Have a 1953 WE500 for my new home (also from 1953). The previous owner loved to put stickers all over the whole thing. You know 10-10-gethosed long distance providers and the like.
What can I use to get this cleaned off and looking new?
Also where can i find a cloth covered modular cord?
Thanks in advance.
Welcome to the forum, cklein:
I would use Goo Gone, and I don't believe a 500 ever used a fabric cord. However, if you have your heart set on a fabric cord, oldphoneworks.com has them
ck;
First welcome to our forum, and hope to see you often.
The stickers I would start by removing the cover of the phone by the two screws on the bottom. Then remove the handhold cover and plungers by removing the screw between the plungers. Then I would half fill a sink with warm water and a few drops of dish soap. Use a brush to remove all of the dirt first, by then the stickers should be able to be removed by carefully scraping with your finger nail., except for the residue left from the glue. Then I would rinse the case in cool clean running water and either blow dry or place in a warm spot until dry. Then use Goo Gone to remove the left over gum from the labels. If the case in in fairly good shape, use some F-21 by Turtle wax to shine up the outside.
Other thread in the forum talk about how to repair crack, scratches and the such with excellent results. Take a few before and after shots.
You can get a cord here...
http://www.oldphoneworks.com/
Don't be a stranger, we want to see before and after photos.
D/P
While I was typing Bill posted the Readers Digest version of my post, I wasn't about to waste all that typing.
D/P
Mr. Klein, welcome to the forum.
You got some pretty good advice so far. The only thing I do differently from Dan is I don't count the drops of dish soap that I put in the sink. I use liberal amounts with water as hot as you can stand to submerse your hand into. Let the housing soak until the water cools. On black soft plastic....if your phone is original to 1953 it will have a soft plastic housing....it may come out of the hot water looking a foggy white color. Don't panic. When it warms to room temperature it will return to its natural color.
I also avoid brushes. They can scratch. Dan may have a nice soft one but even a tooth brush can leave some scratches in soft plastic. If they're paper bases stickers they often come off with the hot water. Another product that works to remove the gum is good ole WD-40. I spray it on the gooey spots and work it in with my fingers. Usually it will come loose. Then back in the water with a soft sponge.
There are probably as many recipes as there are members on the forum. Often it's good to take a little from everyone and develop your own methods.
I wrote a blog posting about those stickers once. If you care to read it it can be found here:
http://www.vintagerotaryphones.com/?p=27
I use an aereosol can of lable remover from my local Maplins (like Radio Shack probably over there)
CK;
Yes the brush I use is a soft bristled paint type brush, I use a stiffer brush on the inside, but be careful not to brush or rub too much on any lettering that may be stamped on the parts. They may rub off.
D/P
BTW, I use 7.5 drops of dish soap per liter of water at room temperature, and decrease that amount by .5 drops for every 10 degree increase in water temperature Fahrenheit at sea level, I live at 4000 feet, and have to adjust the formula to account for humidity and barometric pressure, so those figure are primarily at 28.75 millibars of pressure. I'll get into the angle in degrees of the bristles on the brush and how much pressure to apply to a certain type of residue that you wish to remove. Naturally keeping in minds that soft and hard plastics, will require a different angle and pressure to achieve the same results.
I also used to use the very hot water, but it wash murder on my hands and left them very rough. Corn Huskers lotion worked great but I decided a cooler water temperature would save me the cost of the lotion. I tried the Corn Huskers lotion on the Bakelite handset set, but I kept dropping the handset. ::)
lol, Thanks all for the quick replies. I'm going to take some quick snaps now for all.
Quote from: Dan/Panther on May 28, 2010, 06:12:25 PM
CK;
Yes the brush I use is a soft bristled paint type brush, I use a stiffer brush on the inside, but be careful not to brush or rub too much on any lettering that may be stamped on the parts. They may rub off.
D/P
BTW, I use 7.5 drops of dish soap per liter of water at room temperature, and decrease that amount by .5 drops for every 10 degree increase in water temperature Fahrenheit at sea level, I live at 4000 feet, and have to adjust the formula to account for humidity and barometric pressure, so those figure are primarily at 28.75 millibars of pressure. I'll get into the angle in degrees of the bristles on the brush and how much pressure to apply to a certain type of residue that you wish to remove. Naturally keeping in minds that soft and hard plastics, will require a different angle and pressure to achieve the same results.
I also used to use the very hot water, but it wash murder on my hands and left them very rough. Corn Huskers lotion worked great but I decided a cooler water temperature would save me the cost of the lotion. I tried the Corn Huskers lotion on the Bakelite handset set, but I kept dropping the handset. ::)
I agree with everyone who provided the soaking method to remove the paper part of the label. My secret method for removing the glue residue? Vegetable oil. Apply it directly to the residue and let it soak for awhile. Then dab some oil on a paper towel and with some patience and some elbow grease the glue will rub right off. Gives the phone a little shine too or just rewash it in the sink and the oil will come off.
something has npt gone well. ??? I have a ton of white marks that were not visiable before and the handset has a mottled finish now. i used dishsoap and a sponge. I know w/o pics this is worthless so i took some and will try to get them up tomorrow. It still 100% functional just not as pretty as i wanted.
Like Dennis mentioned, the white mottled appearance will disappear when the phone cools and dries.
D/P
Welcome to the forum. The plastic used on your phone is commonly called "soft plastic" by collectors and the official trade name is Tenite. It's not used much anymore, and is made from wood pulp instead of petroleum hydrocarbons, it usually has a strange parmesan cheese smell which some people like and some don't. It should be fine when it dries like the other guys noted.
i smell that smell every morning. It is realy bad when I have my kellogg 500 hooked up
Quote from: cklein6576 on May 28, 2010, 11:07:06 PM
something has npt gone well. ??? I have a ton of white marks that were not visiable before and the handset has a mottled finish now. i used dishsoap and a sponge. I know w/o pics this is worthless so i took some and will try to get them up tomorrow. It still 100% functional just not as pretty as i wanted.
Kenny;
My guess, someone put a finish on the phone like a wax or oil, and you washed it off. those look like scratches in the case. Some very light wet sanding and Novus 2 will make it look like new.
D/P
If Novus alone doesn't make them disappear, you might also try rubbing compound.