My first AE 40

[JorgeAmely]

I would use Woolite only, since it is made to gently clean fabric materials.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any "before" pictures prior to the Woolite bath, but in the attached album, third photo, you can see how the phone looked like. That third photo is borrowed from forum member NYFED, who has a similar phone with the network embedded in the handset, a very clever invention from Automatic Electric.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Amelyenator/AutomaticElectricModelAE34A3Telephone

The original wiring looked very dull in color. So much dust and junk gets into the cloth covering that it is almost impossible to see the true colors after the wiring has been exposed to the elements for decades. Once I removed the dial and the hook switch, I gave it a good scrubbing under the sink with the Woolite solution. I followed that with a compressed air to dry it as much as possible and then placed it outside under the hot summer sun to completely dry it.

This other album shows an Ivory AE40. You can see the wiring in full color after the same treatment. I didn't want to un-solder the network to clean it. However, the network coil cover has glue that is water soluble, so I limited the exposure to water for no more than 20 seconds. This one also spent the afternoon under the warm sun to dry all components.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Amelyenator/AutomaticElectricModel40InOldIvoryColor#5209607510763913506

[GG]

All I can say is, dude, you do absolutely beautiful work there. 

I need to start doing internal components like that, rather than just cleaning out the dust and making sure everything is working.  It never even occurred to me to polish up the bells, much less give the wiring a good clean, because that wasn't part of the usual commercial refurb process we did in the interconnect industry.  I have a pile of stuff in my "inbox," so there's no time like the present to try to get the kind of results you got there.   

[recrum]

All finished and back in service.  Had to replace the base gasket with a new one from Gary.  And replaced cords with original AE cloth line cord, and picked up the extensicord from Steve Hilsz.  Most of the work was just in the cleaning and polishing.  Probably spent more time than I should of though.  But I used the woolite trick I picked up here on the forum to clean all wires. And everything brass got cleaned and polished.  This was also the first time I completely disassebled the dial with the help of Jorge Amely photos.  Just want to thank everyone for the tips and advice.

[GG]

Looks like it stepped right out of the AE catalog and onto your table. 

Perfect.