White WE 1500D Desk Phone

[Phonesrfun]

There is a little pin hole that you can use a paperclip in to bow it (Not too far) and pull it out.  Putting it back on just requires that yoy first place the number strip inside the recessed part of the face plate, then bow it out so that both ends fit in the recess, then just push it back in and let go.


I believe these plastic windows can become brittle and break, so don't bend them more than needed.

[Greg G.]

Here's the before and after.  The keypad needed a repair and a good cleaning.  The white parts originally appeared beige and were "cooked" in a 2.5 gallon Hefty slider lock clear bag for a couple of sunny days with a straight 40% peroxide clear liquid.  The parts weren't submerged, but the Hefty bag held a tight seal and kept the O2 inside, expanding like a balloon.  My kids were even impressed with the results.  A special thanks to Doug Rose for providing a white 4-prong plug to complete the original line cord!

Sounds like a much easier and more effective method than mixing up and applying Retrobrite. Provided you have lots of sunny weather.  We may get some in August.

[Tim Mc]

One of the days was overcast with no sun, so I incubated the parts under a pair of desk lamps with 100W incandescent bulbs.  That seemed to activate the peroxide as I could see bubbles forming and popping.  The retr0brite web site mentions using a UV lamp, but maybe some high-wattage halogen or incandescent lamps would work?

[Greg G.]

One of the days was overcast with no sun, so I incubated the parts under a pair of desk lamps with 100W incandescent bulbs.  That seemed to activate the peroxide as I could see bubbles forming and popping.  The retr0brite web site mentions using a UV lamp, but maybe some high-wattage halogen or incandescent lamps would work?

The couple of times I've done the Retrobrite process, I just used a regular 100W incandescent bulb.  How much of the peroxide did you use in the bag?

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=6331.msg74631#msg74631

[Tim Mc]

I wasn't very scientific with the amount of peroxide.  I would say a cup or so per treatment, using fresh peroxide per charge.  Also, that 40% stuff can cause burns, so please be careful when using it.

[Greg G.]

I wasn't very scientific with the amount of peroxide.  I would say a cup or so per treatment, using fresh peroxide per charge.  Also, that 40% stuff can cause burns, so please be careful when using it.

Not to worry, I don't handle it w/o rubber gloves, long sleeves and goggles, but yeah, I learned that when I first tried the Retrobrite formula.  Even though I had enough sense to take precautions, I learned the hard way to rinse very well before removing the gloves!  I have one or two phones that need bleaching, but they're not on my priority list at the moment.