UV Discolored Turquiose Princesses...

[AE40FAN]

Some guy had these thrown in a box in his Garage.  Unfortunately, they are badly discolored due to years of UV exposure and each phone has a crack.  I am fairly confident I can repair the cracks but, as for the discoloration I may try the Sally's volumizer peroxide creme test.  Any suggestions, tips, warnings before I attempt this would be greatly appreciated!  They are from 1962 and 1964 all matching dates.

[AE40FAN]

So 16 hours with 3 coats of Sally Peroxide 40 volumizer.  There was no sunlight or any lamps involved in the process it was left overnight for the most part.  I do have to say the results are quite impressive.  Possibly, another 16 hour process will be necessary to achieve original color.  The phone that I tested had more UV damage than the phone I am comparing it to.

[AE40FAN]

Now, I did another overnight application and the results were less spectacular.  Today was a beautiful sunny day so I decided to test the Peroxide creme with Sunlight/UV.  I coated all pieces and let it set in the sun for 2.5 hours.  I am astonished with the results!  99.9% of all UV damage has been removed.  This test was done on a 1964 Turquoise Princess.  I am comparing it to a 1962(Turquoise?) Princess phone I recovered from the same garage.  Comparing the two side by side now after treatment on the 1964 leads me to believe the 1962 may be Aqua Green?  Is this possible?

[twocvbloke]

Well, compare the insides of the handsets and base shells to see if they match or if one's turquoise and one's aqua, that's the easiest option seeing how the inside of the handsets and shells tend not to be exposed to UV light...

Speaking of UV light, I've been watching the effects of UV bleaching on something of ours, we have a couple of glass oil lamps which had been previously used with coloured oil, and it stained the fresh stuff I put into it a purply-pink colour, recently they've been sat in the front window (south-facing), and gradually, the oil has been bleached back to it's natural colour removing the purply-pink staining, no other additives or whatnot have been applied, just heat and light from the sun itself... 

The power of the sun is amazing...

[AE40FAN]

1964 Princess Phone Done!  I am very pleased with the results. Unfortunately, the cords are slightly more "aqua green" than the telephone itself.  They probably could have used the peroxide treatment as well but, judging by how the phone looked when I found it, I shouldn't complain.  I am done with phone projects for the remainder of the summer and I will eventually continue with the 62 aqua Princess.  Unless, of course I stumble upon a AE34 or Mediterranean Blue 500........

[AE40FAN]

By the way, any suggestions on what I can put on it to protect it from UV damage in the future??

[twocvbloke]

I think the only real way to protect from UV is to keep it out of direct sunlight or invest in UV-blocking window glass...

[AE_Collector]

And NO flourescent lamps in the house either.

Terry

[Dennis Markham]

Your Princess turned out beautifully.  What a transformation.  Nice job!

[jsowers]

The 702 from 1964 looks aqua blue to me, and the 701 from 1962 may be turquoise under the fade. The colors are very close, especially when they're faded to a darker color. I hope the 701 comes out as nicely as the 702 you did.

Here's a thread with some good pictures to help tell the difference.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=530.0

And some pictures I took that may also help...

http://web.lexcominc.net/~josowers/aqua_blue-turquoise_01.JPG

http://web.lexcominc.net/~josowers/aqua_blue-turquoise_02.jpg

http://web.lexcominc.net/~josowers/aqua_blue-turquoise_03.jpg

http://web.lexcominc.net/~josowers/turquoise-aqua_blue_04.jpg

http://web.lexcominc.net/~josowers/aqua_blue-turquoise_05.jpg

I've always found the sun helps a lot in the bleaching or peroxide process, and it's amazing since it caused the problem in the first place.

[Doug Rose]

I don't think this could have turned out any nicer! What a wonderful job!  AA++....Doug

[AE40FAN]

Thanks Dennis and Doug!  I kept the original dial card as well;-D   Florescent lighting, even energy bulbs, have an effect on phones?!  Jsowers, those examples really helped and I am now sure the 62 will be turquoise and the 64 is Aqua.

[AE_Collector]

Florescent lighting, even energy bulbs, have an effect on phones?!

I have encountered many discolored light colored phones "in service" in offices where there was little natural light but lots of flourescent light. I don't know all the ins and outs of it or whether it is certain types of flourescent bulbs but I have always considered flourescent light to be a cause of discoloration of plastic.

Terry

[twocvbloke]

Fluorescent tubes by their nature use UV light to create the light they put out, using powders that coat the inside of the tubes which react with the UV light to fluoresce, so they're bound to put out some UV light, not enough to cause us human beans any problems, but can have an effect on plastics...

Trouble is, with the way governments worldwide are banning traditional incandescent lights in favour of "energy saving" (not when you consider the amount of energy they have to put in to produce, package and recycle the things!!) CFLs, then you're going to be stuck with them until LED light becomes more viable, or someone discovers a new way of efficiently creating artificial light that uses less or even no harmful chemicals or has any unwanted effects on their surroundings...

[AE40FAN]

There seems to be a product called aerospace 303 UV protectant for plastic, vinyl, fiberglass, etc.  Just ordered some from Ebay...gonna give it a try!