Over Bleached Pink Wall Phone Parts

[gands-antiques]

Hello,
 
I tried to bleach some really faded pink wall phone parts with Clairol 40 volume cream and after 2 hours in a bag and in the sun, the handset, caps and dial plate improved a lot but had some splotchy coloring.
 
So, I ran them through another 2 hours and this time they came out completely white.  Next, I ran the casing through a 3 hour soak and it turned out all white too.

I tried to sand the white color off some of the first parts with various grit sizes of wet sanding paper and after about 2 hours of sanding I didn't get anywhere. 
 
Does anyone know if there is away to get the parts back to pink without damaging the plastic? 

Any suggestions would really be appreciated.

Thanks,
Gary

[LarryInMichigan]

If the plastic has been bleached too much, I can't imagine that there is a way to put the color back.  I often prefer to use liquid chlorine bleach and water to avoid a blotchy outcome.  I think that it takes longer than the peroxide, but the results can be more even.

Larry

[gands-antiques]

Thanks Larry...

I haven''t heard about using liquid chlorine.  I've been told the white surface can be removed but wet sanding is just too labor intensive.  I'm holding out for a solution.


Thanks,
Gary   

[Doug Rose]

I have only used a Bleach on Ivory sets. It removes the yellowing and makes a huge difference. I have never used it on colors as I was told it would fade the colors.

Use Vaseline over the vermillion, to save the dates....Doug

[gands-antiques]

Thanks Doug....

Harry Smith told me about Clairol cream volume 40 several years ago and I have used it successfully on turquoise, aqua, green and white but this is the first pink I've tried.

After the pink over bleach, I was told, for some reason pink is really tricky. If I knew about the pink, I would.have watched it a lot closed. I just threw the parts in a bag and came back in a couple of hours.

I'm wondering if something like a glass media (or similar) with low pressure blast might take the white layer off.  If i had a blast cabinet I'd try it.   I don't have a lot to lose at this point

Thanks,
Gary

[LarryInMichigan]

You could keep bleaching it and call it a white phone.

I believe that pink is more delicate than other colors.  I haven't had much success bleaching pink back to the proper original color, only making it look less peach-like.

Larry

[TelePlay]

320 grit dry sandpaper followed by 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and finally 2000 grit all wet sandpaper wiping down the surface with a mixture of 25% acetone and 75% isopropyl alcohol to speed up the transition between grits.

Then 2 applications of Novus 2 will have it back to NOS near mirror shiny pink.

This is one of several topics I posted showing how it's done in about 10 minutes a side.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20531.0

You've damaged the surface chromophores using those oxidation chemical to the point where they are not absorbing any light frequencies thereby reflecting all light making it look white, just what bleach and peroxide are used for to brighten dingy white sheets.

All that damaged plastic surface layer must be removed to expose the original plastic pink chromophores, make it look like new. 320 dry will save time. 400 to 2000 is recovery from the rough 320.

Everything you need to know what you did and the only way to recover from that damage is in this topic.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=23386.0

PS: bead blasting using any media will ruin the plastic, will never be smooth ever again without starting with 320 grit sandpaper on a sanding block to even out the pitted surface. So, start with 320 and leave the blaster in the closet.

[gands-antiques]

Thanks a lot John.  I really appreciate the information.

I will use the method you described today.


Gary

[Key2871]

That is good information..