Cleaning Bakelite?

[Sandy G]

I've used Flitz and/or Simichrome on Bakelite, but have found the polishing compound/carnauba treatment works the best. Flitz/Simichrome are a little more aggressive, but harder to get off, & I think the key is the waxing step. Interestingly, it doesn't seem to make much difference if you wash the bakelite off beforehand or not-in fact, washing it may make things a bit tougher. I think bakelite is semi-porous...water won't go thru it, but I think it will absorb water to a degree. Bakelite is VERY "funny" stuff to deal with. Never have found ANYTHING that will glue it back together-if its broke, its broke, & that's that. It IS brittle-DON't drop a bakelite radio case on the floor, if you can help it. And its not particularly hard-you can scratch it easily.The mottledy-brown color is not too appealing to a lot of people, but its all they had back in the 1930s-'40s.