Making over a Vintage Phone

Now, I stated in my post about my Production Design Work that I had to make-over a phone that some lady decided to destroy with paper mache and glitter glue. I thought that since it's such a big project, and was quite fun, that I'd share the process with y'all.

The BEFORE photo

Step 1: I popped off all those dreaded diamontes. Diamontes are a good thing (i.e. Blingin' Headphones), but only when they're done properly. Cheap plastic Diamontes in baby pink, green and blue are not a pretty sight.

Step 2: I removed the cover of the phone and the earpiece from the electronics bit. It was a bit difficult because the lady painted over all of the screws, so I had to dig around to find where I could separate it.

Step 3: To loosen all the glue on the paper mache, I soaked the cover and the earpiece in water overnight. By the next morning it was flexible enough to scrape off. Which leads to step 4:

Step 4: I scraped off all the junk. Now this was a big feat! There was a layer of paint, 2 layers of paper mache and a layer of glitter glue. I used a paint scraper and a stanley knife to scrape off everything. It took about 3 hours to clean.

Step 4: My dad (I think he was bored and he just decided to do it himself) sanded down the whole phone with sand paper designed for plastics. This took off the laquer layer so when we spray painted it the paint would stick. (These are photos of me sanding the other phone I bought - I need 2 red phones for the play)

Step 5: I spray painted it. Using special spray paint for plastics, I laid out the pieces of the phone over newspaper and tried to evenly paint over all the surfaces. Spray painting evenly is a skill, and one I haven't yet mastered, so I had to let the pieces dry and paint a second coat, and then a third.

Step 6: The plastic paint was supposed to have a glossy finish, but it didn't turn out that way. Probably because we hacked at the phone so much with the sand paper that the surface was too uneven. So, after all the red coats had dried, I spray painted 3 final coats of clear glossy paint. This paint also filled in all the cracks to create a smooth surface.

Step 7: Once all the paint had dried, I had to assemble it all back together. This included the electronics, which I'm sure I got wrong. The phones aren't in working order anyways, so there's no point. 

The AFTER Photo 

They look good, eh?

I'm still working on costumes for "The Schelling Point." I don't want to post all of my work, but I will tell you guys how to make a tutu next.