[TR] Cleaning Bakelite without turning finish to dull haze - was Control Head

[spook01@comcast.net]

Interestingly, bakelite is sort of an early plastic. Made of a formaldehyde resin and dirt, dust, ground up wood, it was cured by heat.  It's non conductive, so everyone loved it!  It was used in electrical, cars, boats.....even jewelry!  It came in a wide variety of colors, some swirled, depending on what was mixed with the resin.
Kinda interesting stuff. I have a old shoe shine kit made of the stuff.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

----- Reply message -----
From: "Randall" <TR3driver at ca.rr.com>
To: "'list Triumph'" <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Subject: [TR] Cleaning Bakelite without turning finish to dull haze - was Control Head
Date: Sat, Oct 22, 2011 19:16


> Please add your two cents to this thread - I'd like to hear 
> what others have
> done or their contrary opinions.

I'll add only that I believe exposure to the elements (and age) will also
change the finish of the Bakelite.  

Whether that counts as "destroyed" or not kind of depends on whether you own
a 50-60 year old car, or a modern reproduction of an old car.  The first
TR3A I ever saw over 35 years ago (and fell in love with) had that soft dark
brown finish on the control head and knobs, so to me it seems "right".

There were also different techniques used for producing Bakelite (strictly
speaking, the term "Bakelite" covers several similar but not identical
substances), and they didn't all create the same finish.  Perhaps someone
older than I can say whether TR components actually had that shiny black
finish (like an old telephone) when they were new.

-- Randall  


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