1967 Northern Electric 1500

[rbouch]

Just found this phone in town.  1967 on the base and the network, 1968 on the case and the handset, 1959 on the transmitter, 1967 on the receiver, even the line cord looks original.  I'm posting pictures and if anyone could have a look at the one picture of the top of the handset I'm thinking that the beige stain is paint.

Anyone know what the best way to remove paint from a G3 handset is without damaging the plastic?  Is paint thinner okay?  Or do these colour phones tend to fade to beige in area where the plastic gets a lot of "hand contact"?

Any information anyone can provide on this phone would be appreciated.  Outside of Dave from PEI there doesn't appear to be a lot of info out there...

Thanks,

Ralph

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Wow, great find!! I've only seen one of those in Red and a couple in Black, but never one in Yellow!

I would bet that the stain you see on the handset is from a shoulder rest; the plastic those were made from notoriously outgassed, which usually lead to whitening the plastic. The advertisement stickers that were on there before must have shielded that outgassing.

[rbouch]

So I'm probably not going to get that back to the right colour in any case, eh?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

So I'm probably not going to get that back to the right colour in any case, eh?

Probably not. One thing you could try is wetsanding, it would at least help the color. I start with 800 and 1000 grit, and then finish with 2000 and polish.

[rbouch]

I will give it a try,

thanks!

Ralph

[Phonesrfun]

Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.  I have developed a certain tendency to avoid sanding if not absolutely necessary.  Sanding does take a toll on the crispness of the lines and surface of the handset, no matter how well it is polished out.  The damage to the color may well be deeper than just a superficial sanding/polishing would cure. 

Personally, I would leave it as-is because the patina markings of age and use are for me preferable to the "damage" sanding does.  Sometimes I think we over-restore.

Just my opinion after having been thoroughly disappointed with sanding.  Maybe others are more skilled at it than I am. 

[RotarDad]

I routinely sand phone plastics to remove scratches and to try to improve color.  However I stay with 2000, then 3000, then Novus 2 polish.  Going courser than 2000 can make it difficult to remove scratch lines caused by sanding.  If you stay 2000 and above, and are careful with edges and details, you should be OK.  Courser grits are a different animal imho.  2000 Grit will probably not fix the significant discoloration you have, but it may look a bit better.  I'm with Bill on the major sanding in most cases....

[rbouch]

Well, given the fact that I'm not likely to find another of these and that davepei weighed in through a pm as well I 'm just going to leave the phone as is.

Might use some novus #2 on it but that will become extent of my efforts,

Thanks to all

[WEBellSystemChristian]

I routinely sand phone plastics to remove scratches and to try to improve color.  However I stay with 2000, then 3000, then Novus 2 polish.  Going courser than 2000 can make it difficult to remove scratch lines caused by sanding.  If you stay 2000 and above, and are careful with edges and details, you should be OK.  Courser grits are a different animal imho.  Hope this helps...

Huh, other than Micro-Mesh pads, I didn't even know anything was made higher than 2000 grit.

If you decide to wetsand, I prefer using lower grits for getting through the tougher stuff. It clogs less and gets through the plastic quicker. All you have to do is spend a bit more time sanding with the next grit of sandpaper whenever you switch to the higher grit. Spend A LOT of time working with the last grit; that will get all of the little flaws left behind by the previous grits.

Well, it still looks nice without any sanding. Enjoy your find!!

[RotarDad]

Christian - Some extremely fine grades of paper are available.  I believe I have some 5000 or 6000, but the 3000 works really well to transition to polish.  I seem to remember "master sander" Dennis M has a large array of super fine papers he uses as well.

Lastly I must correct my use of "course" instead of the proper "coarse" earlier.  Of course, that was an incorrect usage......

[TelePlay]

eBay has a lot of sellers with very fine sandpaper in different assortments and prices, most from slow boat China but for example, here is one US shipper.

[andre_janew]

Has anyone noticed that this phone has a 425E network?   Is this the type of network one would find on early touch tone phones?

[Phonesrfun]

Has anyone noticed that this phone has a 425E network?   Is this the type of network one would find on early touch tone phones?

Yes.  The extra connections were provided by a terminal strip located below the dial.

[luns]

Has anyone noticed that this phone has a 425E network?   Is this the type of network one would find on early touch tone phones?

425E is a straight replacement for the 425B and is for rotary dial. I believe the only difference is the treatment of the C terminal (screw terminal instead of a soldered wire.

The 425 network for touch tone phones (I think it's 425J or K) have two additional terminals, T and S, and omit the capacitor for the dial switch snubber at terminal F.

[DNO]

Terrific find, Ralph.  I was wondering if Northern Electric produced 10 button phones.  I've never seen one...yet!