Ideas for restoring Dial Bezel Dullness?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

I've slowly leaned towards trying to restore my phones to exact factory condition over making them look as shiny as possible. I want to try re-restoring some of the dial bezels/faceplates on my 500s and 1500s that I've wetsanded and polished over the years, rather than leaving the factory dull sheen.

Does anybody have ideas for bringing back that factory rough finish on dial bezels? I've tried Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, which only seemed to tone down the gloss. Maybe some sort of gentle media blasting?

[jsowers]

I've slowly leaned towards trying to restore my phones to exact factory condition over making them look as shiny as possible. I want to try re-restoring some of the dial bezels on my 500s and 1500s that I've wetsanded and polished over the years, rather than leaving the factory dull sheen.

Does anybody have ideas for bringing back that factory rough finish on dial bezels? I've tried Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, which only seemed to tone down the gloss. Maybe some sort of gentle media blasting?

Christian, do you mean 554s instead of 1500s? The 1500 has a faceplate. Did you actually wet sand and polish the 1500 faceplates? They did have a somewhat dull appearance originally but some are shinier than others, and that includes the 2500 too. I think there was a topic somewhere about those faceplates and if they were shiny or not.

Have you tried just lightly dry sanding the 500/554 dial bezels and then follow it with a little Novus 2? It may not be perfect, but it's worth trying. I know next to nothing about sanding, having tried it only a few times with mixed results, so I can't say what grit to use that would rough it up a little. They weren't completely dull and had a tiny amount of polish to them, but weren't mirror finished. It was to cut down glare so the numbers and letters could be seen clearly from different angles, in case anyone is wondering.

We should never stop learning and observing as phone collectors and restorers and I admire your efforts to make them look original. I attached two pictures showing the proper finish, in case anyone is wondering what it's supposed to look like. The ivory 554 is NOS and those are the best evidence. The black phone is a 500P that came with a red lens where the mushroom was supposed to be.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Christian, do you mean 554s instead of 1500s? The 1500 has a faceplate. Did you actually wet sand and polish the 1500 faceplates? They did have a somewhat dull appearance originally but some are shinier than others, and that includes the 2500 too. I think there was a topic somewhere about those faceplates and if they were shiny or not.

Have you tried just lightly dry sanding the 500/554 dial bezels and then follow it with a little Novus 2? It may not be perfect, but it's worth trying. I know next to nothing about sanding, having tried it only a few times with mixed results, so I can't say what grit to use that would rough it up a little. They weren't completely dull and had a tiny amount of polish to them, but weren't mirror finished. It was to cut down glare so the numbers and letters could be seen clearly from different angles, in case anyone is wondering.

We should never stop learning and observing as phone collectors and restorers and I admire your efforts to make them look original. I attached two pictures showing the proper finish, in case anyone is wondering what it's supposed to look like. The ivory 554 is NOS and those are the best evidence. The black phone is a 500P that came with a red lens where the mushroom was supposed to be.

Yep, I meant 1500. By 500, I was referring to the 554 as well, as it's part of the 500 series. I added 1500s to my post as an afterthought.

I think the faceplates had the same finish that 500 bezels had originally. I used to spend lots of time wetsanding and polishing faceplates, before I realized that them being dull wasn't an accident...
All of my faceplates on hardly-used phones have the same dullness level. One thing I found that might point to finding slightly glossier faceplates is the fact that gripping either of the faceplate's sides with your thumb and the base with the rest of your hand makes a great handhold for carrying the phone. One of my 1500s has two glossy spots on the faceplate from the subscriber holding the phone like that it's whole life.

The one thing I'm worried about with lower-grit sandpaper is that it looks fairly even after sanding, but polish will probably magnify the deeper scratches, showing a more "brushed" finish over a flat one. 800 or 1000 might work better for that...I'll try it out!

Thanks for posting the posterity shots, BTW! I forgot to do that!