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Mediterranean Blue 500

Started by poplar1, December 12, 2013, 08:13:27 PM

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HarrySmith

Would you mind sharing what you paid for it? Might be a good candidate for Find Of The Month!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

dlvh

Quote from: HarrySmith on December 09, 2017, 11:25:59 AM
Would you mind sharing what you paid for it? Might be a good candidate for Find Of The Month!

Hi Harry,

I paid $35 for it. Should I show the Craigslist posting?

Any insight as to how restore it to it's natural beauty?

David


WEBellSystemChristian

#47
Great find!

I saw that listing. I realized that I have too many Med Blues already, so I passed. Glad you got it! Wasn't it $29 or something like that? I remember it was really cheap. No, you don't need to show the Craigslist posting, but I'll take your word for it as far as the price goes. :)

My phone had pretty good color from the start, so all it took was cord reshaping and polish/wax to bring it to looking the way it does. The discoloring on your phone is probably from very heavy Nicotine staining, from the previous owner/subscriber smoking waaayyy too much in the house! ::)

I'd recommend dipping the plastics in a big vat of bleach for a few days. First, wipe Vaselene on the dates to prevent them from being removed in the bleaching process. I've used this method on a severely discolored Med Blue, which returned it to near-perfect color! The initial discoloration is removed rapidly, but it's removed slower as time goes on. If you want it to look absolutely perfect, it will happen this way, but you'll have to wait a very long time to let soak in bleach. At some point it'll feel like no more staining is being removed, but trust me, it is.
Christian Petterson

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

dlvh

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on December 09, 2017, 11:40:10 AM
Great find!

I saw that listing. I realized that I have too many Med Blues already, so I passed. Glad you got it! Wasn't it $29 or something like that? I remember it was really cheap. No, you don't need to show the Craigslist posting, but I'll take your word for it as far as the price goes. :)

My phone had pretty good color from the start, so all it took was cord reshaping and polish/wax to bring it to looking the way it does. The discoloring on your phone is probably from very heavy Nicotine staining, from the previous owner/subscriber smoking waaayyy too much in the house! ::)

I'd recommend dipping the plastics in a big vat of bleach for a few days. First, wipe Vaselene on the dates to prevent them from being removed in the bleaching process. I've used this method on a severely discolored Med Blue, which returned it to near-perfect color! The initial discoloration is removed rapidly, but it's removed slower as time goes on. If you want it to look absolutely perfect, it will happen this way, but you'll have to wait a very long time to let soak in bleach. At some point it'll feel like no more staining is being removed, but trust me, it is.

Hi Christian,

I only saw it for $35, and I am attaching the add.

Thanks for the Bleach suggestion, and the Vaseline Warning...I had forgotten about that!

As for the phone, it is almost ALL dated '10-56'...Frame, Body/Shell, Network, Ringer, Handset, Both Handset Caps (Receiver & Transmitter) but not the cords. I believe one is from 1972, and the other is unmarked, as far as I can tell. The "Speaker" & "Microphone" are both dated '11-29-56'  Would someone please educate me on the proper name of those items?

I will probably start the Bleaching process this weekend. Should I clean the phone parts first with a particular product, or what is the proper method before submerging in Bleach?

David

WEBellSystemChristian

#49
Quote from: dlvh on December 09, 2017, 12:22:00 PM
Hi Christian,

I only saw it for $35, and I am attaching the add.

Thanks for the Bleach suggestion, and the Vaseline Warning...I had forgotten about that!

As for the phone, it is almost ALL dated '10-56'...Frame, Body/Shell, Network, Ringer, Handset, Both Handset Caps (Receiver & Transmitter) but not the cords. I believe one is from 1972, and the other is unmarked, as far as I can tell. The "Speaker" & "Microphone" are both dated '11-29-56'  Would someone please educate me on the proper name of those items?

I will probably start the Bleaching process this weekend. Should I clean the phone parts first with a particular product, or what is the proper method before submerging in Bleach?

David


The proper terms would be "Transmitter" and "Receiver", respectively.

So long as you don't have any wax or coating on the plastics, they should be fine. Also, make sure you have everything finished with polishing and other cosmetic stuff before bleaching.

