Should I restore my phone

[persido]

The question I have for all you pros is should I have my 1937 WE 302 w/ E-1 handset restored. It has all original parts and it does work well except it dose not ring, it did ring for the first month of getting it working, then one day it just stopped ringing. And if I do have it restored where/who would you recommend, I have been searching for someone in Mass. or in New England, but no one in my area restores old phones. The biggest issues with the phone is that it dose not ring the feet need attention, there are scratches on it, it looks very dull, no shine to it. A few people I have asked told me I should leave it the way it is, do you guys agree?
What do you  recommend?

[dsk]

It's no right answer here, except for what you want.
If it was mine, I would wait until it scratches my table. Having it as original, with kind of history in every little scratch, fits me. The ringer issue may be solved by just adjusting a little inside.
What happened when it stopped ringing? Did you move it to another jack?  Did you ad any other load on the line? Did your provider modernize your connection?

Usually its only to move a wire to convert from grounded to bridged ringing.

If you opens it, and take a picture of the ringer, and of the wire terminations, I'm sure someone here may tell you what to try.

dsk

[Dan/Panther]

Ditto the above, but keep in mind, It's your phone. If you like it the way it is, leave it, If you want it nice an shiny restore it.
If you are anything like the rest of us, in short time, you will have enough phones to do everything you can conceive of to do with a phone.
Except make a lamp.
I have 50 phones on display, and probably 2 or 3 times that still in boxes.
Regards;
D/P

[LarryInMichigan]

My philosophy about paint is that I try to leave the original paint unless it is in terrible condition.  I usually touch up chips with a paint marker.  Many people prefer to leave the surface as-is.

Larry

[poplar1]

There is probably a link or someone who could suggest a way to polish the black painted surface of your metal 302 and leave the original paint. Other than that, I would leave it the way it was found. It is unusual to find one that old with all original parts.

On the other hand, I am sure you will come across a lot of 302s that have been rebuilt one or more times. On these, the cords and enamel dial plate are the first things to have worn out; so these are often changed to new parts. The transmitters are usually recharged so the one put back in the phone will be a different date. Other parts may also have been changed.

[dencins]

Since I recover footpads I am partial to not having torn or worn footpads on phones.  The 302 rivetted footpads do not have a felt cushion so once the footpad leather is damaged the phone is sitting on the metal plates.  This can do a lot of damage to either a desk or table if the phone is to be used.  I have found if I want to use my phones as well as keep my wife happy, it is better that it does not damage the furniture.

I have had a couple of phones act up because of old cords so unless the cords are in really good shape, I tend to replace cords with new cords but I do agree that the paint is a personal choice.

Dennis Hallworth

[Bill]

Dennis beat me to it. I have asked him to re-cover a couple sets of footpads for me, and they look spectacular. Take a look at the section on Vendor Reviews for further confirmation, or do a Search for Dennis or Dencins for confirmation. I would go for it. Not costly.

Bill

[Dan/Panther]

Dennis is the man to go to for recovering feet.
D/P

[HowardPgh]

I used FLITZ to clean up the paint and then I used car wax to finish up the paint.  It is in a tube like toothpaste. 
Howard

[southernphoneman]

i do not know if anyone mentioned this about the ringer, but did you check the connections to make sure they have not come loose?

[cello973]

I am willing to sandblast (glass bead) and spray it gloss black for you if you would like...

[Sargeguy]

I would replace the cords and the feet, since they can easily be replaced, and the process is reversible.  Keep the old cords.   I also recommend Dennis H for the feet.  I would not re-paint the housing as this is irreversible and will hurt its value.  Scratches may be buffed out, but this may be dangerous to the paint if you aren't practiced at it.  You can get a ringer to fit it if that is the problem, but it may not be the ringer itself.  Again, I would keep the original ringer.