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My new Kellogg 900

Started by Phonesrfun, September 04, 2009, 10:29:10 PM

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Phonesrfun

At least it should be a Kellogg....

Wired for local battery and magneto ringing, the 900 itself has no inductor, capacitor or ringer.  Just a hookswitch and handset.  Handset is a Leich and the mangeto subset is a Leich.  There is also no inductor or condenser in the subset.

I am wondering, given the Leich handset and the Leich subset if this was made by Kellogg for independants that bought Leich phones.

The bakelite is dull, but no cracks or chips that I can find.  I guess I have some work cut out for me....

-Bill G

HobieSport

#1
Very nice Bill! Rather "deco" if I may be so bold.
-Matt

Phonesrfun

Yes, I think the 900 along with the Kellogg 925 "ashtray" phone are amongst the most art deco out there (to use a trite phrase)
-Bill G

Greg G.

The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

McHeath

An interesting mix, curious that so much of the unit was made by someone else.  They are neat looking phones with a unique style. 

Phonesrfun

Greg:

I found it at an antique store in La Grande, OR, which is 80 miles away from Walla Walla.  I talked him down about 30% from an exhorbidant price to still being too expensive.  I am having a little case of buyer's remorse at the moment.  I had seen it about a year and a half ago and did not buy it then.  So, I knew he would probably deal on it.

-Bill G

McHeath

Yeah I had some buyers remorse when I spent well over a hundred for my aqua 1500 which showed up so badly yellowed as to be a nightmare.  But now I'm pretty happy I bought it, so maybe you will end up feeling the same, hopefully it will turn into a purchase you really enjoy. 

Phonesrfun

Update on the progress:

I cleaned it up real well, and applied stripper to remove some remnants of old paint from it.  My heart sank when I discovered about a one inch (2.5 cm for those metric folks) hairline crack in the base at the back that actually goes through to the inside of the phone.  This crack is so thin that only the thorough cleaning exposed it.  That, and I was cleaning using a high intensity light and a magnifying glass.

I filled it as best I could from the outside surface using super glue, applying with a toothpick.  I meticulously checked the rest of the phone while cleaning with a brush, Q-tips, and an explorer.

Once the glue was dry, the little nook was so tight that I actually used an xacto knife to scrape away the excess and smooth it out.  What a royal pain, but there was no way in the world any kind of sandpaper, no matter how fine would but up against some of the 90 degree buttings.

This phone was made in 1933 and is so much of the kind of design you'd expect to see in, say the Empire State Building which was completed in 1931.  The problem with this "art deco" look (sorry for using that term) is that there are so many creases, crevices and  surfaces.  These must have been a royal pain for all those maids to have had to polish in their day!

So, now I am painting it.  The paint I am using sounds too easy, but I am giving it a try.  I am using Krylon Fusion, which is made to adhere without priming to all kinds of hard to bond surfaces.  They mention plastics in particular, and the guy at the paint store recommended it because he says he has used it very successfully on Bakelite.  We shall see.

I have just applied my first coat, and it is now time to apply #2.

Stay tuned.....
-Bill G

JorgeAmely

Bill:

Are you sanding between coats?

Jorge

Phonesrfun

Funny you should mention that.  No, I did not, and I paid the price.  My painting skills are not good.  I halted painting this evening because of some running and uneven paint, and it is getting too cool outside.

I hate to post pictures to show just how bad of a painter I am, but here goes....  grrrr.  On the good note, the crack repair cannot be detected.

Looks like I have some sanding ahead of me and more painting to cover that, and to make up for a little orange peel.

-Bill G

bingster

Other than the couple drips on the back, that's really not bad.  Most paints won't give you a glassy finish, and you have to polish the paint to get that glassy look.  The easy "wet look" is one of the things we lost when they took white lead out of paint.
= DARRIN =



JorgeAmely

Sir Master Bill:

All joking aside, it looks really nice.

Jorge

McHeath

I've used that same paint to get some pretty good results on bakelite.  It can give that piano glass smooth finish, but it's tricky, and I've had to sand at least once to get there. 

This is coming out pretty well, if it was mine I'd be pleased with that as a first coat. 

Dennis Markham

I agree with the others.  My impression of it is that it looks pretty darn good.  A little work on the drips and another coat and you've got a nice phone.  I wonder about the hardness of the paint.  Once it is thoroughly dry will it easily scratch when bumped with the handset, or does it dry pretty hard?

Jester

Bill,
It looks like all your runs are on open surfaces, and not in or around the corners--this is good!  I am not familiar with Fusion, but have used Krylon gloss black on many a D1 mount & the occasional 534/634 cover, and wet sanding/ polishing after a 2 or 3 day cure is no problem.  In fact I have wet sanded sags out of coatings no thicker than what you have now, then shined the remaining surface with No. 7 polishing compound (back when I could get it-- you could try the Turtle Wax for this) & got excellent results.  No further painting was necessary.  Once it's totally dry, Krylon gives a great high gloss finish.  You mentioned the cold evenings.  One other trick I learned was to paint with both the object & paint at room temp.  Then stick the painted object under a 40 or 60 watt incandescent lamp for up to an hour right after painting.  This will usually eliminate "blushing".  I also used this trick after wet sanding to make sure the sanded area was dry before applying extra coats.
Stephen