302 Arrived today. Step by Step Cleanup. With photos.

[Dan/Panther]

O.K. here goes.
My bargain basement 302 arrived today.
I paid $14.73, plus shipping for it. So you can imagine what it looks like. I bet you can't, because this thing was painted silver.
It is cosmetically, and mechanically in very good shape, the cord is kinked yet without any fraying.
As you can see from the pictures the cord is kinked, yet the rubber wires are in very good condition. I'm now attempting straightening of the kinked cord. If it turns out I will post how I did it.
Note the condition of the cord. Brown clothe.

D/P

[BDM]

Is that metal or thermoplastic?

[Dan/Panther]

Thermoplastic.
D/P

[Dan/Panther]

Here is the cord, after the unkinking process.
What I did was Cut a piece of 2X2 about 40" long, and drove a nail into one end on the flat side of the board. Then I hooked the cords strain relief onto the nail. I then stretched the cord as much as I could without of course damaging it, and marked the spot where the other strain relief ended up. I drove another nail into that spot, and stretch the cord between the two nails.
I then took the entire thing outside, and sprayed the cord completely all over with "Sun Of A Gun", A Armoral type product.
I then worked the cord to straighten up the pattern of the clothe on the cord. I also moved the wires around inside the clothe cover to remove kinks and straighten out the cord. I set it out in the sun, still attached to the board, until it completely dried, then coiled it up. It is almost perfectly straight again.
The "Sun of A Gun" Armoral, soaks into the clothe, and protects the rubber wires also. The entire cord feels much softer and flexible again. I learned  this technique  from radio power cords.
The one spade connector isn't broken, just bent to 90 degrees.

D/P

[Dennis Markham]

Dan, Thanks for the tip on that.  I have heard of guys that actually put them in a bag normally used for "delicates" and then putting them in the dishwasher and/or the washing machine.  I have never tried that, but I'm told it works as long as the cords are allowed to dry before putting power to them.  For what it's worth....

[Dan/Panther]

Here is the handset after I stripped it of it's Silver paint. When I stripped it, I used Laquer Thinner. It won't harm the hard rubber. I can't use that method on the body of the phone, because it's thermal plastic, and Laquer thinner would ruin it.

I lightly sanded out the scratches in the hard rubber, using rubber sponge sanding blocks, and green Scotchbrite pads. I also have several fine grits of finger nail sanding boards, that I use to remove dinged corners or scratches on flat areas. I never alter the original contour, and sometime it takes awhile to get it right.


When the silver paint started to melt away, I noticed Gold under that, and much to my dismay, I found avocado green under that, quite possibly the original color, even though very little remained.

Now I will start the body of the phone.

D/P

[Dan/Panther]

Dennis;
I gave the hot water treatment a second thought, and I decided that maybe the hot water would add to the drying of the wires. On the other hand, the Suns heat will also dry the wires, but the Armoral may put back some of the lost moisture.
Either way water or sun heat works. I think the Armoral will counteract that effect.

D/P

[bingster]

Keep in mind that the E1, F1, and G1 are cast in solid bakelite, rather than hard rubber.  If you've got a handset that's really nice and black besides a couple scratches, you shouldn't sand it--it'll scrape away that top "finish" layer of dense black, just like with a bakelite radio.  Of course, with a handset that's already dull, it probably can't hurt much.

[Dan/Panther]

Bingster;
I don't use sand paper per se. But I use Brasso, and polishing through the Bakelite crust, so far has not happened to me. If you Sand deeply, you can make polishing out the finish almost impossible. I use mainly Scotchbrite pad and Brasso, this method all but prevents, IMO, cutting through the crust.

My handset says F1-W.
What does the W stand for ?

D/P

[benhutcherson]

Keep in mind that the E1, F1, and G1 are cast in solid bakelite, rather than hard rubber.  If you've got a handset that's really nice and black besides a couple scratches, you shouldn't sand it--it'll scrape away that top "finish" layer of dense black, just like with a bakelite radio.  Of course, with a handset that's already dull, it probably can't hurt much.

Here's a photo I posted a few weeks ago, but which seems appropriate once again



Notice that the second from the left is shiny, and the other three are relatively dull.

By the way, Dan, you might try 91% isopropyl alcohol on the shell. It shouldn't hurt the plastic, and may at least help loosen up the paint. I imagine that there are other solvents that would be safe, but, not knowing the specific type of plastic used, or having a shell I care to sacrifice to find out what's safe and what's not. If anyone would care to donate one to the cause(or perhaps even a partial one), I'd be happy to test several different solvents for compatibility.

[Dennis Markham]

F1 handsets that were manufactured by Western Electric for non-Bell System phone companies were labeled F1W.  So if you have a handset marked that way it was sold to a small phone company and not released on a Bell System phone.

[bingster]

I never knew that, Dennis.  Thanks!

[Dan/Panther]

So if a F1-W handset is on a 302, it came from another phone, or the 302 was made by another independant company ?
D/P

[Dennis Markham]

No, it was made by Western Electric but FOR another Company...an Independent.  Not part of the Bell System.  Say Fly-By-Nite phone company in Podunk wanted phones, they may have purchased them from Western Electric but would not have been part of the Bell System.  I have a couple of those too.

[McHeath]

Impressive work so far on this phone.  By the time you are done it will be mighty fine methinks.  Gonna have to put a 302 on my Christmas list.