A Scruffy WE 302 (401)

[FABphones]

I took this apart today. My first dismantle of a 302 (401). What a solidly built phone these are. 

The gasket marked 59A, and in good condition.

The switch   says made by Leviton, USA.

A shower of yuk fell out from around the dial when I removed it. Looked like dry biscuit crumbs.
The plastic on the handset cord was old and in pieces, so that is in the bin.

Photos:

[LarryInMichigan]

Those rubber gaskets are often, if not usually, brittle and come off in bits.  Your phone must have spent its life in a cool place.

Leviton was possibly the largest American manufacturer of electrical components like that in the good old days.  They still exist but probably import everything they sell now from China.  I installed one of their Chinese combination GFI outlet/light switches a few years in a friend's bathroom.  A couple of weeks later, he told me that the switch had stopped working.  I called Leviton, and they told me that if I would ship the product back to them at my own expense, and they would decide that it is really defective, they would send me a refund.  I brought it back to the hardware store instead and decided to avoid their products in the future.

Larry

[HarrySmith]

That switch appears to be an older model, probably made of bakelite.

[countryman]

The gasket on my Tenite 302 was already crumbled and mostly gone when I took the dial out. Either there were different rubber qualities used or the plasticizers from the Tenite react with the rubber. This obviously won't happen on a metal shell.

[FABphones]

That switch appears to be an older model, probably made of bakelite.

Well spotted, it is Bakelite. I think it may well be its saving grace.

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Yesterday the pot metal body received a paint strip. Easy enough to do. After leaving it for 15/20 minutes in a liberal coat of paint removing gel, the paint goo just brushed away using an old dry paintbrush. A wipe over with paper towelling, then a soapy wash followed by a good dry off and it was ready for the next stage.

The phone had some gouges across the paint on one side (photo 1), after stripping the paint off you can see just how deep they are, as they have also gouged the pot metal underneath (photo 2).

That same side also shows a blemish to rear. Right now a wart. It is not removable so the best I can hope for after a bit more work is a beauty spot....

For those who have never seen a 302 after paint removal, here it is in the nip (photo 3). 

[FABphones]

And here we are after several hours work this morning.

Lots more to do but it is going the right way. 

.....These photos are a bit of a reveal as to the direction I am going with this..... 

[HarrySmith]

AHH - A naked 302. A few here have managed to get them so shiny they look like chrome. I have not managed that yet but it is on my list. A search for "bare metal" should bring up a few examples. It all depends on the composition of the alloy used, some just will not get shiny.

[FABphones]

For this project I have been following teleplay's ( creator of the shiniest 302 ever  ) technique, with an additional polishing product called Autosol.

Here we are at the end of today's session. This photo showing the worst, blemished, side.

[Key2871]

That's looking good.
I have tried a few sets to polish to like chrome, but pitting and imperfections thwarted that idea.

[Doug Rose]

CJ....looks fantastic.....I love them when they shine up like yours.  As Harry said, sometimes there is nothing to do with them. Lucky there was no corrosion. Really nice work...Doug

[.....]

Wow, that's coming a long nicely. Can't wait to see the finished phone.

[FABphones]

Thanks guys .  I'm enjoying doing this phone.

Spent a bit more time on it this morning, this is about as close looking to chrome as I think it will get now.

302 pot metal was never meant to be on show so it's not perfect, varying lighting and positioning shows different signs of age.

The switch also received a bit of attention and a polish up and it has made it back onto the phone. Now it has been cleaned up and is the same colour as the phone, it doesn't stand out so much.

A film of Renwax next to help prevent it from tarnishing and then for the moment, that is about all I can do.

[tubaman]

Glorious in its nakedness!
Very nice.

[Doug Rose]

CJ...glad to see the switch stayed. Looks great. If you have not found a F1 handset, I can send you one for shipping only. Looks great!...Doug