Bought on EBAY for $39.95 + $12.05 shipping, I first documented the purchase here:
http://tinyurl.com/y8vgx94b
I thought I'd start a thread here to document the restoration process.
It came in today.
All original numbers matching and working.
7C dial dated 5/58 with a 62 paint code & open center finger wheel. Handset 5/58, receiver 5/28/58, transmitter 5/28/58, ringer 5/58, network 6/58,base 6/58, handset cord 58, Line cord 59. Why is line cord 59? Was that put on when it was installed months later?
Only markings inside the case is 17D, it has clear plungers. Not soft plastic (no smell), must be Tenite?
A good clean up, crack repair, polishing is in order!
Is this type of "plastic" and this color best treated with the bleach method, or maybe peroxide? The crack on this material will respond to Acetone as Christian and I discussed in the above linked conversation? I don't want to use the incorrect treatment on the wrong case material. Any suggestions are welcome my first time dealing with a phone in this material and color.
This phone wasn't on my radar, although I had it on my watch list, I didn't think I would bid until I saw that I had no obvious competition for the auction's last few minutes. I guess 3:30pm East coast time isn't the ideal time of day to end a auction. In the end I was the only bidder and bought it for the min bid. Hours of browsing EBAY pays off every so often!
Benny
Nice. Is it soft or hard plastic?
I can't determine for sure, it don't smell like cheese & there are no stamps inside just the molded numbers in the picture.
Great catch! Now I wish I kinda wish I had challenged you on that auction... ;)
The line cord may have been the standard, shorter length, but the customer may have requested a longer cord a short time after it was installed. When dates line up so closely like this, don't try focusing on the smallest imperfect details like I do--good luck finding a better one at that price! :) My '59 has
repaired transmitter cap that was shattered in shipping, and was re-painted Aqua sometime down the line.
Usually, the darker colors smell the cheesiest. Mahogany Brown, Oxford Gray, and Black all reek in soft plastic. The lighter colors never smell. Trust me, this one is Tenite! If you want to be sure, test some Denatured Alcohol on the plastic somewhere. If it doesn't affect it at all, it's ABS; If it alters the plastic in any way (frosting, melting, etc) it's Tenite.
Normally the ABS hard plastic housings have a circle mark molded into the plastic where your picture shows the number, so this is likely Tenite (soft plastic). That circle mark would be something like C62 or C60, the numbers indicating the year it was made. In the last half of 1959 they still stamped the date on the inside front edge of the housing and those were ABS hard plastic, or most of them, and I'm referring to colors and not black. Benny, are you sure there's not even a hint of a stamped date on the inside front edge of the housing? Take it out in the sunlight tomorrow and see if you can tell. With everything else dating to 1958 except the mounting cord, I feel sure the housing is original. And it's the same color as the other plastics.
You can try tapping the housing with a fingernail while it sits on a countertop. A dull tap usually means soft plastic. Also try tapping a newer 1960s or 70s phone you know is hard plastic. There should be a difference in the sound and hard plastic has a sharper, harder sound to it because it's less pliable. Sometimes you can even tell by the sound the handset makes on the cradle when hanging up. Soft plastic almost makes a thud sound.
I did see this phone when it was listed, but wasn't interested because of the crack in the back. I'm glad you got it and I look forward to seeing your work on it.
I'll take it out tomorrow and inspect it closely.... I know what you mean by the sound of the case. I'll experiment with it tomorrow. Thanks.
Curiosity got the best of me, I had to look. I used a light and a magnifying glass and you are right. Barely I can see " 5 28 59 58 " maybe tomorrow I can photograph it in the daylight. I'm positive it's there, just don't know if I'll be able to document it in a photograph.
Thanks for encouraging me to look harder, jsowers!
Christian, I rubbed some denatured alcohol on the inside of the case and all it done was clean it a little, otherwise nothing. Must be ABS?
Edit: After experimenting with a '49 302 black case and this one, I'm convensed this is ABS, denatured alcohol doesn't phase it at all. I could do a you tube video tomorrow to show you how it reacts. The handset is the same as is the receiver cap, the transmitter cap acts like tenite and is stamped 5/58 although it's kinda blurred. More tomorrow.
Christian, I found your conversation on dates and tenite and ABS plastics. If this is true would this be a especially early ABS?
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=16386.msg169719#msg169719
Mid-'59 would be the general crossover point, so your shell certainly could be ABS. It appears that an installer changed the line cord and put on a shiny new shell at the same time, hence the '59 dates on those two parts. Christian may have additional details - he's got a great memory, and has scrutinized quite a few of these phones.
I made a correction on the case date it is dated "58" not 59. I was sleepy last night.
