Mahogany Model 500 Refurbishment

[Dennis Markham]

Here are a couple photos of the pads.  The one on the left has the draw string.  The one on the right has an elastic band that holds it on the buffer.  The draw string cover is pretty much useless.

[Dennis Markham]

They may have these at places other than WalMart.  I was given a tip that they had them and since there is one not far from me I tried there and got lucky.  They come in a 3 pack I believe.  I did find them in the automotive department with other car wax supplies.

[Jester]

Dennis,

I hope you won't mind my tacking this on, but your work on this brown phone has made me eager to do my own, and I have finally relocated it!  I bought this mahogany 501 in 1993 (my best year ever for finding good phones), but didn't have a clue how to repair the damage then, so I have stored it all this time with the idea I would eventually figure it out.  When you first started this thread, I hunted all over this house looking for it & came up empty handed.  Finally, I decided I wasn't going to rest today until I had my hands on it, and, viola-- I found it in the attic!  As you will see in the pictures, I have my work cut out for me.  The handset cord is a sticky mangled mess & has break in the outer cover inside the first coil by the h/s.  The worst damage, though, are two breaks at the back of the housing.The one at the lower center was caused by something catching between the base & housing directly in front of the mounting screw & popping the cover in an angular break.  The second break is 1/2" to the left of the first, and arcs up and toward the corner over the line cord opening.  See below.

[Dennis Markham]

Jester, that is great that you found that phone.  That's great that you've had it all these years.  That is an early party line phone.  I see it has the 426A tube inside.  That does look like a nasty break on the back but I think you should be able to fix it up so that it will be very nice.  I'm glad that my Mahogany phone project was able to inspire you enough to find your phone and give refurbishing it a shot.  Keep us posted on the progress.  I'd love to see a better shot of the dial card. What is that exchange?  Did the phone originate in your area??

[Jester]

Dennis,

The dial card exchange is WEstmore 5.  According to TEN Project, the closest place to Beaumont that used that exchange was La Marque, a small town about 15 miles west of Galveston & close to 100 miles southwest of Beaumont.  And it would make sense that the phone would be set up for party line service at that time.

[Greg G.]

If I remember correctly, the Ryobi came with a buffer cloth that ties with two strings.  They ALWAYS come off.  The replacement terry cloth covers that I mentioned that are available at WalMart have elastic that hold them on to the buffing head.  I have washed mine over and over and they hold up pretty well.  They're pretty cheap considering the use you'll get out of them.

Are the ones you get at Walmart the same brand as these I got at Schuck's Auto Supply?  The brand I'm using don't seem to hold up well, and I'm using the same buffer you are.  The microfiber one ripped apart and the blue strands were everywhere after a short use, and the terry cloth ones became badly frayed and not much of the fuzzy part left after a couple of uses.

Also, what kind of polishing compound are you using?  I looked through the posts and your photo album but didn't see mention of it.  If I missed it, my apologies.

[Dennis Markham]

The terry cloth covers that I bought at WalMart are similar to the ones you show with the red polish on them.  I only use Novus 2 polish with the Ryobi.  No secret forumlas, just a lot of #2 and lots of buffing.  I don't remember the brand name of the covers...whatever they had in the automotive department.  The ones in your first photo do not look familiar.  Next time I go past WalMart I'll stop and get a couple more (since I need some) and let you know the brand name.

Even those covers (with the elastic) will come off the spinning head of the buffer if no pressure is applied against anything.  Eventually the rotating motion will cause them to spin away from the head.

[HobieSport]

The terry cloth/elastic buffing pads that I got are made by Autogeek: http://tinyurl.com/l6ncnz

And yes, the 6" Riobi buffer develops lots of centrifugal force and causes it to move around a lot and be a bit hard to control. It does the job though. I just wish they made a 4" buffer.

I also only use straight Novus 2.

[Greg G.]

Looks like we're all on the same page with the Novus and buffing pads.  The price on Amazon with shipping is 30 cents more than I paid for 4 terry cloth pads at Schuck's.  $6.99 for shipping?!  What, are they coming on a slow boat from China?