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Removing Polane or other epoxy finishes??

Started by ThePOWERtoRULE, November 11, 2010, 02:16:24 AM

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ThePOWERtoRULE

I picked up a black Kellogg/ITT 554, dated 1960 originally but appears have been refurbished several times. At some point, the Black was painted over  Turquoise!

I'd like to remove the black to bring out the turquoise. It appears to be some sort of an epoxy coat, like Polane or something similar. I've tried using Easy Off and some other basic household cleaners I know won't harm the plastic, but I've only been able to use Easy Off to remove some of the overspray on the inside after some serious soaking and scrubbing. The outside seems to be unharmed, even after a 10 hour soak in Easy Off.

What do you guys use??
"I remember a house like a lot of houses, a yard like a lot of yards, on a street like a lot of other streets. I remember how hard it was growing up among people and places I loved. Most of all, I remember how hard it was to leave... And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back in wonder..." -Kevin Arnold "The Wonder Years"

JorgeAmely

Jorge

AE_Collector

So brake fluid just bounces off of Polane as well?

Terry

Jester

Brake fluid is alcohol based & won't touch it.  I have used carburetor/choke cleaner to remove epoxy finishes from plastic--it works well.  EXTREME CARE should be taken on soft plastics, but I haven't noticed any problems with ABS.  Even after using this, I have still felt the need to sand.  You won't use nearly as much sandpaper if you do this first, though.
Stephen

JorgeAmely

#4
In the phone shown in the album below, I used some lacquer paint thinner and acetone to remove Polane from the corners and edges, however, it mars the original finish, thus making sanding a necessity for restoring a mirror like finish. A rag wet with any of these wipes off the Polane paint, and you can do no more than one or two passes. The material of the rag gets impregnated with the Polane paint and you constantly have to use a new patch. You need to wear rubber gloves when removing this stuff, as well as using a well ventilated work area.

What I used a lot was a very thin piece of plastic (2" by 3", less than 1/16" thick), wrapped it with sandpaper and made a tool to sand along the edges.

In addition ... patience. Don't try to do it all at once. Plan to remove that stuff over many sessions.
Jorge

Dan/Panther

Jorge;
Were you able to save the original lettering on the inside ?
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

phone-sweep

I've done a few of these before - white, aqua, cherry red, beige....  There's yellowed phones and then there's polane coated phones.  I just used sand paper all the way - nothing else.  220 grit will cut into a polane coating pretty fast.  If you're sanding out yellowing,  you can even go to 100 grit for deep digging.  100 grit is *very* rough so you need to follow up with a diligent effort with the 220 grit.  Delicate areas like cradle's and sharp edges, I wouldn't go less than the 220, though.  Like Jorge, I didn't mess with the logo's/raised lettering...  If your coating is the same as the plastic, usually this doesn't look too bad.  If the polane coating is a different color, then you'll need some kind of chemical to remove it from the logo areas...  I never looked into this...

Always wet sand.   I usually sand at the kitchen sink with the water running.   I cut a sheet of sandpaper into 1/16th's.  Take an old yardstick and saw off about 2" - makes for a great sanding block for the 1/16 sandpaper squares (or rather rectangles).  Of course, a lot of the sanding needs to be done without the sanding block.  After the housing is completely sanded back to the original color, then you need to go over everything again with 600 grit or higher - this will prep it for buffing.  I find 600 grit is the minimum I can use to buff out sanding marks with blue PBC (plastic buffing compound). 

Practice helps - practice on something impossibly ugly or damaged.  It's a lot of work.... labor of love,  I suppose...

JorgeAmely

Quote from: Dan/Panther on November 11, 2010, 12:34:14 PM
Jorge;
Were you able to save the original lettering on the inside ?
D/P

Yes, all intact.
Jorge

JorgeAmely

Quote from: phone-sweep on December 04, 2010, 09:06:12 PM
...

Practice helps - practice on something impossibly ugly or damaged.  It's a lot of work.... labor of love,  I suppose...



I agree with you 110%.
Jorge

elmwood

I bought a white 2500 at an estate sale this weekend.  It turned out the case was painted with what I assume was Polane.  The shell was a bit yellowed, so I tried soaking it in a solution of 50% bleach.  Today, when I checked the shell, I found that it was easily scratched.  With a fingernail, I was able to scrape off a good-sized chunk of paint, revealing an ivory shell underneath.

Bleach might not necessarily be considered a stripper, but it seems to soften Polane to the point where it can be easily removed.

JorgeAmely

If it comes off by submerging the case in a bleach solution, I am guessing it is an acrylic based paint, not an epoxy based paint. I had the same experience with an AE80 white model dated late 70s, early 80s. An epoxy based paint, sprayed with the nasty solvents used in the 50s probably bonded to the soft plastic cases rather than stick it them.

My 2 cents. Two cents only because I could be wrong.

Jorge

elmwood

I gave up on the 2500 case.  I'm not patient enough to scrape the paint off, and then sand it, polish it, and so on.  Maybe if it was some super rare color, but ... meh, I'll just get a new translucent 2500 case from Five Star.  Sure, I'll be making a frankenphone, but still ...

jsowers

Elmwood, you could try denatured alcohol on the thin paint on the 2500, but if it's yellowed underneath the paint and needs sanding, I agree it's not worth the trouble.

Denatured alcohol works well on the thin paint they used in the 1970s, which I don't think is Polane. Polane is a bit thicker and a lot more sturdy. Just don't use it on soft plastic--denatured alcohol will dissolve soft plastic. Hard plastic is fine, though.
Jonathan

elmwood

Yeah, I think it's uniformly yellowed underneath.  The inside of the shell is white, and didn't respond to my fingernail, while the exterior peeled away.  I tried sanding a part of the exposed exterior, and it lightened a bit.  Restoring the shell would just be too much work for a run-of-the-mill 2500 daily dialer.

FWIW, the painted exterior had a very wet appearance.

poplar1

Quote from: elmwood on December 07, 2010, 02:08:20 AM
I gave up on the 2500 case.  I'm not patient enough to scrape the paint off, and then sand it, polish it, and so on.  Maybe if it was some super rare color, but ... meh, I'll just get a new translucent 2500 case from Five Star.  Sure, I'll be making a frankenphone, but still ...

Do you have contact info for purchasing translucent housings? TIA
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.