I'm going crazy!

[Nilsog]

Okay, here are the phones I've been working on-

Most of what I've been doing is superficial. I've been trying to get down a good technique of sanding/polishing to get rid of minor scratches and discoloration. Please feel free to criticize, as I want to learn more.

I finally bought some Novus #1 and #2, so that is where most of the shine came from here. That stuff is great!

First is my green 68 ITT 554. I've been working on this phone since I got into collecting, and it has really been my testing grounds. From rewiring to replacing bad parts to sanding to remove badly discolored areas, and finally to returning its luster. This baby took a lot of sanding to get its color back, just to let you know.

The day I got it, just before cleaning:


After cleaning:


After sanding:


After more fine sanding and Novus #1 & 2:




Next are my favorites. I received this 1960 500 from cihensley quite a while back. It was in good condition before but I decided to try and touch her up a bit.

Before:


After:




I bought this 55 500 for $10 last summer. I have a dial blank in as I sent the dial out for service to Steve. I was supposed to receive it today but the USPS lied to me... so dial blank stays for now. Finally got to cleaning it up in the past month:

Before:


After:




I also did some minor sanding and polishing on the 554 I acquired a couple days ago. The scratches are still there, so I think I may need a more aggressive treatment. It still came to a nice shine, I think, though.

Before:


After:




I may be biased, but I really liked how these two came out.



And I just started working on the beige 500 I received from you, Doug. Got the stickers stripped with a plastic razor blade and cleaned it up a bit. Going to need to do something about that discoloration though- sanding must be the only way since it's a soft plastic, right?





I also did lots of other stuff, bought some spades and redid a lot of my jury-rigged wiring. Remounted my subset and fixed the transmitter in my E1 handset (read: banged it on the desk several times). I'm glad to be able to work again, though! My first shift back is Friday at 0700. Can't wait!