BDL's First Restoration Project WE D1 w/E1

[old_phone_man]

Bill,

Thank you for saying it is Beautiful and Yup, it's Semi Gloss. 

This was the phone that actually taught me how to use a rattle can successfully, (and it didn't happen with the first try), as well as the patience needed to get decent results.  There are 3 coats on it with the final coat being the "wet coat".  If you support the part steady instead of hanging it from a hook you can do pretty good.

What you don't see is the pound of bondo underneath the paint job.  I bought this phone at an Antique Store in Oklahoma City because it had a #4 dial in it.  It looked like it fell off a truck and was drug for a long distance.  I used a make shift dolly to round it back out and bondo to fill the deep dings and lots of sanding.  There was no handset, bottom plate or cords and the dial plate was in too bad of shape to use.

Jon

[bigdaddylove]

I always thought that D1's were painted and not Japanned, and that it was candlestick phones that were Japanned. Brownell's Baking Lacquer is interesting and I did a search on it. All results pertained to firearms and one person said that it was easy but does not take the place of a Professional finish. One thing leads to another when searching so there are a few other alternatives out there. But they all seem to be more along the line of anodizing rather than painting, so I wouldn't expect a deep & shiny looking finish.
Doug Pav

I think you are correct. Most of the D1s I've seen look to be painted. I was just interested in trying the japanning for the sake of reviving an old way of doing things. Now that I've poked around the interwebs a bit, I'll more than likely use the Dulpi-color or Sherwin-Williams product.

[TelePlay]

Bill,

There are 3 coats on it with the final coat being the "wet coat".  If you support the part steady instead of hanging it from a hook you can do pretty good.

Simply amazing!

Did you use a primer under the 3 coats and if so, which one?

[Bill]

Re paint vs japan on D-1s. I am in the process of restoring/refinishing two D-1 bases. One had a gloppy coat of some kind of black paint on it, so I dug out the big gun - methylene chloride gel stripper - and slopped it on. An hour later, about 3/4 of the paint came off when I brushed it under running water. But I had to slop/wait/scrape/wash/brush two more times before the final bits of paint were gone.

Meanwhile, the undercoat - the original finish from when the phone was new - remained untouched, even though much of it was exposed to all three applications of stripper. So, the original finish wasn't any kind of paint that I know of. I vote for japan.

Bill

[cihensley@aol.com]

They were japanned. I have an old Bell Labs Record article that describes the replacement of aspalteum (they didn't identify the new ingredient) in WECo's japan coating.

Chuck

[bigdaddylove]

They were japanned. I have an old Bell Labs Record article that describes the replacement of aspalteum (they didn't identify the new ingredient) in WECo's japan coating.

Chuck

What year is that from?

Thanks.

[Sargeguy]

I always thought that D1's were painted and not Japanned, and that it was candlestick phones that were Japanned.

I believe you are correct

[old_phone_man]

Teleplay,

No primer on that one.  Probably should have used something because as you can see I picked up a chip on the dial between 1 and 2.  This phone just sits in a display case and never gets used.

I have noticed that Western Electric never appeared to use a primer either.  I always primer brass (mainly candlesticks) with a special self etching primer made by KBS Coatings called "Fusion SEP".

Jon

[cihensley@aol.com]

bigdaddylove:

1930

Chuck

[Greg G.]

I have used the Dupli-Color Engine Enamel in the Ford Semi Gloss Black with reasonable enough results but you really need to make sure you clean the part of all grease (I used Acetone).  It takes some patience as well as a windless, dustless environment.  I did mine in my garage (It has been several years ago).  I attached a photo of the phone.

Aww, c'mon. Semi-gloss engine enamel produced the beautiful deep gloss on the photo? Surely there is more to it than that! 'Fess up, guy! How did you do it?

Bill

My first thought as well -- "That's semi-gloss?!?!?"

My reaction too.  It's a beautiful gloss, but it's not semi in spite of what it says on the can.  Here's a pic and a link to examples of semi-gloss black as I know it.

http://www.buickperformancegroup.com/forums/showthread.php?5121-Engine-Compartment-Paint-what-to-use

[old_stuff_hound]

My reaction too.  It's a beautiful gloss, but it's not semi in spite of what it says on the can.  Here's a pic and a link to examples of semi-gloss black as I know it.

http://www.buickperformancegroup.com/forums/showthread.php?5121-Engine-Compartment-Paint-what-to-use

Exactly!

[bigdaddylove]

So, isn't there someone who knows if the D1s were covered in japanning or paint? It's not like japanning/painting was some sort of proprietary process, right?

Someone has got to know. I looked around but I haven't found anything yet.

[Bill]

I thought Chuck's post, about 8 posts above this, had the definitive answer. The Bell Labs Record was the official publication of the Bell Labs, which developed the equipment for the Bell System. So if it says japan, then it was japan.

You can read the BLR on line or at a big city library.

Bill

[cihensley@aol.com]

bigdaddylove:

An additional source on japanning is From the Far Corners of the Earth (a WECo publication on resources used in telephone equipment manufacturing) 1939, page 65: "Until recently telephone mountings (handset and desk type stands) were japanned black, as were all subscribers' metal telephone boxes. Synthetic enamels are now rapidly replacing japan for these purposes". This suggests japanning was used until the H mounts were coming into production.

Chuck

[bigdaddylove]

bigdaddylove:

An additional source on japanning is From the Far Corners of the Earth (a WECo publication on resources used in telephone equipment manufacturing) 1939, page 65: "Until recently telephone mountings (handset and desk type stands) were japanned black, as were all subscribers' metal telephone boxes. Synthetic enamels are now rapidly replacing japan for these purposes". This suggests japanning was used until the H mounts were coming into production.

Chuck

Okay, that what I wanted to hear. Since there was some confusion between folks and the other document you referenced was from 1930, I was still unclear if japanning was being done in the mid to late 30s. Now, I know!

I tried to call Liberty on the Hudson, the folks who sell the japanning formula. Unfortunately, they did not answer so I sent them an email. Odd thing is, they say not to stove the product under any circumstances so I need some further clarification before I drop about $45.00 on this goop.