Craigslist Red soft plastic 500

[Sargeguy]

I picked this sucker up locally for 15 bucks.  Soft center dial, 6-hole receiver cap, dated 1956 throughout except the dial is dated 59 with 67 refurb stamps. 

[tallguy58]

Nice score.

[jsowers]

That's a great bargain! It looks like it could have a stick-on number card, so you may have a nice original local number card behind it. Let us know what you find.

[Sargeguy]

Most of the crud seems to be sawdust with some dried black grease mixed in.  It is coming off easily but there are areas of wear at various points throughout the surface.  The bad news is that there is a small corner crack, and the receiver cord looks like it dates from 67 or later.  The bottom of the phone is very clean considering-no corrosion.    The plastic cup in the handset and the cover for the back of the &C also look like they may have been replaced.  I haven't worked on a soft plastic 500 in a while so correct me if I am wrong.

[Sargeguy]

I sorta like the AT&T "Death Star" label but I think it's got to go.

[Dennis Markham]

Greg, the phone looks like a fun project (to clean).  The dial looks like it reads 7D -3 from my angle.  If so, the dial was replaced.  The original would have been 7C -53 (Red) and dated with the rest of the phone.  Nice buy at $15!

~Dennis

[Sargeguy]

The corner crack is unfortunate-it is a "double crack" sort of like an upside down "Y".   Unfortunately I don't have another late 1956 red soft plastic 500 shell laying around.  I do have an early 1956 red  soft plastic shell laying around however (1-17-56) so I'll just use that instead.  It also has a small crack in the front center but it is much less noticeable and an easier fix.   

[poplar1]

The AT&T sticker shows that it was sold in place (SIP) after customer(s) had been paying rent for 27 years. Well over $300 rent. That's why AT&T calls them "subscribers" rather than customers.

Did you find a date on the handset cord restraint?

[Sargeguy]

No.  It has a bright shiny galvanized restraint with no markings.

[Kenton K]

I'd use some MEK to weld that crack together. Then with some light wet sanding, then brasso. Good as new!

[Sargeguy]

That will work on soft plastic?  I thought it was only ABS?

[Kenton K]

oops, maybe. I haven't tried yet with soft plastic.

[Kenton K]

I just tried MEK on soft plastic, and yes, it does work.

Ken

[WesternElectricBen]

I just tried MEK on soft plastic, and yes, it does work.

Ken

Link of product, please?

[unbeldi]

You can use most ketones, such as acetone and MEK for all of the Tenite types, as well as ABS plastics. Both plastics dissolve extremely well in those solvents.

You should get some polyethylene pipettes like in this picture. These cost less than a dime each, and once filled don't let the solvent evaporate. They contain 1 ml of liquid, which is way more than ever needed for any repair job.
But it would even be better to make a solution of a bit of spare plastic of the same color and use that as glue. It fills in for any missing tiny plastic chips.