Subscriber Set - Can Anyone Tell Me About This?

[Doug Rose]

Dennis...you should be very proud....Doug

[HarrySmith]

Agreed. Awesome job

[Dennis Markham]

Thank you Doug & Harry.  I am.  I couldn't never have finished this project without Bill's help either (phonesrfun).

[Dan/Panther]

Dennis;
The compliments are worth more to me than the payment for the work done.
D/P
Excellent work...

[djtownsend]

Dennis,

I am renewing this thread because I just bought on ebay a WE D1 202 Deskset w/ Subset Ringer Box.  It works but needs restoring the finishing of it and may have to replace some minor items on it but want to keep it authentic.  If I may, I'd like to ask you a few questions:

What did you use to strip all of the paint off of the subset box?
The deskset will obviously need polishing if it is not in too bad of condition.  I bought some past wax and a buffer wheel.  Do you have a preference in how to buff the deskset?

I just bought the set yesterday and am very anxious to get it.  It will need some pieces replaced because for example, I see a curly handset cord on it.  I know there are old parts on ebay but if necessary, I can always go to Oldphoneworks for parts.

My goal is to produce as good of a job as you did.  You did a great job.  I'm sure I'll have questions when I dig into the project and you'll see posts from me.

Dan

[Jim Stettler]

You can always post a wanted ad for parts. Many of us have spare parts.

Jim S.

[Dennis Markham]

Dan, thank you for the compliment on this project.  It was a lot of fun.

I just went to the the hardware store looking for a paint remover and bought a product called Zip Strip, paint and finish remover.  It worked very well.

http://tinyurl.com/3httgqq

As far as polishing the B1 body I just used Novus2, doing most of it by hand.  Where possible on the base of the phone I used my hand held Ryobi buffer with a terry cloth cover and Novus2.

The photo album I put together about this project can be seen here:

http://tinyurl.com/3lton86

There may be something there that will help you out with your project.  

Have fun!

[Bill]

Dennis -

How did you clean up the cloth interior electrical parts of the phone? Wires, ringer coils, etc? Some old radio guys put 'em in the dishwasher, and get good results ...

And perhaps this is a newbie question, but on the original subset, was the copper ever left exposed? I was under the impression that they were all painted black.

Bill

[Dennis Markham]

Bill, I don't think originally the copper was exposed.  I have seen others that collectors had stripped and left the copper exposed.  I believe Doug Rose has one or more wall phones or ringer boxes like that and suggested to me that I leave it copper once I had stripped it of the layers of paint.  I liked the look and so did the owner of the box.

As far as cleaning the inside, no dishwasher was used.  I just carefully take it all apart and clean each piece that I can.  I do not disassemble the ringer itself but was able to remove it from the frame of the box.  I use the Dremmel wire wheel and Simichrome polish to clean the metal parts bringing the brass shine back.  I use 0000 steel wool on some items, even the bias spring.  Each piece was cleaned individually.

When I clean the screw heads I use the wire wheel, using a thin worn wheel to get inside the slot of the screw.  Afterward I spread a dollop of Simichrome polish on a towel.  Holding the screw by the threads I run the screw head over the polish and then buff it on a dry spot on the towel.  It makes them look new again in most cases.