Hi everyone !
I'm new here and really glad I've found this forum.
I got around pretty well when restoring my few old phones ( not an expert, but the results are good. I'll more than likely learn from you guys )
Now, let me explain a problem I have...
I'm restoring an AE40 and the handset is pretty much covered with yellow spots. I tried about everything I know to get rid of thoses without any good results ( Steel wool, paint stripper, Brasso, compound, rubbing alchool ) Nothing seems to work. I even tried to hide them under 3 coats of black shoe polish... I still can see the spots under the polish.
I'm kinda puzzled... :-\ Any Ideas ?
Thanks
Alain
Hi Alain. Welcome to the forum! You tried Brasso and 000 steel wool? I have always used that combo and never had a problem. You may have to resort to sanding. I am sure you will get some other suggestions so hang on for now and see where we go!
You really want to clean it up as best as possible, using an abrasive cleaner, Ajax or something like that. Then go to others, such as steel wool.
Triple ought steel wool, four ought, and another abrasive cleaner such as brasso start with the minimum first because you don't want to actually damage anything.
If you resort to sand paper, use 2000 wet dry or higher, then go to finer steel wool for the finish.
Or use rubbing compound with a rag then give it a good wipe down. Or if you have a buffer, start with an aggressive compound then go to a polish compound. Some very dry pitted handsets need to be worked over with something else to get down to the better finish first. Then go to a polisher for the finish work. Caps will not need to much as far as aggressive compound, because you could damage something. Those are things I have done to get a nice Finish.
Ken
Without seeing it, I can't tell for sure, but do you have a really strong magnifying lens? Looks to me from the pics that the colour may (now) be a part of the Bakelite fabrication itself rather than something on top which you can rub away.
If it does look to be on the surface, start in an inconspicuous place to see what results you get from the suggestions given here. A gentle sanding may work if it's not too deep.
Let us know how you get on.
True, in that case lamp black or black shoe polish after the finish is worked can even out the color.
I've used both, with great results.
Quote from: Key2871 on February 21, 2019, 04:11:22 PM
You really want to clean it up as best as possible, using an abrasive cleaner, Ajax or something like that. Then go to others, such as steel wool.
Triple ought steel wool, four ought, and another abrasive cleaner such as brasso start with the minimum first because you don't want to actually damage anything.
If you resort to sand paper, use 2000 wet dry or higher, then go to finer steel wool for the finish.
Or use rubbing compound with a rag then give it a good wipe down. Or if you have a buffer, start with an aggressive compound then go to a polish compound. Some very dry pitted handsets need to be worked over with something else to get down to the better finish first. Then go to a polisher for the finish work. Caps will not need to much as far as aggressive compound, because you could damage something. Those are things I have done to get a nice Finish.
Ken
Hate to disagree with all of the previous comments, but I NEVER use any type of abrasive on bakelite; just makes for more scratches to buff out! Yes, by all means clean it well first (with warm water & Dawn liquid only), then If you have a buffer and some good buffing compound, simply buff it to a high gloss.
If you have a BAKELITE handset that needs abrasive, I'd throw it away and pick-up another nicer one to use; they aren't that difficult to come by.
While I understand what you're saying, some of us can't be choosers such as myself. When I had F handsets, or even older receivers, such as my 317C I had to resort to anything I could do to try to bring back the finish.
I know that the more abrasive, the more scratches you need to removed.
So, I will re do what I meant, clean the handset, dry it to determine what if anything needs to be done.
Using the least abrasive product try getting the shine back.
Sand paper is and should always be a last resort. Even at that use the least abrasive to reduce scratches.
Try polishing compounds to bring the shine back.
Polish it with black shoe polish and hand buff it. It will look nice and you will be happy.
A cheap and easy, tried and true method.
JMO,
Jim
I agree with Ken here that fine wet sanding can be a big help. I would recommend 3000 grit. It doesn't create any scratches, just a smoother satin finish that can then be buffed out using Novus 2 or similar.
Hello everyone,
Thanks to all for your answers ! It gave me some kind of hope ! :D
Along with the methods I tried before, I did some experiments ( on another similar yellow dotted handset ) with new ones suggested here : Steel wool with brasso, gentle cleaning, abrasive cleaner and sanding.
