Still have a few things to do to it. I'm tempted to leave it as is, but this is a learning project and I don't like loose ends. I'm going to try to fix the gouge on the side of the case, plus the handset has a blemish that appears to have been caused by something caustic that dripped on it, but looks like it can be sanded out fairly easily. Also going to put a proper line cord on it and a "period correct" dial. Here's a few before and "so far" pictures:
I'd call that tremendous progress! Boy, that was a mess before. I guarantee you could get a lot of that discoloration out by a thorough scrubbing with a soft scotchbrite pad and a gentle scouring cleanser. Follow that up with some sort of polish, and it will look brilliant.
One easy fix you can make is to push the handset cord back in the handset. You should see the back of the transmitter cup has a "U" shaped bracket that's designed to slip over the narrow part of the thick strain relief. That's what holds it in place and keeps it from falling out.
Quote from: bingster on August 06, 2009, 05:09:06 AM
I'd call that tremendous progress! Boy, that was a mess before. I guarantee you could get a lot of that discoloration out by a thorough scrubbing with a soft scotchbrite pad and a gentle scouring cleanser. Follow that up with some sort of polish, and it will look brilliant.
One easy fix you can make is to push the handset cord back in the handset. You should see the back of the transmitter cup has a "U" shaped bracket that's designed to slip over the narrow part of the thick strain relief. That's what holds it in place and keeps it from falling out.
Thanks for the tip on the handset cord - fixed. Also thanks again to whomever sent me the handset cord, I apologize that I can't remember who. The original one was stretched and gnawed by rodents.
Scotchbrite pad, you mean like this one?
Actually, that's EXACTLY like the one I use. I use a liberal amount of Bon Ami, but I think any mild cleanser would work the same. I've had great success at removing discoloration in both white and pink using that method. You'll need to follow it up with polish, though, because it will put a dull haze on the surface. I use Brasso, because that's what I have on hand. If you have some plastic polish, then by all means use that.
Big improvement. I remember when you started on this phone you indicated that it was going to your first refurbished phone. It's coming along very nice. That handset cord does look familiar.........
Great job Brinybay!
Good that you now have it ringing too.
Wow, that phone had a hard life! You've done great work on the cleanup, and I see you retired that Battleship peg from the hook switch plunger to boot.
Brinybay;
Th handset cord, is out too far. The indent at the end closest to the handset, is suppost to hold the cord inside the handset via the transmitter elements cup inside . You will see a forked part on the rear of the cup, those forks go around the indent in the cord.
D/P
Quote from: bingster on August 06, 2009, 06:03:16 AM
Actually, that's EXACTLY like the one I use. I use a liberal amount of Bon Ami, but I think any mild cleanser would work the same. I've had great success at removing discoloration in both white and pink using that method. You'll need to follow it up with polish, though, because it will put a dull haze on the surface. I use Brasso, because that's what I have on hand. If you have some plastic polish, then by all means use that.
Which side of the scotchbrite pad do you use, green or the sponge?
The discoloration appears more in the picture than it does looking at it with the naked eye. At first I thought it was picking up where I tried polishing it, but the same distortion appears in the "before" picture too.
I have Brasso and some other stuff that came with a buffer accessory kit for a standard drill. I don't have a drill, but I used some of the red stuff called CSF Tripoli and a Ryobi buffer just to try it out. It worked ok, but I didn't spend a lot of time or elbow grease on it, since I'll be taking it all apart to give the plastics a more thorough cleaning.
Quote from: Dennis Markham on August 06, 2009, 07:51:14 AM
Big improvement. I remember when you started on this phone you indicated that it was going to your first refurbished phone. It's coming alone very nice. That handset cord does look familiar.........
Ok, that was you who sent it to me, kinda thought so. Thanks again!
Quote from: Dan/Panther on August 06, 2009, 01:06:05 PM
Brinybay;
Th handset cord, is out too far. The indent at the end closest to the handset, is suppost to hold the cord inside the handset via the transmitter elements cup inside . You will see a forked part on the rear of the cup, those forks go around the indent in the cord.
D/P
Not to worry, I fixed it:
Brinybay, I use the green side. I know it sounds harsh, but it really works wonders. I don't think I'd do it with a brand new pad, but once they get a little use to them, they're not as abrasive as new ones, and will be fine.
