Mahogany Model 500 Refurbishment

[Dennis Markham]

About a year or more ago I found a good buy on a Mahogany Western Electric Model 500D.  It was listed on Craigslist.  I convinced the woman to ship it although she was reluctant.  She preferred local pick up.  She was in Maine and I'm in Michigan.  But after many e-mails with instructions on how to pack the phone she agreed.

It is dated 12/1957...near the very end of the production run for this color.  I have been wanting to begin work on it for a long time but had other projects.  Today I made a trade with another collector for a Mahogany 500 that I had sitting on my shelf.  So with a vacant spot on the shelf I figured it was time to get to work on this one.  The only problem is a huge, deep scratch on the top.  I inspected it very carefully and determined it is only a scratch and not a crack.

So tonight I began on the cover and thought I'd share some photos as I progress through refurbishing the phone.  It is probably going to take me a while as I have other projects that must get done but for today the Mahogany 500 gets attention.

The accompanying photos show the phone as I got it and the cover after I gave it a polishing tonight.  I like to clean and polish it to see just where all the imperfections are before I dig out the sandpaper.  I know the scratch on top will need some work.  The case actually polished up very nice with only a few other small nicks.

My next step will be to work on the scratch until it disappears, then re-polish before moving to the rest of the phone.

[Dan]

Nice  brown Dennis, what did you polish it with?

[JorgeAmely]

Dennis:

That scratch looks deep. Sometimes it is better not to push your luck too much.

[Steve]

Even with that scratch, I would display/use that phone. if you are unhappy with the results maybe we could work a deal?

that may be a moot offer though, as I have seen your work before... ( what scratch?)

[Dennis Markham]

It does look deep.  I haven't tried to sand it yet.  Dan, I just used Novus 2 and lots of elbow grease and my Ryobi hand-held buffer.

Steve, plus the fact that I already traded away my only other Mahogany.  The pressure is on!

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1155.0

[Dennis Markham]

I just gave it the first hit with the bastard file.  (Not really).  I did use 220 grit wet sand paper.  The scratch is all but gone.  I am going to have to hit one small spot again.  But that will have to wait for another day.

[McHeath]

That scratch should be gone, this will be a nice looking phone. 

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks McHeath.  I'm having fun with it.  I guess that's what the hobby is all about.

[bingster]

That's exactly what it's all about.  And you must be pretty happy about that scratch, now.  As I was going through this thread, I saw the scratch and my heart sank.  Then a few posts down, it's practically gone! 

It's shaping up really nicely.

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks Bingster.  Now all I have to do is get rid of my sanding marks.  I've been sitting on that phone for over a year and just never got to it.  Now I'm looking forward to finishing it.

[foots]

Mr. Markham, you have not failed to surprise me once again. I didn't care much for a brown phone but must admit, yours looks very nice.

[Dennis Markham]

Thank you Joshua.  I'm not a big fan of anything brown either but since Mahogany is one of the colors of the rainbow of W.E. colors I had to have one.  The more I cleaned it up the more I liked it.  They are elegant when shined up nicely. 

[Dan/Panther]

Dennis;
Hopeful;ly you haven't continued too far yet.
Maybe you could snap a photo of each step, and tell us what grit you used, and direction of sanding etc., right through the process.
D/P

[Dennis Markham]

Dan, I will do that.  I just alternate direction.  That way you can see if you have sanded away all the previous lines.  I started here with 220 and went east-west.  I'm going to work on it a little bit more until there is no visible sign of that initial gouge.  Then I'll jump up to the next grit I have which is 400, then 800, then 1,000, then 2,000 and then I'll polish and re-evaluate.  Since this isn't a very huge spot it won't take too long.  The key is just making sure the previous marks are gone before moving up to the next level.

[Dennis Markham]

Here is the second step in the process.  I used 400 grit to sand away the marks made by the 220 grit.  Notice the original marks went left to right (east/west) and these are up and down (north and south).  I won't post each step but you get the idea.  I looked at the area under pretty high magnification.  I don't see any evidence of the scratch or my previous marks.  800 grit is next.