Which Member Does Powder Coating

[Doug Rose]

I got a B1 this weekend but it is too far gone do save. I got the rust off but there is still some minor pitting.

I'd like to get it powder coated. I was thing a Red manual set would look killer.

Anyone powder coat? I knew a year ago someone had mentioned they did....thanks...Doug

[Tim Mc]

You may already know this, but be sure to carefully remove the upper and lower hard rubber bushings on the plunger cylinder, or they'll get lost during the chemical etching and/or powder baking steps.  I've had good luck with my local powdercoater, but he's in St. Louis, MO.

A red manual would be sweet.  Did W.E. offer colors on the B1s or are you going off the reservation? 

[Doug Rose]

way off the reservation

[Phonesrfun]

Its my understanding that the electrostatic process coats everything in its path, so dates stamped on the inside might get coated over, unless there is a way to mask them.  Anyone have some experience with that?

[wds]

And you'll want to plug the hole for the plunger - otherwise those washers may not go back in.

[Tim Mc]

Its my understanding that the electrostatic process coats everything in its path, so dates stamped on the inside might get coated over, unless there is a way to mask them.  Anyone have some experience with that?

Yes, dates on the inside will be removed, either by the etching dip or by the powder.  That's one reason I decided to go 'old school' with my latest 202 and preserve the date.

They'll want to plug any screw holes as well.  A good powdercoater will do that...otherwise you're in for a set of taps.

[HowardPgh]

So far we still don't know who does the powdercoating.
My question on this subject is; what type of preperation is needed before you give a metal phone case to a powdercoater?

[Tim Mc]

It depends on the powder coater.  Some may use a chemical dip and/or media (bead) blasting to prep before applying the powder.  They may even sand or grind down any imperfections.  For example I had a 302 with a bump on the back due to a bad casting that they ground off and sanded smooth before shooting and baking.  It pays to find out what the service includes or you may wind up with a poor finish.  It it's a keeper, you might consider stripping it yourself and sanding any oxidation or imperfections before taking in for powder coat.  Of course you'll also need to remove everything that you don't want painted (screws, brackets) and remove anything that might melt in an oven (gaskets, rubber bushings).  A good powder coater will plug mounting holes or shafts where it could interfere with tolerances, but it won't hurt to point them out.

While the first few 302s I had powder coated turned out great, I've had a couple of later 302s where I wasn't happy with the finish.  The guys I use were great and redid them several times at no charge but the results were the same, usually some fish-eyes along the bottom.  They tried a different powder vendor, different guns, etc. with no luck.  The funny thing was that the 202s in the same batch turned out great.  I don't know if it had to do with the electrical and heat expansion properties of the zinc pot metal of the 302s or what.  Rather than torture the poor 302s yet again, I used the powder finish as a primer coat, sanded any trouble spots, scuffed up the rest and shot it with gloss black enamel. 

[Dan/Panther]

Just curious, is the following eBay listing a home done job or original WE ?
D/P


190886809633

[Russ Kirk]

My vote is it spray painted. 

[Dan/Panther]

That's what I thought, but the paint is very well done.
D/P

[poplar1]

Just curious, is the following eBay listing a home done job or original WE ?
D/P


190886809633

I'd say this is a fairly typical Pekin Red Continental, painted at the WE distributing house shop. It is in better condition than most.

(1) Pekin red paint
(2) matching red mask for number card
(3) matching  red H3P handset cord
(4) 7/55 recharge date on the transmitter (Many Continentals are dated 1955)
(5) While the D4AN black mounting cord is not correct, still, it is the right cord for connecting a 202 to a subset.

[poplar1]

(6)  6D dial (clear finger wheel and white case): notice that the rim is painted white, but the paint is flaking off. I doubt that this was done at home.

Three green Continentals I checked have dials with rims painted green, not white. Would the average at-home painter/lamp maker know that the red Continental has a dial with white rim but the green Continental does not?

[poplar1]

Pictures of the red Continental Dan/Panther was asking about:

Just curious, is the following eBay listing a home done job or original WE ?
D/P


190886809633

[baldopeacock]

I got a B1 this weekend but it is too far gone do save. I got the rust off but there is still some minor pitting.

A skim coat of plastic body filler, aka Bondo, would take care of the pitting if you chose to paint.   Or, go really old-school and use lead as the filler.  It'll sand and finish nicely.  That would leave powder-coating as an option.