Restoring an Ivory 500U

[cihensley@aol.com]

Several weeks ago, I purchased an ivory 500U on eBay. The below shows two pictures of the set that accompanied the eBay posting. The third shows the restored set. I purchased a reproduction lamp cap to replace the missing one. Sanding was not required. I buffed the set with several grades of buffing compound. The cord was cleaned using the jsowers method.

Chuck

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EDIT:  tiff images uploaded as jpeg images

[jsowers]

Chuck, it looks really good and much better than when you first got it. What did you do to the repro cap? It matches really well. I'm assuming you painted it. I have a white one I need to do the same thing to, also ivory, so any tips would be appreciated, like what kind of paint you used.

I'm honored to have a cord cleaning method named after me.    I think maybe that method is start in the middle and work your way to the end and then wind the coils in the correct direction. Then start in the middle again and do the same thing toward the other end and use denatured alcohol on a paper towel both times. I run the cord through the towel several times. It gets off lots of crud, including paint, from cords. But don't use denatured alcohol on soft plastic unless you want to dissolve it and don't use it on painted cords.

If it still has kinks, wind it around a dowel and leave it on a hot dashboard for a day. It works for me. Cord cleaning is one of my favorite things to do. I've bought entire boxes of cords and cleaned them all.

BTW, the tiff pics won't load in my browser, but they do download and open if I click on them, in case anyone else is having a problem seeing them.

[Dennis Markham]

Chuck, the phone looks great.  It cleaned up nicely.  In the original photos I thought it might be Light Beige.  But it does look more Ivory in your photos.

Yes, Jonathan I experienced the same.  Just a link for two of the photos, one does appear on my browser (that's the jpg).  When I clicked on the others (tff) they opened up in my photo program.

~Dennis

[cihensley@aol.com]

Jonathan:

That is exactly how I cleaned the cord. Yes, I did paint the cap. I used Benjamin Moore interior latex. I used the latex because of a procedure that seems associated with only that paint manufacturer. They have 33,000 paint color variations. Here is what is unusual - they will mix up a pint can of any color you choose and mail it to you for $7 plus shipping. Most any paint store will mix a color for you, but usually the minimum is one gallon. Benjamin Moore offers this so you can paint a large area of a wall to determine if the color is right for your decorating plans. I took advantage of this to get the right color for the cap.

I took the handset (after I had buffed it) to a Benjamin Moore paint store and went through paint chip samples until I found one that was the closest match. The chip sample has the paint number on it. Using the number, I ordered the pint of paint from Benjamin Moore's Web site. To insure adhesion, I first primed the cap. After the latex was spayed and dried, I followed with a clear gloss acrylic spray to give it the shine.

I keep forgetting that TIFF images don't show up on postings. Dennis, can I fix the posting by converting the two photos to JEPG and add them to the posting?

Chuck

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Ah, so you were the lucky guy that nabbed that Mushroom! I had a bid in on it, but you were battling for it for keeps!

Great restoration; nice job!

[Doug Rose]

Outstanding Chuck....a real beauty....nice refurb my friend....Doug

[jsowers]

Chuck, thanks for the info on the painting of your mushroom cap. Would you possibly have that Benjamin Moore number handy? My 500U is also ivory, so I could use that info.

I've also heard of Lowe's or Home Depot color matching paint like that. I've never done it, but I have a friend who did for two of his phones and it comes in a small container so you don't have to buy much. I'm not sure if all their stores do that or just some of them.

What kind of sprayer did you use? I'll have to get one, so I hope they're not too expensive. Also, could you post a picture of the phone with the mushroom lamp lit? That would be great to see. I painted a white repro mushroom aqua blue and had a lot of bleed-through of the light. I didn't prime it first--just sanded. I'm sure the primer helps. I had spray paint that happened to match, so that part was easy and it came out shiny.

Thanks in advance for anything you can offer.

[cihensley@aol.com]

Jonathan:

The paint number is HC-32. It is called "Standish White." I used an Iwata air gun and their compressor. It took far longer to clean the air gun after spraying than it did to spray the cap. Because latex flows smooth, it seems that an artist brush could be used to paint the sides of the cap, and dipping (to avoid brush strokes) the cap up-side-down to paint the top of the cap. I used the non-business end of a properly sized drill bit to hold the cap while I worked on it.

I have no other use for the paint and was going to discard it. Send me your address. I will send you the paint. All that is missing is the small amount I poured-out to thin and spray.

I was not going to use the phone other than display. To determine the transparency, if any, of the cap, would a picture of an LED flashlight shining up the bottom of the cap suffice?

Chuck

[unbeldi]

Thanks for reporting your work and the paint code, Chuck.

I couldn't help developing an interest in the history of the ivory colors that WECo used over time, and if you look at some of my posts here, I have compared them a few times.

Looking at so many pictures by others and comparing my own experiences, I find that the color is almost impossible to evaluate in pictures properly and quite difficult to get "right" when taking pictures.

For reference, here is the Benjamin Moore reference page for this color and attached is the official swatch, which has an RGB coding of (236, 220, 186).

I found the color description by Moore interesting:
       This color is part of the Historic Color collection. A collection of 174 time-honored hues comprises our most popular palette. Steeped in tradition, the refined, elegant colors of the Historical Collection deliver timeless color that can be used in traditional as well as contemporary spaces. Inspired by the documented colors found in 18th- and 19th-century architecture, these classic, inviting tones continue to serve us well today.

Seems like Western had competent counseling when they chose this color, and we know who that was. I have come to the conclusion that the Ivory–50 that was used starting in 1953/4 for the 500-series telephones is a return to the ivory hue that was used before WW-II on the painted metal housings, but that hue had the color code 4. Usually that old ivory paint has darkened, but when the top surface layer is removed with a solvent, it comes out identical to the 1950's ivory–50, as can be seen in the comparison of a 1939 302G–4 and a 1955 302GR–50 (right).

The color of the 302 plastic housings, also coded –4, is distinctly lighter, at least now, decades after manufacture. I doubt that they would have faded. Most examples found now have darkened or yellowed from exposure. I have not yet  sanded a 1941 ivory plastic 302 housing to compare, usually they do seem darker than the 1949-1954 types.

In 1955 WECo also painted 202s in ivory, and it seems to me that this color is slight darker than the 302s, but still slightly lighter than ivory–50. I have used Rust-oleum Satin Ivory Silk spray paint very successfully, for example, to restore the handset of the 202, and the 1947 metal 304 in the second row left. (right)

Your color swatch (below) compares quite favorably with my samples of ivory–50.

[cihensley@aol.com]

unbeldi:

Nice collection of ivory sets.

Chuck

[unbeldi]

unbeldi:

Nice collection of ivory sets.

Chuck

Tx.  It seems impossible to get the entire ivory collection into one place and shot at the same time.

Have you tried polishing this paint?  Is it possible to shine it up sufficiently without an acrylic coat?

[cihensley@aol.com]

unbeldi:

I did not try, under the belief that latex will not polish to a shine.

Chuck

[unbeldi]

unbeldi:

I did not try, under the belief that latex will not polish to a shine.

Chuck

Modern latex paints don't actually contain any latex anymore, and they are significantly harder when dried, quite similar to enamels perhaps.  I think many should polish very nicely, at least sufficient to restore old surfaces, not to a factory finish, but a grade more commensurate to a used article.

I found this example with a quick search:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX611NL7eHk