I'm going to quit taking pictures of my phones when I think I'm done with them because the camera highlights flaws that can't be seen just looking at it, like where I sanded the handset to get that blemish out. I only used 400 grit and didn't graduate up, figured Novus would take care of that, but it didn't, at least not according to the camera, but it looks ok with the naked eye.
Anyway, I think this is about it. A period correct dial, some sanding and buffing with Novus, a decent line cord and handset cord. I didn't get the gouge fixed, but filled it with super glue so it's at least smooth. I also discovered a crack in the base just below the gouge. If I ever find a junker beige phone with a good cover I may swap it out. This one was supposed to be a junker project, but now I've invested too much time and effort into it.
I also experimented with printing out a number card from some I found online. The backs of business cards actually make good card stock for these. I did a trial print to see where on the paper the printer would print it (upper left in this case) and to see how large it came out. After a couple more trial prints to get the size right (reduced it to 85%), I carefully taped the business card with blank side up to a standard size piece of scrap paper and used photo mode to print it.
Beautiful. It is nice that you had a soft-centered finger wheel around. Is this one made prior to 6-59 or later?
nice job on that beige phone briny, I also use scotch brite in cleaning plastic phones
Brinybay, I wouldn't worry too much about how the phone looks in photos. A camera flash does indeed make the minutest flaw painfully obvious. But what really counts is what the phone looks like when you're looking at it in normal room conditions, and in that case I bet the phone looks great. And compared to what you started with, it DOES look great. Stop worrying! 8)
Quote from: Dan on September 12, 2009, 07:54:34 AM
Beautiful. It is nice that you had a soft-centered finger wheel around. Is this one made prior to 6-59 or later?
5-59. The dial that was on it was a 9C from 72, even though there were no refurbishment stickers on the phone. Transmitter is from 67, receiver from 61. I got a period correct dial from Bingster:
I'd like to take credit for the dial, but it wasn't me. And those refurb stickers can dry up and fall off over time, so you don't always see them in place on a phone that's had a refurb.
Quote from: bingster on September 12, 2009, 07:48:09 PM
I'd like to take credit for the dial, but it wasn't me.
I'll take the credit, since I'm the one who offered & shipped that dial. BTW Bingster, if you still need a red dial bezel, I think I can help.
Quote from: Jester on September 12, 2009, 08:37:12 PM
Quote from: bingster on September 12, 2009, 07:48:09 PM
I'd like to take credit for the dial, but it wasn't me.
I'll take the credit, since I'm the one who offered & shipped that dial. BTW Bingster, if you still need a red dial bezel, I think I can help.
Oops, yes it was jester, sorry about that!
Quote from: bingster on September 12, 2009, 09:34:37 AM
Brinybay, I wouldn't worry too much about how the phone looks in photos. A camera flash does indeed make the minutest flaw painfully obvious. But what really counts is what the phone looks like when you're looking at it in normal room conditions, and in that case I bet the phone looks great. And compared to what you started with, it DOES look great. Stop worrying! 8)
I'm not, that was just a tongue-in-cheek remark. Actually, that feature of the camera comes in handy when I need to see details or numbers I can't see or read otherwise.
Quote from: bingster on September 12, 2009, 07:48:09 PM
And those refurb stickers can dry up and fall off over time, so you don't always see them in place on a phone that's had a refurb.
Bingster is correct. Those stickers do fall off. One other thing I see on the bottom says "refurb" to me. Do you see the areas on the base that look like someone colored in the wear points with a black magic marker? That's a sure sign of a refurb. Or a very neat child playing with a marker. :) They did that instead of painting the entire base.
Quote from: jsowers on September 14, 2009, 09:59:34 AM
Quote from: bingster on September 12, 2009, 07:48:09 PM
And those refurb stickers can dry up and fall off over time, so you don't always see them in place on a phone that's had a refurb.
Bingster is correct. Those stickers do fall off. One other thing I see on the bottom says "refurb" to me. Do you see the areas on the base that look like someone colored in the wear points with a black magic marker? That's a sure sign of a refurb. Or a very neat child playing with a marker. :) They did that instead of painting the entire base.
I've seen that on other phones and wondered what that was about, thanks for the tip!
Dang, now all the phones within reach I just picked up and looked at the bottom!