Painted Rose WE 302

[Wallphone]

Here is an auction that just ended. Does anyone know if this phone was painted by Western Electric?

> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=260733699072 <   ( dead link 12/21/2017 )

The price seemed a little high to me even though it looks nice. No mention if the handset was painted or not. If this was a WE paint job did they have a name for it like an Imperial or Continental?

[stopthemachine]

I'm glad you posted about this phone because I was wondering what was going on with this myself--I was wondering why everyone was bidding so high on a phone that was not a tenite rose WE 302.  Hopefully, someone knows the answer to this one.

[Sargeguy]

A very nice paint job.  And the cords and dial are period.  Cheaper than OldPhoneworks.

[Doug Rose]

To me it looks more like a coral than Old Rose. You would have to see them side by side. I do not think this is a WE paint. Paint is perfect. IMHO this was recently done by someone who was handsomely rewarded for a newly painted phone.....Doug

[baldopeacock]

Several years ago, ETS79 "made" a rose pink 302 for himself as a placeholder before he found a real one.   He fabricated clear plungers, dyed cords to match, painted the dial body, installed the open clear fingerwheel.   It was an excellent copy and the paint quality was very, very good.    After he found a real Rose 302, he sold the clone on eBay.

When I first saw this,  I thought this was that phone, but I know he gutted the case before painting, so the overspray on the pileups wouldn't be there.    He'd buffed the paint up to a very high gloss as well.   

But it does go to show that a well-done clone can look pretty good.