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Mirror Shine On Bakelite

Started by rp2813, February 28, 2014, 02:04:03 AM

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rp2813

I came across this 302 on eBay.  Perhaps it has been listed by one of the members here.

I'm amazed by the restoration of the finish on both the bakelite handset and thermoplastic housing.  Per the ad copy, this was accomplished through nothing more than cleaning, then buffing and polishing.  Has anyone here had this level of success?

I have a couple of dull bakelite G1 handsets that won't take on the same shine as the soft plastic housings they rest on, and have read here that getting too aggressive will only make things worse.

I've seen products like Glayzit mentioned here and I have some, but Glayzit alone won't provide results like those on the phone pictured below.  Is there a particular thread where other more effective methods have been shared?  I'd be thrilled if I could get my handsets to look just half as stunning as this F1.


Ralph

Matilo Telephones

Well thermoplast and bakelite are not similar in this respect.

Most thermoplast can be given a mirror sheen by simply polishing it very well.

Bakelite is a whole different story. I have only seen this level of sheen on bakelite when the bakelite is like new to begin with. Otherwise you need help to get this sheen, by using wax, laquer, varnish or paint.

Of course lighting circumstances can make a lot of difference for the photo. I have a very nice example of a picture of mirror like effects on bakelite. I'll look it up.
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

Matilo Telephones

Here is that picture. It is the corner of a Heemaf 1955 wall phone. You can see me in the pic holding the camera.
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

Greg G.

You read correctly regarding bakelite.  It has a mirror sheen when it's new, but once that sheen has wore off there's no getting it bake by polishing.  If the phone in the picture is bakelite, then it's either NOS (doubtful) or it was achieved through painting or some similar process.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

poplar1

The 302s refurbished by Telephone Engineering Co. of Simpson, PA used to look almost this good, just with buffing. It might have helped that Pete had about 30 years experience buffing phones for that company.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

LarryInMichigan

I mentioned somewhere on the forum before that I used to see Pete Blanshard at the flea market, and his buffed AE 40s looked remarkable, but then I didn't see how they looked prior to being buffed.  I still believe that the level of success attainable depends on the composition and condition of the bakelite.  I have had surprising success sanding and polishing SC handsets with the curved grip and spit cup but much less on WE F1s.  The SC bakelite appears to be much more consistent below the top surface whereas the WE is not.  I think that the issue depends on the ratio of resin to filler (which was generally sawdust) used in the manufacture of the bakelite.  Different manufacturers did things differently.

Larry

JorgeAmely

Quote from: rp2813 on February 28, 2014, 02:04:03 AM
... snip ...  Has anyone here had this level of success? ... snip ...

I think it is mostly a matter of sheer luck that you get a very old phone with very good bakelite under layers of grime. I didn't know that this one was going to be a nice looking phone until I began to scrub it.
Jorge

Doug Rose

I think most bakelite can be retored. You tell me?

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3509.45


This Maroon North went through a great  life altering change with NO buffing. Brasso ...fine steel wool and avon sos and some elbow grease.  Still looks the same today....Doug
Kidphone

Doug Rose

#8
Kidphone

WesternElectricBen

Doug, do you just use Avon stuff on those phones?

Ben

Doug Rose

Ben...after hours of fine steel wool with Brasso, I did finish with Avon SOS. Let the SOS sit a day and wipe off the residue.....Doug
Kidphone

rp2813

Thanks for all of the replies.  They confirm the suspicion I had that the bakelite needs to be in fairly decent shape in the first place.

Doug, your pictures give me hope that I can bring some of the shine back to a couple of my G1's.  Do you mean Avon SSS, or is SOS a different product from them?  Is the Brasso/Avon process safe for the soft plastic housings on 500's?

Thanks again,

Ralph

Ralph

Phonesrfun

It is my belief that you have to start with something good to begin with.  Bakelite handsets can really be awful, and there aren't lots of good ones left.  Acids from sweaty palms eats away the stuff the handsets are made of and makes them all pitted.  Once that happens, I think its effect is irreversable.
-Bill G

Matilo Telephones

#13
That is my experience too, Bill. And the end caps especially get a lumpy surface because of contact with bodily fluids.

Colored bakelite is often not true bakelite but Ureoformaldehyde. It is similar to bakelite but has different properties.

True bakelite is a resin that has a porous structure with a thin shiny layer. Once that shiny layer is gone, damaged or whatever, you are left with that porous structure. That is never going to shine by itself.

Tenite and other materials are a whole different story.

My experience is also that grimy phones often are really shiny once cleaned. The grime protects the bakelite from UV and are often kept in storage because they are not decorative. That preserves the bakelite, I think.

Were some phones made of a mixture of plastic materials?
Groeten,

Arwin

Check out my telephone website: http://www.matilo.eu/?lang=en

And I am on facebook too: www.facebook.com/matilosvintagetelephones

Doug Rose

#14
I know not all of you agree with my method on bakelite. I am not sure what I see that you do not see, or vise verse;  but here it is. This is a manual SC Fatboy that I just received. I have been trying to get all bakelite phones in manual as well as dial. This has been a toughie to find. I never think of taking before pictures until after I am done. The red blob in the pics is my red NE Patriots work sweatshirt and the reflection of my house. This baby just shines.  This is a cool phone as it is empty inside and was used to replace a stick as the WE AA1s did. It works!

This is a keeper

Just Brasso, fine steel wool and Avon skin so soft and two hours of elbow grease. At least a half hour cleaning cleaning out the grates. This is just a beautiful deco design in my humble opinion....Doug
Kidphone