What color is this? Beige? Dark Beige?

[MagicMo]

I need help with this one. All the dates match to early 1959 and I think it may be soft plastic. The shell does not match the rest of the phone, it is darker and it's not discolored it is completely a different color. Weird. Anyone know? All the dates match, it looks like someone put this together by accident!
The handset and dial match aside from the one receiver cap.
Thanks
Mo

[LarryInMichigan]

I can't tell from here if the shell is ivory or beige.  It cannot be rose beige because that was discontinued in 1957.  7-59 is really close to the switch to ABS, so it could be either.

Larry

[poplar1]

Do all the dates match? If so, check the color code on the back of the dial: 7C-60=lt. beige, 7C-50=ivory--

[jsowers]

The earcap and housing are light beige hard plastic and the dial and handset are light beige soft plastic. Hard plastic darkens as it fades. Soft plastic doesn't darken as much. The phones made July, 1959 to around December, 1959 are what I call combo phones, made of soft and hard plastic. They used up the remaining soft plastic pieces, mostly dial faces, until they ran out. When they were assembled, the pieces matched. But given time and UV and smoke and such, the plastics will fade.

Mo, you can also use the fingernail tap test on the plastics to confirm whether they're hard or soft plastic. Hard has a much sharper sound than soft plastic when tapped.

Larry is correct about dark beige being earlier than this phone is dated. Also, dark beige has white numbers on the dial and light beige has black numbers.

[MagicMo]

The earcap and housing are light beige hard plastic and the dial and handset are light beige soft plastic. Hard plastic darkens as it fades. Soft plastic doesn't darken as much. The phones made July, 1959 to around December, 1959 are what I call combo phones, made of soft and hard plastic. They used up the remaining soft plastic pieces, mostly dial faces, until they ran out. When they were assembled, the pieces matched. But given time and UV and smoke and such, the plastics will fade.

Mo, you can also use the fingernail tap test on the plastics to confirm whether they're hard or soft plastic. Hard has a much sharper sound than soft plastic when tapped.

Larry is correct about dark beige being earlier than this phone is dated. Also, dark beige has white numbers on the dial and light beige has black numbers.

That make complete sense! Thank you jsowers! I was wondering what in the world was going on-being that the dates are all the same but the colors are not. So what do I do now with a Hard/soft phone? No chance in making it all look the same color, correct? The housing is in excellent condition. I actually like the darkening of the color better.
mo

[jsowers]

That make complete sense! Thank you jsowers! I was wondering what in the world was going on-being that the dates are all the same but the colors are not. So what do I do now with a Hard/soft phone? No chance in making it all look the same color, correct? The housing is in excellent condition. I actually like the darkening of the color better.
mo

I've had moderate success with bleaching the faded plastics in the sun for about a day in a solution of 1 part bleach to 2 parts water, but it's hard to tell if it will work on light beige. If you use ultra-type bleach, you can pour in less. Your phone is very evenly faded and also faded inside the housing, so it could be smoke fade, which comes out better in a bleach bath than sun fade. Or at least that's been my experience. Sun fade usually leaves an unfaded spot where the handset sat, near the WE logo.

Be sure to put Vaseline over any stamped dates so they don't come off in the bath. You could try it on the cap first. That would be easier than the housing.

Now is the time for bleaching too. The summer sun is the best. Be sure to rinse off the parts with plain water and then dry them. They may smell of bleach for a while afterward and sometimes they require more than one bath to produce results. Good luck, Mo!

[McHeath]

What color is this? Beige? Dark Beige?

Yes.



I've had some luck with bleaching plastics as well.  Sanding is a pretty sure fire cure, but that's a lot of handwork, though it works well. 

Nice phone.