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Finding "Roses" in this Dark Beige 500!

Started by Jester, August 30, 2009, 12:51:55 AM

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Greg G.

Quote from: Jester on August 30, 2009, 12:51:55 AM
After nearly two weeks of work, I finally have SOME progress to report regarding the dark beige 500 I mentioned ...

It seems that years of UV exposure were less than kind to the plastics on this 500, ...

I moved on to Plan B-- Sand, Polish, repeat!  

What do you use for polish?
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Dennis Markham

Stephen, beautiful Rose Beige 500!  Nice job.  The matching 283B is a nice touch, as the dial card.  Great phone!

Dan

"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Jester

Quote from: Brinybay on September 27, 2009, 05:01:08 AMWhat do you use for polish?
Brinybay,

Since joining this forum, I have become a firm believer in Novus 2 and have used it on every project I have posted on since June.  The only "extra" tools used on this one were sandpaper & No. 7 polishing compound.  I began with wet sanding the handset with 400 grit in order to get under the oxidized top layer of plastic & find the "true" color underneath.  When I saw evidence that the color was "warming", I then switched to 800, then 1000 & finally 1500 to smooth out the surface before using the Novus.  On the cover, I tried using Novus 3 after wet sanding with 400 & 800 in an attempt to smooth the sanding marks without still more sanding.  I found this was slow going, so I switched to the No. 7 & was very pleased with the results. 
Stephen

Jester

#19
Some of you will remember this one--Dan posted a question about it's color on the auctions page.  This one passed under the radar because of the missing mounting cord & light beige 9C dial, but the remaining original plastics are very nice examples of color code 55--dark beige.  It shows almost no change in color when compared to the inside shade of the plastic parts.  Just for display purposes, I have mounted a 7D-3 dial complete with black bezel & metal fingerwheel.  I also installed a light gray mounting cord, which is only slightly off color from the much faded handset cord.  I will hopefully find the right parts to swap these out later, but I just had to put this back together & show it off.  The last shot compares its rich color to the other phone I have in this color, which is decidedly more faded. http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1635.msg21844#new
Stephen

Dennis Markham

Jester, it look very nice.  Much better than when it head the light beige dial ring on there.  I'll bet that straight handset cord would look nice on there as well.  Nice job.

Jester

#21
Thanks, Dennis.  I'm hoping Steve or Cliff will have a bezel, or maybe the whole dial.  I have seen Cliff offer a few mounting cords in this color on his ebay site under his auction name, celnout.  None of them were WE, but beggars can't be choosers.  And I meant to mention the dial card--it was the bonus I got with this phone.  I was kind of surprised to see it, since there was a newer card on top of it in the dial window.  I think I traced DRexel 9 to Jersey City?
Stephen

McHeath

Great looking phone.  That black dial certainly helps a lot and was a good idea to replace that beigey one with. 

jsowers

#23
Jester, it does look better. In the other thread on this phone, I posted something about the phones that came with black dials and I won't risk Dennis pulling out the "beating a dead horse" gif.  :) Just for history's sake, I'll mention it didn't come with a black dial originally except maybe in a two-tone that also had a black G1 handset and cords, though dark beige isn't pictured anywhere in the advertising for two-tones. With that said, I think the color combination is classy and it will do nicely until you find the real thing.

I agree with Dennis that your rare dark beige straight handset cord would look good on this phone. Your other dark beige on the right isn't bad looking either. That color has problems with fade, and parts fade differently to a sort of "dead flesh" color sometimes. A whitish version of the same color. So you're lucky to have a nice housing. It could increase your chances of finding a dial face that matches. Also I've noticed that dark beige is susceptible to skin oil staining on the handset. Where it touches the ear and hand is darker sometimes.

Your bonus DRexel card is great too and I like how you left the area code sticker on there too. That sticker dates back to the first years of area codes and I think New Jersey was in the forefront of DDD (dial-it-yourself long distance). For whatever reason, I like to leave the really old stickers on there. It's the new ones I take off, and especially on the plastics.
Jonathan

Jester

Here are a couple shots of this phone with the 13' handset cord mounted to it.  Also notice the mounting cord is dark beige again, too! ;D
Stephen

Dennis Markham

Stephen, the phone looks very nice.  That sure is one LOOONNNNGGGG handset cord!

Jester

Dennis, it sure is, and I started to play with the word "long" the way you did above to point it out.  The showcase it's resting on is 2" short of 6 feet, and the phone is 4-5" from the closest end.  So, there is a 1' loop or 2' section of this cord hanging off the end of the case.
Stephen

jsowers

Jester, you'll have to use that one for all your Long Distance calls.  :D

Seriously, it still looks good, and I liked that stretched out picture where it takes up the entire top of your cabinet. There's an Elvis movie, I think it's Clambake (1967), where his rich oil baron father is sitting in a barber chair getting a shave and a manicure while the butler holds the handset of the phone so he can talk. It has a huge long straight line handset cord like yours, and I think it's ivory. I always thought it was nothing the Bell System would ever sanction, but now I'm not so sure.

I think I have that movie on DVD and if I can remember to post a screen shot, I will.
Jonathan

Dennis Markham

Jonathan's right,  in the old days they would have charged you a toll call just to get the voice out of the house! :)

bingster

Quote from: jsowers on December 01, 2009, 09:37:50 AMThere's an Elvis movie, I think it's Clambake (1967), where his rich oil baron father is sitting in a barber chair getting a shave and a manicure while the butler holds the handset of the phone so he can talk. It has a huge long straight line handset cord like yours, and I think it's ivory. I always thought it was nothing the Bell System would ever sanction, but now I'm not so sure.

There's another movie with Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and Ethel Barrymore called "Young at Heart" that shows a similar cord, but in black.  They've got a 302 sitting on a hall table, and the handset can be taken into another room, the cord is so long.
= DARRIN =