Repair: GPO Bell No. 1A / Endcap No2

[FABphones]

Repair to GPO Receiver: Bell No. 1A and endcap No2.

The receiver had outer layer (Ebonite) damage to top. The Bakelite endcap had a chunk out of side.

The endcap was firmly attached, I suspect a forceful attempt at removal was how this was initially broken. A soak in a few sprays of WD40 and a wrench strap were used to remove the endcap but this was by far the most difficult removal to date.

After removing all WD40 from the area to be repaired, the areas were patched using Milliput epoxy putty, and the product left to cure (*see note below).

To form the threads for the endcap the patch was placed with the endcap screwed on. This was screwed/unscrewed several times over the next hour and left to cure unscrewed.

Beginning with a medium grade sandpaper and finishing with a fine, the patches were sanded until smooth.

As the colour had not remained black I had to search for a product to hand in order to adjust the colour to match in better. A Black cream leather polish was used to help blend in the repair and darken a shade or two.

Before and after photos below.

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*This repair uses Milliput. However, however having purchased and used much of this for past projects the new tube received has issues: the curing time is long - overnight and the Milliput remained soft. Second attempt no improvement. Black was purchased but the product sands to grey and remains grey.

I will check against an older Milliput box to see if there are any ingredient changes and report back if any. Possibly an old tube was sent. This product has a 'use by'.