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Telephone painting techniques/results

Started by BDM, October 22, 2008, 12:24:07 AM

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McHeath

It was ABS, and the cross section is fairly thin unlike the old Tenite shells. 

Also, I painted a Bakelite G1 and it simply came out bad.  The original finish was all gone, and it was rough, so I sanded on it with very fine sandpaper and thought it felt pretty smooth.  But when the paint went on it was no good, the roughness showed right up. 

JorgeAmely

#16
What about using Crystalac?

http://www.crystalac.com/  ( dead link 9-21-17 )

Jorge

BDM

I was speaking of metal phones, not plastic.
--Brian--

St Clair Shores, MI

JorgeAmely

McHeath:

Did you put some primer/sealer on the G1 handset before the paint?
Jorge

McHeath

No, and I should have.  I thought the sanding would be enough to smooth the surface, and it was to to the touch. 

Bill

#20
As the temperature in an oven comes up, it will often overshoot its intended value, since the thermostat doesn't necessarily heat as fast as the rest of the oven.

But more likely, when you opened the oven door to put the phone in, some of the heat was lost. The heating element came on, and the radiant heat from that red-hot element "broiled" the plastic to death.

I've never tried it, but I think I would bring the oven to the desired temp or a bit above, then turn it off, then put the phone in.

Bill

HobieSport

That sounds like good "cooking" advice, Bill.  I'm also wondering, if the oven has a see-through window, if it might help to have a second oven thermometer placed near the phone parts, that one could keep a sharp eye on, especially during the first 15 minutes or so of placing the parts in the oven, to double check the temperature until it is good and stabilized.

I personally don't have an oven to "cook" phone parts in.  I mean, we have an oven, but my GF would kill me if I used it for cooking phone parts in. :P
-Matt

bingster

I'd like to touch on this subject again to see if anybody has gone through with stripping metal phones yet.  I'm stripping a 202, and I tried a couple household things I had laying around (Easy-Off, Dawn Power Dissolve).  Those products made easy work of a couple layers of black that were put on during refurbs, but it has absolutely no effect on the bottom, original black coat.  I'm wondering if a stripper is going to have the same problem with that original coat.  Has anybody ever tried something that worked?
= DARRIN =



Phonesrfun

For a metal phone, I would not worry about going the max with good old paint stripper.  Some that I have heard of that will occasionally do a powdercoat finish (although I don't recommend powdercoat) will sandblast the old paint.

Powdercoat, by the way does not look original, and looks too thick and "industrial" when complete.  The glossy powdercoats actually make the phone look like it is dripping wet.

My two cents

-Bill Geurts
-Bill G

Dennis Markham

Bingster, I am also interested in finding the answer to your question.  I recently worked on a 634A subscriber set that has decent black (original) paint but has some household paint (probably leaded) on top of the black.  I'd like to remove the top paint (someone painted the wall and hit the box) without disturbing the black paint but I'm sure that won't be possible.  I was thinking about re-painting the entire box.  I'm open for suggestions.  I also have a D1 collecting dust that I'd like to paint.

foots

I used some paint stripper in a spray can that I got at Wal-Mart on a S-C 1243 and it worked very well. I sprayed it, let it foam up for about 6 minutes or so, wiped it with some paper towels, then washed it off with clean water. I did 3 timed just to make sure all paint came off. Its now down to the bare metal.  I have not yet sanded/primed/painted it yet though. One more thing, I'd strongly suggest wearing chemical resistant gloves.
"Ain't Worryin' 'Bout Nothin"

bingster

Quote from: Phonesrfun on July 30, 2009, 11:43:19 PM
For a metal phone, I would not worry about going the max with good old paint stripper.  Some that I have heard of that will occasionally do a powdercoat finish (although I don't recommend powdercoat) will sandblast the old paint. Powdercoat, by the way does not look original...

I agree, Bill.  Neither type of powdercoating looks anything like the original finish, and I wouldn't even consider it.  I'm not against the idea of leaving what's left of the original finish, but in places where it's chipped away, there's a surprisingly high edge between paint and metal that would need careful sanding to blend in, and given the number these chips, it would mean a great deal of work, and I'd still be worried that it wouldn't be a seamless transition.


Quote from: Dennis Markham on July 30, 2009, 11:48:54 PM
Bingster, I am also interested in finding the answer to your question.  I recently worked on a 634A subscriber set that has decent black (original) paint but has some household paint (probably leaded) on top of the black.  I'd like to remove the top paint (someone painted the wall and hit the box) without disturbing the black paint

Dennis, if the subsets carry the same paint as the phones, I think you'll find the Dawn Power Dissolver will have no effect on the black, but it almost certainly will cause the house paint to slough right off.  You might want to try it on a small spot on the back side of the box or under the condenser to see if it has any effect on the black paint.


Quote from: foots on July 31, 2009, 01:06:18 AM
I used some paint stripper in a spray can that I got at Wal-Mart on a S-C 1243 and it worked very well.

Foots, do you remember the brand?
= DARRIN =



Dennis Markham

Thanks for the tip on the Dawn Power Dissolver.  Is that in a spray can or otherwise? 

foots

Bingster, the stuff is called Klean Strip Premium Stripper. The can is copper and grey in color. It strips paint, epoxy, and polyurethane from wood, metal, and masonry.
"Ain't Worryin' 'Bout Nothin"

bingster

Thanks, Foots, I think I'll get a can of that today.

Quote from: Dennis Markham on July 31, 2009, 06:29:45 AM
Thanks for the tip on the Dawn Power Dissolver.  Is that in a spray can or otherwise? 

It's in a squirt bottle, Dennis.  It should be in the dish detergent section of any grocery store.  Even though it's designed to cut grease on pots and pans, it's turned out to be a great paint stripper for certain types of paint.  I've heard of people using it on everything from model cars to real cars.
= DARRIN =