atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Antique Telephones Telephone restoration

Hi,

I am in the process of restoring an early 70's key set (1A2 rotory) in moss green. I have completely sanded it to 2000 grit, and am polishing the plastic with Novus. Everything has been done by hand as I do not really want a buffing wheel unit in my home until we move to a larger abode.

The handset looks perfect and the body is getting there.

Here is my problem...

Compared to the rest of the phone plastics, the dial is really grungy and discolored. The whole phone was a nasty brownish grey green, both from years of flourscent lighting and I am certain a fair amount of direct sunlight. I have returned the phone body to its original color, but the dial looks, well gross. I do not want to sand the dial, as the numbers will come off. I also do not want to get grit and plastic residue into the dial mechanism.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again for any help!

Joe

Take the finger wheel off and clean the dial face with something like simple green. Then get a new finger wheel. Do a search for something like "phone parts" in the forum search engine, for suppliers of NOS and repro parts.

The good news is that many of the dial plates have the numbers molded into them, meaning that the white numbers are actually white plastic. It is just an outer layer of green plastic. You'll need to check the back side of it to make sure before you get too brave with abrasives. If you luck out and have a dial of this vintage, your polishing will brighten the numbers as well.

As for the key buttons, finger wheel, handset parts, etc., I have plenty of that stuff. Just make up a list of what you need and send me a PM.

BTW: Are you familiar with the manner in which you remove the finger wheel itself from the dial?