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When Dracula met the Princess Phone!

Started by Jester, August 12, 2009, 09:22:44 PM

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Jester

No, this isn't about holes-- it's about a severe case of annemia!  I guess a better title would be "How Not to Clean Pink Plastics", but I was trying to find some humor in a disappointing situation.  I decided to try bleaching this '59 using the mixing directions jsowers posted elsewhere that he used on a browning turquoise.  I should have checked my color closer, because my pink was already effectively bleached.  After less than 24 hours, pic. 1 shows the results I got! :o  Pic. 2 shows that the inside of these parts was largely unaffected.  As a cousin of mine once pointed out, though, I have a knack of "Stepping in it & Still Smell Like a Rose".  The last pic. shows all parts after a bath in D/P's cord juice.  I'm sure this isn't as permanent on ABS as it is vinyl, but you can use compound & polish on it and the basic color remains.
Stephen

Phonesrfun

It will be interesting to see how the color holds out over time.
-Bill G

Dan

I have the "light dial number syndrome" as I call it, on two of my pink phones. The dial plate is lighter than the rest of the phone. One is a mushroom, one is a regular We500. I think I will dye the number plate on the WE500 C/D  (not the WE 500 P/U- too chicken)and I'll see how mine turns out too. My cords turned out perfect.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

bwanna

donna

Dan/Panther

I wasn't sure how it would work on shells, but you seem to show it does work.
The color should last as long as you keep it out of sunlight.
I'm very glad it worked, now we can turn white phones into pink phones and make a fortune ;D :o
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Jester

Two words of caution, Dan.  
1)  Suspend your bezel from a wire to dip it in the solution--a quick in/out is usually enough & the wire is the best way I found to keep your hands clean & have full coverage on the part.
2)  Don't dip it in clear thinner or use the soap bath--go straight to the water rinse.  ABS doesn't soak this up like the vinyl, so a rinse in thinner puts you back at square one.  The tap rinse will be suficient to kill the active nature of the thinner & rinse off most excess coloring--any stubborn splotches can be removed with polishing compound & brightened with Novus.  Again, I have not been able to remove the basic applied color using these, but you can lighten unwanted darkened areas.  After that, hit it w/ F21, buff to a shine & you're done!
Stephen

Dan/Panther

Be careful also how long you submerge, and how you handle the parts. the thinner will make the plastic gooey if left in it long enough, and long enough is not very long.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

jsowers

Jester, did you try some Novus 2 on the whitened housing before you did all that dyeing? It may have been something just on the surface of the plastic and all it needed was a little finish. I normally don't leave it in for 24 hours at a time. I leave it in the sun and when the sun goes down, it comes out and gets rinsed off with plain water and dried with a towel. Then I use Novus 2 on it to polish.

I haven't tried bleaching on pink hard plastic that I can recall. I've done light gray hard plastic with excellent results and turquoise. But it stays in the bath about six hours. I call it a "day" but it's not 24 hours. That's all the intense sun I get at my house. Sorry if I didn't communicate that clearly, but I think I did say "in the sun." Hopefully you don't live in Alaska, land of the midnight sun. :)

The light dial face on many phones is because they were made in late 1959 or early 1960 when they were using up the soft plastic dial faces. The plastics faded differently over the years, but originally they were likely a perfect match.
Jonathan

Jester

Jonathan,
You're right, your posting did say "in the sun".  My mistake was that I interpreted it to mean you could leave the parts in solution when they were "out of th sun" because the chemical activity would be somewhat less intense.  And I didn't think of polishing the whitened parts before I dyed them--it didn't occur to me until later that the color change could have been transfer & not a true "bleaching".  Live & learn!
Stephen

Dan/Panther

Jester;
Wait a minute, maybe by accident you've discovered how to remove the white milkey appearance without polishing it out. Maybe the lacquer thinner without the dye, would have given you the same results.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Jester

D/P,
That's a good thought.  I'm satisfied with the results obtained with the dye job on these parts, but you never know what will show up tomorrow.
Stephen