, as I thought the G1s were late enough to be plastic.  The oldest phone with a G1 I have is the 5302, the handset is stamped 57.  The only ones I have that I've sanded were from the 60s or 70s. Sanding properly and hitting them with Novus 2 shined them up nicely, but they were plastic.

[Phonesrfun]

Early G1's were bakelite.  They are heavier than the plastic ones, and have a slightly different cup for the transmitter.  The U-shaped recess for holding the cord in place is part of the handset, and the cup has no U-shaped bottom to it.

-Bill Geurts

[Dennis Markham]

Another sign of the G1 is the groove that runs along both sides.  The later G3's do not have that groove.

[McHeath]

That's an excellent job, what type paint did you use, and how did you do it ?

I sanded it with 1000 and then 2000 grit.  The paint is Krylon plastic high gloss black.  Painted it and baked it in the oven, sanded it with 2000 grit and painted it again.  Baked one more time.  I was surprised at the results, it looks fantastic, best paint job on a phone part I've ever done. 

[Wallphone]

Early G1's were bakelite.  They are heavier than the plastic ones, and have a slightly different cup for the transmitter.  The U-shaped recess for holding the cord in place is part of the handset, and the cup has no U-shaped bottom to it.

-Bill Geurts

The Bakelite G1 handset that I have does not have the integrated U-shaped cord grip.
But mine has the F1 transmitter converter insert ring, so maybe that has something to do with it.
And yes, the transmitter element barely touches the contacts. I'll have to bend them up some more.
Dougpav

[Dan/Panther]

Baking the paint makes all the difference, it makes the pigments flow creating a very even smooth finish. What Temp. did you bake at.
D/P