Treating "White speck syndrome" on old Wooden Telephones

[Sargeguy]

It seems that every wooden telephone has a few white specks on it's finish, if not large splashes of white or cream-colored paint.  These were left by painters who had excessive confidence in their ability to control where the paint went.  Take for instance this Western Electric 295A subset, formerly the property of New England Telephoine & Telegraph:

[Sargeguy]

It has paint splattered on the patent dates, brush marks on the corners of the box, and streaks of paint along the edge of the backboard.  The door is covered with a bunch of scratches.  Otherwise it is in great shape.  Should this phone receive the Citrustrip-Retor-a-Finish treatment?  Hardly.  With a few common ingredients this phone will be looking good as old.  You will need:

Denatured Alcohol (or really strong vodka)
Q-Tip swabs
Murphy's Oil Soap
Paper Towels
Fine Steel wool, I use Mirka Mirlon 320-1500-2500 grits, you might grades #001, #000 and #0000 if you do not have Mirlon.

Small Spots and Specks

Step 1:  Clean phone with Murphy's Oil Soap and dry with paper towel. 

Step 2: Soak a Q-Tip in denatured alcohol and start rubbing the smallest spot you can find.  After a few seconds it should disappear.  Try to rub as small an area as you are able.  The alcohol will dissolve the top layer of shellac to which the paint adheres.  Try not to remove all the shellac.  Move to the next spot.

Step 3: If you do remove shellac down to bare wood, swipe around the area you just worked so as to smooth and blend the shellac with the surrounding finish.  Add a little more alcohol as needed, being careful not to drip it on the phone.  If you do spill alcohol on the phone, blot, don't wipe it with a paper towel,  or better yet allow it to evaporate on it's own. 

Step 4:  Wash the area with Murphy's oil soap on a paper towel.

For Larger Areas with thicker paint-

Step 1: Spot Sand the area with the 320 Mirlon or coarser steel wool soaked with denatured alcohol.

Step 2: Use a q-Tip soaked in alcohol to blend shellac

Step 3: Sand with increasingly finer steel wool, wiping area between applications. 

Step 4: Wipe with Murphy's Oil soap soaked paper towel, dry with paper towel. 

Removing Scratches-

Step 1: Take the medium grit Mirlon (1500) soaked with alchohol and wipe it down the scratched surface no more than twice.  This should soften the shellac and smooth over the scratches.

Step 2: Sand with increasingly finer steel wool, wiping area between applications. 

Step 3: Wipe with Murphy's Oil soap soaked paper towel, dry with paper towel. 

[Sargeguy]

Here is the finished project: