Older tansformers are often dull and chalky looking. Is there any good way to get that high gloss black finish restored ,or once its gone its gone?
Steve
Steve .... I know it sounds crazy but renew car polish ... but if it's faded not chalked ... I don't think anything will bring her back .
Yep, that Bakelite fades a bit over time. Try this. If you can get the shell off the better but it is not necessary. Clean with a gentle dish soap and an artist brush. I use Palmolive. lightly rinse or remove the soap with a paper towel and water. Let dry. Then take Pledge and spray it on a paper towel. Gently polish the bake lite to a luster. stay away from the printed letters and numbers. I cleaned my ZW and TW in an afternoon and it still shines like new.
Pledge furniture polish is what I use also
Jim
Thanks Guys I'll have to give ita try.
Steve,
I have found that Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish cleans and shines bakelite as well. Try it on the inside of the case first though. I found that it removed a lot of ground in dirt that other methods didn't. The case was noticeably smoother and had a nice shine to it. Some guys wet sand bakelite, but I haven't tried that yet.
Thanks from me too. Think I will work on mine.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
On unfinished Bakelite, the haze is often caused by the phenolic drying out. I wipe mine with a rage impregnated with WD-40 once or twice a year. Works great.
Jon
"I wipe mine with a rage...once or twice a year." Calm down, Jon. It's just a hobby...;-)
Bob Nelson
Well that was one goofy typo! Thanks for catching it. It seems there are some Type A people out there who do feel rage over their hobby, but I'm not one of them. Not when there's a new train box to view!
I also collect telephones, and it's fairly common for bakelite telephone handsets to lose their shine after several years of use. I've recently had a good bit of luck restoring the shine on them using Semichrome metal polish.
One of my ZWs is not very shiney, despite the fact that it's been washed and treated using all of the usual tricks(Pledge, Armor-All, WD-40, Brasso). As soon as I get a chance, I'm going to hit it with Semichrome, and see if that does the trick.
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