Suggestions Requested for Painted(?) Bakelite G1 That's Flaking/Peeling

[RotarDad]

Ralph - I'm guessing the G-1s which were dull sometimes got painted to shine them up.  This was an exception, I believe, as most G-1s that I've seen are not painted.  I have some G-1s that are very nice, dark black and very shiney bakelite.  I'm sure most of them left the factory that way back in the day.  Keep us informed on your progress!

[rp2813]

Yesterday I hit the handset with steel wool and the black substance, presumably paint, came right off in tiny crumbs without the need to apply much pressure.  I carefully went over only the areas with obvious peeling that could be both seen and felt, and feathered it out into areas that still had a good finish.  Just that procedure alone got the spine's finish looking more like a normal G1. 

I then applied Brasso with steel wool and buffed it out by hand, since I haven't yet obtained a buffing wheel for my grinder.  This was a first pass.  I failed to mention previously that this 500 is the daily driver on my home office desk, so I hooked up a 7/54 in its place, anticipating the 10/50 would be out of commission for a while.  I approached this first attempt as step one in what could become a more involved process, but have to say that after the Brasso and then following up with Glayzit, the handset looks quite decent -- as good or better than other G1 types I own.  In the attached flash-aided picture, any fine lines remaining from the steel wool process are exaggerated.  In plain light, they aren't visible.

So for now I'm calling it good, and the phone is back on my desk.  This phone doesn't need to be polished up like a museum piece since I use it every day, and I'm just happy that when I grip the handset, it doesn't feel rough and gritty like it did before.  It feels smooth like it's supposed to, and it shines almost as much as the case it rests on, which is the most one can hope for with a G1.  At some point I'll give the entire exterior a proper spa treatment, but for now I'm quite happy with yesterday's results.

[andy1702]

That looks a lot better. I guess it was paint becoming detatched from the bakelite then.

Andy.

[TelePlay]

That looks really great.

Bakelite is really quite tough. In general, a buffer is really not needed for Bakelite, just Brasso with 0000 steel wool will get it to the finish you achieved. High speed buffing puts a bit of a shine on it but the not mirror finish achieved by some that have posted glass like finishes on Bakelite. I still haven't figured out how they do that, and they for obvious reasons, won't share that technique.

A buffer will make it look better but what you showed in your picture is great, and won't show every finger print. Nice work, and glad it was a simple fix. Nice job.