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I'm Back, With A Phone! WE '55 Green 554

Started by WEBellSystemChristian, August 09, 2018, 05:16:19 PM

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WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: Doug Rose on August 17, 2018, 09:18:37 PM
A really nice job Christian....I am very happy to see you are back my friend....Doug
Thanks Doug! ;)
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

RotarDad

#16
Great work Christian!! That is a beauty!   I'm sure you'll locate a nice gray cord for it someday.  I found one in perfect condition a few years back on an EBay Black 500 - Parts are out there........😎
Paul

WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: RotarDad on August 17, 2018, 09:50:18 PM
Great work Christian!! That is a beauty!   I'm sure you'll locate a nice gray cord for it someday.  I found one in perfect condition a few years back on an EBay Black 500 - Parts are out there........😎

Thanks Paul!

I remember that topic of yours...finding the Gray cord on a Black 500. I remembered that when I spotted a Red '63 500 with a nice Gray cord I could use for one of my projects. Turns out, everything except for the chassis was original '55, including the cord. Instead of getting a donor cord for another phone, I spent $20 buying a Gray line cord on eBay to restore the intended donor phone. ::)

I need about a dozen Gray cords to complete some of my projects...hopefully I find at least a couple for sale in the next decade! ;D Oh well, someday...
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

Dennis Markham

Christian that is one beautiful phone.  You did an outstanding job of refurbishing it.  Congratulations on a great find....

And the GReenleaf card on a Green phone......perfect.

~Dennis

oldguy

Great work Cristian, it's a beautiful phone now.
Gary

RotarDad

#20
Christian - I found a pic of that black 500 I found with the gray cord......  There was another one just a couple months ago, but the gray cord cover was broken in so many places it wasn't really fixable, so I passed.  I'm sure you'll keep an eye out....  If I see one, I'll ping you too...  :)
Paul

MaximRecoil

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on August 17, 2018, 09:07:49 PM
I discovered that it dissolved in Denatured Alchohol, so I combined the cleaning step with my usual chemical polishing step.

You used denatured alcohol on Tenite? I used isopropyl alcohol on a Tenite 1957 554 shell (before I knew anything about Tenite; I'd cleaned newer ABS shells with isopropyl alcohol without issue) and it almost immediately started dissolving the Tenite, making a mess that I had to sand out. It's strange that Tenite would be resistant to denatured alcohol (ethanol) but not to isopropyl alcohol.

WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: MaximRecoil on September 04, 2018, 12:59:03 PM
You used denatured alcohol on Tenite? I used isopropyl alcohol on a Tenite 1957 554 shell (before I knew anything about Tenite; I'd cleaned newer ABS shells with isopropyl alcohol without issue) and it almost immediately started dissolving the Tenite, making a mess that I had to sand out. It's strange that Tenite would be resistant to denatured alcohol (ethanol) but not to isopropyl alcohol.

Alcohol is a fantastic chemical polishing agent for Tenite, but a very effective cleaner for ABS. ABS was specifically used for phones because it resists chemical absorbency (such as lipstick and food staining). It's also is very difficult for ABS to absorb Nicotine smoke, which is why you rarely find nicotine-stained late-model 500s.

Any variation of Alcohol should work with chemical polishing, but Denatured Alcohol is what I use, since it's most commonly found in larger quantities and is more easily available at cheaper prices.

Dissolving is the key reason for it working so effectively at polishing. While sandpaper essentially scrapes to remove material evenly, Alcohol dissolves it. Unlike sandpaper, it also melts and prepares the surface for final abrasive polishing, cutting out the need for 800/1000/2000 grit sandpaper steps in most cases. Take a look at this link:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=18850.0

Be careful, however. No two pieces of Tenite are the same, and all react to Tenite differently, so you need to be able to adapt the process for each type of plastic you come across.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford