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Telephone painting techniques/results

Started by BDM, October 22, 2008, 12:24:07 AM

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Dennis Markham

Thanks for the info, I will be looking for Dawn at my local grocery store.

bingster

I bought a can of Klean Strip Premium Stripper, and tried it out on the 202 that I'm repainting.  Here are a couple photos of the stripping.  After applying the stripper, I waited fifteen minutes and saw a very wrinkly, buckled layer of paint.  After scraping that away, I was met with... ANOTHER layer of black paint!  So now I think I'm FINALLY down to the original black finish.  To recap, the Dawn Power Dissolver removed two layers of black paint, the stripper removed a third layer, and there's still some of a fourth layer remaining.  Once the stripper had removed the heavy black coat, what was left is very thin and very tenacious.  A couple more applications of stripper would probably remove the remainder, but the surface is very smooth right now, so I think I'm going to leave it as it is, and lay the primer right on top.

I'll add more photos as the painting progresses.

Photo 1:  Phone before stripping.
Photo 2:  Stripper after fifteen minutes.
Photo 3:  Results of that stripping.
= DARRIN =



Dennis Markham

Bingster, I'm taking notes on your progress.  I have that D1 (I think I mentioned) that I want to repaint.

My first attempt at finding Dawn proved negative.  I went to my local (brand new, huge) Kroger.  No Dawn Power Dissolver.  I plan to check a couple more places.  If I could get the brushed paint off the ringer box without disrupting the black paint below it would be great.

Dennis Markham

#33
Strike two.  I went to WalMart in search of the Dawn Power Dissolver.  I should have consulted the internet FIRST.  Now I know what I'm looking for.  Here is a photo from their web page:

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/powerdissolver.do

Their site even tells one where it can be purchased.  One of them was the WalMart store I went to...must have been in some are other than with the dish soap.

Phonesrfun

Not all Wal-Mart stores are created equally.  I live in a small town.  Small town=Small Wal-Mart
-Bill G

Dennis Markham

I have one (WalMart) two miles away in two directions.  So I'll check the other one.   Unfortunately there are five within a ten mile driving radius.  I'm sure I'll find it at one of them. 

Greg G.

#36
Quote from: Dennis Markham on August 01, 2009, 08:48:57 AM
Bingster, I'm taking notes on your progress.  I have that D1 (I think I mentioned) that I want to repaint.


Me too.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Greg G.

While we're on the subject of paint strippers, one thing that's been popping into my head is marine-grade paint stripper.  I used it on one of my aluminum scuba tanks years ago to remove old paint and it worked very well.  It was some blue-colored, very thick, almost gel-like stuff that I just slapped on with a paint brush.  I didn't have a shop then either, but just did it outside with some newspapers underneath.  It worked within a few hours and I just used a putty knife to remove the paint, it just peeled off easily.  I bought it at a marine/boat supply store.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

bingster

#38
Here are the results of my painting of the 202 base in my previous post, directly above.  The paint I used was Valspar premium enamel.  I had no particular reason for choosing it other than the fact that the color ("antique white") perfectly matched the ivory 354 receiver cap that I took to the hardware store to match.  My 354 has aged slightly to a mellow ivory, so I decided to paint the 202 in a color as close to that as I could get.  I bought grey primer from the same range.



I tackled the dial first.  I taped all the "works" so that nothing would get damaged.  I could have torn the dial down and painted the entire case, but I thought that if I painted just the visible part, the upper rim, the dial could much more easily be taken back to black if need be.  Painting only the upper rim would also preserve all the stampings on the back of the dial. 

2 )  Here's the dial all taped up, and after this it received one coat of primer and two coats of paint.  I left this to air dry without trying to put it in the oven, because I was afraid to melt the black plastic/rubber collar on the back side of the pulse pawl.  The second photo is after the paint had dried and the tape had been removed.