I measured the line cord it is 9 feet long. Perhaps it was exchanged for a longer cord after the fact.
I tried to photograph the date on the case. I seems Steve Jobs didn't envision this type of photography when he created the camera that I was using.
Today I began sanding the case and handset and caps. 600 was the choice on the various scratches and deep gouges. I finished off today with 800 grit. I'm sufficiently tired and achy after that.
I'm happy with the results so far. The faded color is gone and the surface gouges are 99% gone.
I love adding a new color to the sea of black 500's (which I love) in my collection. If I were born in May of 1958 this would be a wonderful "Birthday Phone"....but I wasn't.
More updates as warranted!
Benny
Ah. Finally we see a photo of the caps. They have no middle hole, ergo soft plastic.
The phone is looking nice. I trust that it will be looking as good as new is no time.
There was a short transition period in the latter part of 1959 where ABS plastic was used in the same molds as the tenite. The receiver caps has six holes, and there were dates printed inside the front of the shell.
Larry
Great progress, Benny! ;)
Quote from: Victor Laszlo on September 09, 2017, 08:11:53 PM
Ah. Finally we see a photo of the caps. They have no middle hole, ergo soft plastic.
Not necessarily.
The official changeover to center holes for WE seems to be January 1960. Handsets and caps started to change to ABS starting around May 1959, eight months earlier.
The "center hole rule' is simply a way of being able to tell whether or not you have an earlier--or 1950s--500.
I posted a video to You Tube to demonstrate the reaction of the case, Handset and the caps to denatured alcohol. I believe the handset and case are ABS and the caps are Tenite. Take a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cqNZp5XPaY
As I continue, 1000 grit sanding done. Disassembled the finger wheel & number dial. The number dial is a little faded and has some smudges, I assume i can sand it lightly since the numbers are embedded into the dial from the back? I have never had the need to do so before.
yes, perfectly ok to sand the numbers bezel as the numbers go right through as you say.
watched the video benny.......don't have any experience of doing the denatured alcohol test but as far as i have always heard, there weren't any ABS 500 parts in may '58 so based on that i'd say yours must be tenite.
best of luck on yr project......whatever the answer to these technical questions, your phone's going to look great!
Benny:
I posted this today in the forum's plastic sanding section. You may want to look into it for this phone, at least for the handset caps:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=18850
Thanks Christian but you can see in the video I posted earlier, the case is ABS & denatured alcohol has no effect on it.
I spent the day sanding on this phone. Pictures to follow!
Quote from: Pourme on September 10, 2017, 07:15:33 PM
Thanks Christian but you can see in the video I posted earlier, the case is ABS & denatured alcohol has no effect on it.
I spent the day sanding on this phone. Pictures to follow!
Try a mixture of 25% acetone and 75% denatured alcohol. 1 measure of the acetone and 3 measures of the denatured alcohol (e.g. 1 ounce acetone and 3 ounces of denatured alcohol).
I'm going to name this phone Irma, as I spent all day watching Irma coverage as I worked on this phone.
I started with 600 grit because of some scratches and fairly deep gouges. I went to 800, 1000, 1500 and finished with 2,000 grit. After that I used Novis 3 and finally Novis 2. With the Novis I used my hand buffer. I sanded the dial as well. I polished the gongs and used my Dremel to brush up the screws under the hood. I used SSS on the leather pads.
I soaked both cords in a Oxi Clean mixture and dressed them out with Armorall. The curly cord spent some time on a wooden dowel and I heated it up with a hair drier.
The crack was a semi success. I could have done better but I saved it for last and got fatigued in the end. I used acetone to melt plastic carved from under the bottom side of the case. After sanding the repair I realized I needed more material to fill in more. That is where I was tired and stopped. I can always have another go at it one day. It's good for now.
Quote from: Pourme on September 10, 2017, 07:29:34 PM
I'm going to name this phone Irma, as I spent all day watching Irma coverage as I worked on this phone.
Huh, usually I watch old TV shows on Netflix when I restore mine... :)
Looks great so far! That crack filled in nicely!
Finally after assembly I'm pleased with the look of the phone! It looks real nice, my 1st Aqua Blue 500.
It looks and sounds good!
PS. last picture is just for kicks....It's how it looks under my LED lights...odd
Quote from: TelePlay on September 10, 2017, 07:28:35 PM
Try a mixture of 25% acetone and 75% denatured alcohol. 1 measure of the acetone and 3 measures of the denatured alcohol (e.g. 1 ounce acetone and 3 ounces of denatured alcohol).
John,
I probably would have tried that if I hadn't already finished it when I read your suggestion!...
Next time!