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Old 14th Apr 2016, 7:54 am   #1
Ryan_1993
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Default Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Hi All,

I recently got a Bakelite 332L Telephone from Banana Warehouse in York, very grimy, but it shined up so well after a hot disinfectant bath and an hour long Bakelite polish.

A few pictures of before and after.
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Last edited by AC/HL; 14th Apr 2016 at 12:54 pm. Reason: Images uploaded
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Old 14th Apr 2016, 8:46 am   #2
dagskarlsen
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Nice phone, and you have done a great job!

dsk
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Old 14th Apr 2016, 11:17 pm   #3
Herald1360
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Now it needs a braided handset cord to complete the transformation...
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 11:31 am   #4
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Yes, nice work, Ryan.

I agree with Chris, though if the 1960s curly cords are in good condition, I leave them in place as they are very practical, and are part of the phone's history after all. What are the codes printed underneath? Any sign of a label with a sixties date code applied over the original printing?

Be a bit wary of "hot disinfectant baths" etc. as I find that hot water can spoil the Bakelite's finish meaning it will never polish up perfectly.

How much did you buy it for, if that's not a rude question? Like a lot of vintage gear, the bottom seems to have fallen out of the market for these phones over the last few years, and I have picked up a couple quite inexpensively on eBay recently.

Nick.
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 11:51 am   #5
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herald1360 View Post
Now it needs a braided handset cord to complete the transformation...
The new cotton handset cord just arrived this morning , the 1960s replacement wasn't in a good way twisted and covered in paint. Although, I have successfully re-currled some in the past. For my Trimphone one I heated my oven to about 150 degrees and curled it round an extra log screw driver and it fixed it and it looks perfect now.
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 11:58 am   #6
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickthedentist View Post
Be a bit wary of "hot disinfectant baths" etc. as I find that hot water can spoil the Bakelite's finish meaning it will never polish up perfectly.
I've never had an issue with the disinfectant bath. I've done it to four 332's over the years, as well as my 1935 232 and all have been fine . Its just a tub full of hot soapy water fairly liquid and a capful of Dettol. Afterwards, I left them to dry out in the sun and then a thorough Bakelite polish with the GPO Formula No. 5.

I paid £60 for it which is roughly the going rate for one unconverted. A fully converted one will fetch about £90-150 depending on the condition etc. The 232's with a Bell Set No 26 will fetch about £200-£300 if they are converted. These models do tend to hold value better as they are a more desirable phone overall.

This 332L has a stamp date from the GPO refurb centre of 67/02 so it was installed in a home/office quite late to be honest, as most had been phased out by this period and replaced with the 700 series.

This is the latest I've seen on a stamp, curious to know If any were used and serviced into the 1970s as rental stock?
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 11:58 am   #7
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

I've done the same with boiling water, but never dared to use an oven.
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 12:06 pm   #8
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickthedentist View Post
I agree with Chris, though if the 1960s curly cords are in good condition, I leave them in place as they are very practical, and are part of the phone's history after all. What are the codes printed underneath? Any sign of a label with a sixties date code applied over the original printing?
One small point re the curly handset cord - the one on the phone looks very like one from a 700 series phone 'made to fit'. All the genuine 300 type curly handset cords that I have/have seen, have different ends to the 700 series as per the attached photos. That will give an idea if the cord is an original one.

Ian
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 12:08 pm   #9
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Having taken the phone apart I can confirm it is a proper cord for a 300/200 series phone. It had the string attached inside as I cut it to removed it from the phone. The end inside the receiver also looks like that too.
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 3:29 pm   #10
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

I thought the same, Ian, but on looking, the one on my 232 has got that 700-series ring where the actual cord enters the handset grommet. I keep threatening to made a braided one.

As for cleaning methods, it should be borne in mind that telephones aren't actually Bakelite but urea formaldehyde so behave differentially to wireless cases.

— Joe
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Old 15th Apr 2016, 5:19 pm   #11
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

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As for cleaning methods, it should be borne in mind that telephones aren't actually Bakelite but urea formaldehyde so behave differentially to wireless cases.
Not sure about that, Joe. I thought the black ones were Bakelite, whereas the coloured ones were UF or similar, though often misdescribed as "coloured Bakelite".

N.
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Old 16th Apr 2016, 12:04 am   #12
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

It certainly isn't a point I'd argue, Nick. I read it somewhere — I thought it was on Bob Freshwater's site but I can't find it again — where it was stated that Bakelite would have been too weak. Of course just because somebody has written it doesn't make it correct.

From my own dealings with them they feel more like the stuff that modern electrical fittings are made from and are also much easier to polish up to a high gloss than, say, a DAC90.

— Joe
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Old 16th Apr 2016, 11:25 am   #13
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

I don't have a frame of reference to speak of but the forks and plunger on the 200 series don't "feel" like Bakelite. They seem softer and malleable.
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Old 16th Apr 2016, 11:26 am   #14
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

That's certainly true. Weren't they cellulose acetate and prone to "deliquiscence" or something like that??
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Old 17th Apr 2016, 4:04 pm   #15
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Quote:
Originally Posted by ThePillenwerfer View Post
I thought the same, Ian, but on looking, the one on my 232 has got that 700-series ring where the actual cord enters the handset grommet. I keep threatening to made a braided one.
Mike (newsandels) has put one on eBay, item No 391435406362, and all his stock is straight from the PO stores. All mine came from a different source - BICC Helsby works in the days when there used to be 300 type phones still around. Could be different manufacturers had slight differences? Fascinating to watch the cords being made and I invariably came away with a pile of 'freebies'. I used to look after a vintage automatic exchange in the works - now long gone.

Ian
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Old 17th Apr 2016, 10:33 pm   #16
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan_1993 View Post
This 332L has a stamp date from the GPO refurb centre of 67/02 so it was installed in a home/office quite late to be honest, as most had been phased out by this period and replaced with the 700 series.

This is the latest I've seen on a stamp, curious to know If any were used and serviced into the 1970s as rental stock?
There were 2 in my primary school into the early 1970s, with braided line and handset cords.
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Old 18th Apr 2016, 1:48 pm   #17
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

Contrary to what appears on some websites, the Tele 7XX series didn't replace the 3XX series in 1959 - that came much later. I've just looked at the GPO's 'Telephone Service Instructions' issued in 1966 and believe it or not, the 'standard telephone' issued when you had a line installed was still a 200 or 300 type - you had to pay extra to have a 'modern telephone' (i.e. a 700 type) installed regardless of the colour. I'm sure the instruction would still apply in the following year as things didn't change too often in those days. So it is not out of the ordinary to see a 2XX/3XX telephone 'refurb'ed' at that time. I was still ordering and fitting 3XX types in 1967 at the GPO location I was responsible for at that time.

The 1983 Section 14 'Telephone Instruments' of the BT Vocabulary of Engineering Stores still has one or two 300 type telephones that could be ordered!

Ian
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Old 25th Apr 2016, 12:19 am   #18
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Default Re: Bakelite 332 Restoration Cleaning

I remember my Auntie having a 300 series in the living room and a 200 in the bedroom, and that would be early 1970's. She lived in a house that resembled the set from In Loving Memory. At some point the downstairs phone changed to a red 700 but the 200 stayed as it was.
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