'53 500 set woes...

[Rescuemo]

Hi guys. I'm getting settled in my new home and decided to pull out an older unrestored phone I've been meaning to get around to. It's an all matching dates, original, unrefurbished 500 set I got a few years ago at a flea market. Due to the heavy rains all summer in NC, my workshop was pretty damp, and the phone had some mildew on it. After washing the grime off the case with mild detergent I'm still seeing spots and rough places as in the pics below:









I didn't want to start polishing until I get a handle on how to work with this. Caveat: I have focused mainly on metal and wooden phones much earlier than this, but I want to display this one on my desk and perhaps hook it up.

Any and all ideas are welcome...

[Rescuemo]

I'm assuming this is a soft plastic case?

[southernphoneman]

when washing the plastics on a 500, and it looks to be soft plastic on yours, I usually wash it with dawn dishwashing detergent and then dry it with a dry cloth and then hang it up over night, I have cleaned some real disgusting casings this way, Gregg

[Bill]

Gregg -

Once washed, does it stay clean for a long time?

A couple years ago, we had a long discussion involving mildew, and what happens when it penetrates the pores in the plastic. I think the discussion was started by Chuck Hensley, but it could be found with a search on "mildew".

Bill

[Kenton K]

 I clean telephones with soapy water and a cotton towel. I find that dirty "pores" can be cleaned with a toothbrush.

Then I polish with Novus or Brasso.

Ken

[southernphoneman]

Gregg -

Once washed, does it stay clean for a long time?

A couple years ago, we had a long discussion involving mildew, and what happens when it penetrates the pores in the plastic. I think the discussion was started by Chuck Hensley, but it could be found with a search on "mildew".

Bill

the answer from my own experience would be yes, I did one a few months ago that had probably been through a north Carolina flood and it had to be scrubbed 2 to 3 times but it did the job and stayed clean, that was hard plastic, but ive also done the soft plastic and the results are the same, hopefully Dennis will chime in on this because it seems that he is an expert on this process and his work that I have seen is exquisite,Gregg

[Contempra]

I clean telephones with soapy water and a cotton towel. I find that dirty "pores" can be cleaned with a toothbrush.

Then I polish with Novus or Brasso.

Ken

Samething for me...soapy water...nothing else for plastic..Inside the phone I only use a toothbrush...

[DavePEI]

Oxyclean does a good job in the water on really filthy phones. Just rinse off and dry afterwards.

Dave

[Dennis Markham]

Once you clean the plastic with warm soapy water, Novus2 will make it look great again.  Just use some elbow grease and a nice cotton cloth.  If the plastic has white mold, often soaking it in the sink in cold water with about a cup or two of bleach will kill the mold.  Then wash and polish.

[TelePlay]

And you may want to cover up the date stamps inside the shell with vaseline or lanolin to protect the ink during cleaning/soaking.

[Rescuemo]

Good suggestions, all. Yes, I believe that is mildew penetration, and after washing twice it still looks the same. One of my phones (a '59) was ruined by a flash flood, water reached the lowest shelf where the '59 sat. This '53 didn't have water damage but the mildew definitely got to it. Bill, I will search for the mildew thread and see what I find. Thanks!

[TelePlay]

This '53 didn't have water damage but the mildew definitely got to it. Bill, I will search for the mildew thread and see what I find. Thanks!

I think this is it.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4098.0

[Kenton K]

Oxyclean does a good job in the water on really filthy phones. Just rinse off and dry afterwards.

Dave

Make sure you don't let it soak too long in Oxyclean. Oxyclean is just like peroxide and bleaches plastic. I left a black case in Oxy overnight and it turned a foggy grey. Some brasso removed the fog but I definitely won't be doing that to a blue 302!

[Greg G.]

Oxyclean does a good job in the water on really filthy phones. Just rinse off and dry afterwards.

Dave

Make sure you don't let it soak too long in Oxyclean. Oxyclean is just like peroxide and bleaches plastic. I left a black case in Oxy overnight and it turned a foggy grey. Some brasso removed the fog but I definitely won't be doing that to a blue 302!

How long do you let it soak?

[DavePEI]

Oxyclean does a good job in the water on really filthy phones. Just rinse off and dry afterwards.

Dave

Make sure you don't let it soak too long in Oxyclean. Oxyclean is just like peroxide and bleaches plastic. I left a black case in Oxy overnight and it turned a foggy grey. Some brasso removed the fog but I definitely won't be doing that to a blue 302!

How long do you let it soak?

Usually a couple of hours.... Oxyclean will kill any mold roots as well. It will need polishing afterwards just as plastic will need after plain hot water...

Dave