Just fill a big Rubbermaid-style bucket or storage bin (make sure it's big enough to comfortably fit all the plastics inside, especially height-wise) with several gallons of bleach, as much as you need to completely submerge everything. Store the housing upside-down, so bubbles can get out from the inside. Also "wave" micro-bubbles off the outside surface after submerging, or you'll end up with tiny dots of discolored plastic that didn't get touched by bleach.

Sounds great that you got a pretty much dates-matching phone! Is the handset cord Gray or Black?
Christian Petterson

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

poplar1

Quote from: dlvh on December 09, 2017, 12:22:00 PM

As for the phone, it is almost ALL dated '10-56'...Frame, Body/Shell, Network, Ringer, Handset, Both Handset Caps (Receiver & Transmitter) but not the cords. I believe one is from 1972, and the other is unmarked, as far as I can tell. The "Speaker" & "Microphone" are both dated '11-29-56'  Would someone please educate me on the proper name of those items?


U1 receiver unit and T1 transmitter unit
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

dlvh

#51
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on December 09, 2017, 12:35:05 PM
The proper terms would be "Transmitter" and "Receiver", respectively.

So long as you don't have any wax or coating on the plastics, they should be fine. Also, make sure you have everything finished with polishing and other cosmetic stuff before bleaching.

Just fill a big Rubbermaid-style bucket or storage bin (make sure it's big enough to comfortably fit all the plastics inside, especially height-wise) with several gallons of bleach, as much as you need to completely submerge everything. Store the housing upside-down, so bubbles can get out from the inside. Also "wave" micro-bubbles off the outside surface after submerging, or you'll end up with tiny dots of discolored plastic that didn't get touched by bleach.

Sounds great that you got a pretty much dates-matching phone! Is the handset cord Gray or Black?

Okay...Do all the "repairs" first, eh? And make sure there are no contaminants on the parts.

The Handset Cord is Black...I believe it should be Gray, correct?

What ratio does the Bleach receive? Surely it's not pure 100% Bleach? Also, should I move the parts around at all? Or leave them set where they started for the whole duration?

What temperature should the bleach solution be at and is light on the solution needed and if so, what  kind and how much?

Transmitter (T1) & Receiver (U1) Got it...Thanks to both of you!


WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: dlvh on December 09, 2017, 12:59:39 PM
Okay...Do all the "repairs" first, eh? And make sure there are no contaminants on the parts.

The Handset Cord is Black...I believe it should be Gray, correct?

What ratio does the Bleach receive? Surely it's not pure 100% Bleach? Also, should I move the parts around at all? Or leave them set where they started for the whole duration?

What temperature should the bleach solution be at and is light on the solution needed and if so, what  kind and how much?

Transmitter (T1) & Receiver (U1) Got it...Thanks to both of you!


Yep--anything other than color that needs to be worked on needs to be done, do it before color restoration. If you realize that it needs to be sanded or polished more after bleaching, removing a layer or the restored plastic could expose discolored plastic underneath.

The cord should be Gray. It'll probably take awhile to find the correct cord--I'm looking for several pairs myself--but until you do, you cal always find a white handset cord and dye it Gray. There's a tough vinyl paint from Duplicolor that you can even spray on the current cord.

Several members here use 50/50 bleach and water, but I only use bleach. The stuff in the gallon jugs is actually only 5% pure bleach, but I don't like to water it down by half from that. In theory, the more concentrated the bleach is, the faster it will work.
Christian Petterson

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

dlvh

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on December 09, 2017, 01:31:38 PM
Yep--anything other than color that needs to be worked on needs to be done, do it before color restoration. If you realize that it needs to be sanded or polished more after bleaching, removing a layer or the restored plastic could expose discolored plastic underneath.

The cord should be Gray. It'll probably take awhile to find the correct cord--I'm looking for several pairs myself--but until you do, you cal always find a white handset cord and dye it Gray. There's a tough vinyl paint from Duplicolor that you can even spray on the current cord.

Several members here use 50/50 bleach and water, but I only use bleach. The stuff in the gallon jugs is actually only 5% pure bleach, but I don't like to water it down by half from that. In theory, the more concentrated the bleach is, the faster it will work.

Thanks again Christian,

I will probably make this phone look pretty...body-wise, and then sell it off.

If anybody wants a Mediterranean Blue after I'm done cleaning it up, I will be selling the phone...It is not my favorite color....I'm looking for a Aqua Blue, and will keep that color phone when I find a good on.

I will probably water the Bleach down just a bit, and keep a good eye on it.

dlvh