Cleaning a Western Electric 9c dial (and cleaning cords)

[bellsystemproperty]

Recently I found a good Western Electric 500 in the trash. It works, but the dial is sticky. It's a 9c dial from 2-72. How should I clean it? I'm kinda scared to open it because I don't want to hurt the phone anymore, but I can visibly see dirt in the gears. It's already had a hard life, and i must give it a break by helping it. This is my first refirb, but I hope to get the phone nice and clean again. If you have any pictures, they would be useful since I am a noob.

btw- the phone has a hardwired handset cord. Is there a specific way I should clean it? It is straight, but filthy dirty.

[Phonesrfun]

Straight cords are the easiest to clean.  You can use almost anything to clean them with , including 409 and even running them through the dishwasher.  I usually finish mine with a coating of Armorall.  If the phone is dated 1972, I am surprised it has a straight handset cord.  Maybe its an earlier phone that has a later replacement dial dated 1972

The dial can be cleaned too.  Does your 1972 9c have plastic gears or metal?  WE was transitioning to plastic around that time.  If you are hesitant to get in and take it apart, you may consider sending it to someone who does dial cleaning and lubing.  I do my own, but I have done many of them and I got over my angst a long time ago, but I screwed one or two up along the way.

[bellsystemproperty]

Mine has metal gears.

[Phonesrfun]

They are not terribly hard to do, but everyone is somewhat mechanically different.  I am going to defer the discussion about dial cleaning and lubing to someone else, because although I do it pretty well, I am horrible at describing it.  Jorge Amely has done a remarkable job at explaining the cleaning of an AE dial in his Picassa Website, but the AE and WE dials are totally different animals.

[JorgeAmely]

Hi bellsystemproperty:

I like the price you paid for your WE500 from 1972. 

Regarding the 9C dial, the fact that it is riveted in many places makes it very hard to clean. You can do a so-so job that will probably make the dial work, but it won't be a super nice job as when you can take the entire dial apart.

What I have done is to grab bunches of Q tips and a small container where I pour some rubbing alcohol and start cleaning the contacts, and all surface areas that you can reach. If the over running clutch is frozen, you are out of luck. Plan to spend about 10-15 minutes cleaning the dial with alcohol and using some 10-20 Q tips. It is a good idea to remove the contacts prior to cleaning, but take a few pictures before you do so.

Clean the front of the dial also, around where the big hex nut is. I suggest you don't remove the nut unless you plan to spend another 1/2 hour trying to figure how to put it back.

Once all dirt is gone, get some 3-in-1 oil and with a tooth pick or similar tool, oil all gear pivot points and cams. If you put too much oil, you can pick up the excess with another Q tip. The tight spring around the over running clutch can be oiled and most likely, will restore the return speed to factory specs. Don't use WD-40. It will give you temporary results only.

Don't oil the governor, otherwise, the return speed will be too fast.

You can also send the dial to Steve Hilsz, a dial expert from Arizona. He charges $6 to clean, lube and calibrate the dial, shipping charges excluded. If the dial needs repairs, he charges very modest prices for parts.

This is his website:

http://navysalvage.com/dialrepair.html

Good luck and post some pictures of the results.

[bellsystemproperty]

I think I'll try to clean it with your method, and if it doesn't work well I'll send it to Steve. Six bucks isn't bad for a free phone. The only thing is that then I will have to wait at least a week for it to get to him and back. I guess I can work on the rest of the phone until then if I take that course. It was so sad to see a 500 in the trash , I had to save it. Actually any rotary phone in the trash I would save, even a Trimline. (sorry Trimline fans, but I hate that model)

Thanks for the help 

[Dennis Markham]

BSP, the only thing I would add to Jorge's excellent advice is that I like to use an electrical contact cleaner to spray on the gears to begin the cleaning process.  This cleaner, available at Radio Shack breaks up the old lubricant that may have accumulated on the gears and axles.  Then, like Jorge I use the Q-tips to wipe away the softened grease or lubricant that someone else may have applied.  Also compressed air works great if you happen to have a compressor with an air gun adapter.

Also as Jorge said, WD-40 is a temporary fix.  It will dry out as the contents evaporate and cause more problems than the benefit from the short-term results.

I also use a small piece of wet sand paper folded in half so that both sides are abrasive and swipe it between the contact points to clean them up a bit, followed by the alcohol/Q-tip treatment as described by Jorge.

With these tips you should be able to get your dial working properly.

[bellsystemproperty]

I'm going to get the cleaner soon, perhaps this weekend. Thanks for the help, I will let you know how this turns out soon.