3 )  After carefully smoothing the surface of the D1 base with 0000 steel wool, I applied two coats of primer.  After this was done, I was very disappointed, because the primer showed that I hadn't done such a great job of smoothing the surface as I had thought, particularly on the cradle.



4 )  After the coats of primer, into the oven it went at 200 degrees for about an hour to harden the primer enough for me to try to smooth the surface a bit.  So using wet steel wool, I went to work, and made a little progress, but it still wasn't quite where I wanted it to be.  I decided to go ahead with the paint anyway, figuring I'd smooth the paint out if it needed it.  I put four coats of paint on the base because it wasn't easy to cover the primer for some reason.  Maybe that's just the way it works, but I don't have enough experience with painting to really know.  At any rate, four coats it got, and into the oven it went at 200 degrees for two hours.  The paint looked surprisingly good before it went in, but when it came out it was spectacular.  I tried to get some photos showing reflections in the paint, but I had trouble with all but the photo of the underside of the cradle.  In that one, you can see the reflections on the super smooth, hard, glossy surface. 









I've got all the handset parts taken apart and I'll post results of that part of the project next.
= DARRIN =



Phonesrfun

Great work, Bingster.  I wish I could paint like that.

-Bill G

ntophones

#40
That looks absolutely beautiful! Mine was not that smooth at all. I used Krylon Black Gloss for mine (after Krylon primer --several coats and sanding those coats). Then, I had to wet sand mine. Never as smooth and shiny as yours.
Next time, I'm going for the Valspar, that's for sure. I did also bake mine in the oven around 180.
As you can tell, my painting is still a little pebbly, after wet sanding and polishing.
--nto

Dennis Markham

Nice job Bingster, and nice photos.  It looks real good, especially the photo with the dial in place.  I'm looking forward to seeing your photos of the finished handset.  Nto, your phone also looks good.  Especially for your first try at painting.   I have not been brave enough yet to try it but I have a D1 that is in such bad shape I can't hurt it.  I"m going to have to give it a shot too.  Thanks for your tips.

ntophones

Dennis, thanks. I really appreciate the comment. I am enjoying my phone now, but, next time I paint, I hope to get my phone as smooth and shiny as Bingster has. I'd definitely go with the paints Bingster used.
BTW, my handle really looks pretty bad there. I polished it,but I'm thinking the coating is somewhat damaged. What do you and others do, polish with black polish? I don't want to paint. What I ended up doing was putting some brasso on it, after the Novus. Then, I just used some Son of a Gun (like Armorall) to get a shine.
--nto

Dennis Markham

Nto, I have used black shoe polish on Bakelite but it really is only polish and doesn't do much more than put a shine on it just as the other polish does.  The surface of the Bakelite is so hard that it doesn't really absorb the pigment. 

Even though  you have polished it sometimes you can make it better but just polishing it some more.  When I do Bakelite, especially the F1's and the E1's I just keep at it until it's about as good as it can get.  Meaning, that when you think it's done, do it again.  You will find that as you polish the rag will often turn yellow.  I continue to polish until no more yellow appears on the application cloth.  I also have found that when I polish with quick movement, the friction will warm the handset (part being polished) and remove even more of the yellowing.  So I will hand polish the handset, then use the Ryobi as the speed of the rotating head with the terry cloth pad cover will provide friction and remove even more yellowing.  When the residue on the rag turns to a gray color then you've pretty much got it as good as it's going to get.

I have never tried spraying it with any artificial substances to enhance the look.  Sometimes they just are what they are.  Just remember, many of those E1's are from the thirties.  That's a lot of human touching---greasy, dirty, oily, etc. 

But give the shoe polish a try, maybe it will add just the right shine that will make it better.  Some of that stuff, like Armorall makes them greasy and will eventually dry out over time.  That's been my experience.  Mileage may vary.

ntophones

Oh, I never knew you had to polish until the rag turned gray! I'm going to polish some more! I'll let you know.
Thanks!
--nto