In this case, the best result was using 0000 steel wool with brasso all over the handset ( which I tried before but with a cloth only ) along with wet fine sanding on the "lumpy" areas. But even with alot of elbow grease, the yellow spots are still showing a bit and that didn't give me the shine i'm looking for. But, it got rid of the lumps ! So, I took the experiment a little further... I tried tung oil on a small area. Not bad at all. It's better than shoe polish because it will last way longer, but hard to apply evenly on bakelite or similar surfaces and doesn't shine as much. ( That's what I'm using for restoring wood phones and other antiques ) But it did a great job hiding the spots !
My next move will be a good polishing compound later this week on the area without tung oil. I'll also order SSS and try the "applying it over and over for some days" method. I don't know how it works, but it did a great job for some of you guys.
Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
And sorry for the quality of the pics I posted before... the only camera I have is the one in my cell phone.
Thanks,
Alain
Alain...as Ray said, sometimes Bakelite handsets get to the point of no return. If it has lumps on it, the work you are doing is only a temporary fix. Handsets sometimes react differently to time than the bodies. Some WE F1s the caps get to look like WC Fields nose, just happens. Let me check and see if I have a spare. Most of my AE stuff is gone.....Doug
So from what I understand, Doug, the sanding is kind of useless ? Will the handset get worst overtime ?
Most AE40's handset are hard to find.
Quote from: AlainC on February 23, 2019, 04:28:35 PM
So from what I understand, Doug, the sanding is kind of useless ? Will the handset get worst overtime ?
Most AE40's handset are hard to find.
I have many, many type 41 handsets if you would like another. Send me a personal message to talk about it.
Quote from: AlainC on February 23, 2019, 04:05:54 PM
...did some experiments...Steel wool with brasso...
In this case, the best result was using 0000 steel wool with brasso all over the handset ( which I tried before but with a cloth only ) along with wet fine sanding on the "lumpy" areas....
Whoops! I assumed from your first post on this thread that you had used the steel wool with the Brasso. And lumps? No mention of lumps. That is entirely a different issue to trying to get a shine on Bakelite. :(
Hope all is back on track and going well. Keep the photos coming. :)
I realised my last post was kind of confusing :-\ ... sorry !
In fact, I used steel wool and Brasso as I wrote in my first post, but not together as I mentionned in my last one.
The lumps weren't mentionned in the fisrt post because I used another handset for the experiments, that I also stated in the last post.
But indeed, it might have been very confusing.
Here's a few pics of the "good" handset without any oil or other protection on it, along with the cap from the "scrap" handset that I sanded. (The picture of the cap is in the next post ) Although the cap might looks lumpy, it's as smooth as baby skin ! ;D . You guys really think the cap is going to get worst over some time ? Even with some protection over ?
Thanks,
Alain
Here's the pic of the cap... ( again, sorry for the quality of the pics... I only have the camera that's in my phone )
That's after cleaning? Than you need to try a polish first see if that helps rid of the crap showing. Novis or rubbing compound should make a difference in the finish.
Quote from: AlainC on February 24, 2019, 03:44:47 PM
Here's the pic of the cap... ( again, sorry for the quality of the pics... I only have the camera that's in my phone )
What you see are the fibrous material that is used to hold the bakelite material together during the heated molding process. If you see that, NO amount of polishing will bring it back; sorry. There should have been a "finish layer" of shiny on that handset, to cover the fibrous inner layer, but it's gone. It's the same as gelcoat on a fiberglass boat.
Trying to make that handset shiny will never happen, and it will just frustrate you to no end.
Quote from: kleenax on February 24, 2019, 09:45:01 PM
What you see are the fibrous material that is used to hold the bakelite material together during the heated molding process. NO amount of polishing will bring it back;
Black shoe polish will help hide the fiber and will make the handset look nicer. It is probably the best fix for this handset.
The best repair would be to replace the handset.
JMO,
Jim S.
Thanks for your offer for an handset, Kleenax, but right now, since I won't use my phone and it's only for display purposes, I'll probably put tung oil or use shoe polish. Your right about the gelcoat on a fiberglass boat. You can do some kind of repair up to a point on small surfaces, but once it's gone all over the entire boat...
Alain
Finished project... AE40
That's the best I could do, considering that this phone had lost it's original "shiny layer" over the years.
Thanks everyone for your replies, it was very kind of you !
Alain