I recently aquired and Alexander Graham Plane Phone, that used to be a nice creamy white, but is know a dingy yellow with creamy white spots on the bottom and under the receiver.

I would like to clean it, but I don't know which cleaner would be safe to use. I'm not sure what caused the color shift (sun, smoke, general graime, etc) but the phone is in great shape minus the dirt. Should I use some kind of rubbing/buffing compound to restore it's glossy sheen?

Thanks.

Try window cleaner first then go to 409 cleaner then to comet then to a bottle of wine...for you not the plastic. good luck. Tristan.

Novus Plastic Restorative Product works beautifully without damaging your plastic goods according to some posts I have read on another site. URL: http://www.noscratch.com/novus/uses.shtml</url>

You might also try common home items like vinegar on a Q-tip on a heavily dinged area in an inconspicuous spot.

Also rubbing alcohol but still the Q-tip small inconspicuous spot test.

Good Luck and if you happen to buy the Novus Plastic Product Report back and let me know how it worked.

Novus is relatively safe and easy to use. It might be too late, but do not use alcohol, 409, or windex. Plastic can be stressed by the manufacturing process, heat, light and time. Many household cleansers will cause the plastic to craze. Depending on the level of stress, the object could develop small hairline cracks or even break. Also, I would not advise buffing with a buffing wheel unless you know exactly what you are doing.

(I am a museum exhibit specialist specializing in acrylic.) .

Hi. I have been using novus for years. I became hip to it when I needed to clean the playfields of my old 70's pinball machines. I found that it is an "industry standard" in that area and bought some from a local amusements/arcade distributor. I removed all the lucite and plastic parts (most of which are silkscreened, too)from the board and used the light scratch stuff (novus #2). Was amazed at how well it worked! Cleaned the painted sealed playfield, too. It removed the "pinball dirt" (black streaks that build up from the ball following the same path over and over.) It seemed really safe and effective on the painted surfaces just like the other pinball restore people told me it would. Just lent it to a friend to clean the plexi of a framed piece of his artwork for a show, and he was amazed, too. Next, I am trying it on my white plastic mushroom terrarium that has yellowed in storage, and on the cases of my old tube radios. I think it will do the job. Novus is really good stuff and worth a shot, and once you have it you will be surprised at how many things you can clean up with it. I sure was! I have had great success w/ mine, but as always, test a small spot just to be safe. NC

NOVUS all the way. We use it to restore everythign plastic, lucite, bakelite or fiberglass. You can purchase it from us in all differnet sizes and all three of the stages if you need them at www.vintageswank.com

Hi,
The unfortunate thing about plastic, being man-made, is that it does not have any of the natural qualities like leather & wood that can heal themselves with the right treatment. Plastics (and there are a bunch of kinds, based on the chemistry & heat process) will be with us forever, and objects will get ugly before wearing out. Hopefully us collectors & dealers will keep some of these cool things out of the landfills!

Sun damage can cause fading of color, like you have described. Not much you can do about it. I've occasionally tried a magic marker in the right color to bring back faded color.

I've found that Brasso (yup, the brass cleaner) can do wonders on cleaning light scratches & scuffs on hard plastic & acrylic. The trick is to try lighter, less invasive methods first, such as windex. Brasso is a light abrasive, so be warned that it can scratch certain surfaces (such as glossy surfaces). But it must have some kind of oil-based chemical in it because it does a nice job shining up dull plastic. Be sure to buff off all the white residue. Test in an inconspicuous spot first. Finally, a quick wipe with Armourall to recondition and add shine. I just listed a Kartell umbrella stand on my website that I cleaned up with the Brasso/Armorall treatment. It didn't get rid of any deep scratches, but helped alot with the light scuffs.

Rumor has it a car cleaning product called Back to Black is great on black bakelite phones, but I have not had a chance to try it! Recently learned about Novus, can’t wait to give that a try….Comet, on certain rough plastic surfaces, can remove dark scuffs. But a lot of this is trial & error. Just test first!