TreasureHunters
Hero Member
So when doing the 409 test, will the area thats being tested turn yellow or the actual cotton swab itself? Thanks
none yet, just wondering I see bags of costume jewelry at goodwill so Im sure I will come across some soon
That's EXACTLY where I found my first piece. I'm selling it now: Vintage Bakelite Elephant Napkin Ring Brown Rootbeer Color | eBay
The 409 test I read is the best test, but you should clean it off right after in case it could damage the piece. I hear that simichrome polish works very well without damaging the piece, but it will leave the spot you rubbed shinier and polished compared to the rest. Not a good thing if you want that aged patina.
I googled around a lot and seems some stuff called Simichrome works better. I'm not sure if this is true but it said something about it wouldn't rip off the finish and actually just polishes it more, and if not thoroughly cleaned it will not mess up the bakelite. The stuff i saw said the cotton swab will turn yellow, also as it sits on the swab it will continue to keep turning more vibrant yellow for a while.
That's EXACTLY where I found my first piece. I'm selling it now: Vintage Bakelite Elephant Napkin Ring Brown Rootbeer Color | eBay
The 409 test I read is the best test, but you should clean it off right after in case it could damage the piece. I hear that simichrome polish works very well without damaging the piece, but it will leave the spot you rubbed shinier and polished compared to the rest. Not a good thing if you want that aged patina.
Thanks, anyone use this simichrome?
I personally would have put catalin in the title as well as bakelite if for nothing else the possible extra hits from that specific keyword. Bakelite/Catalin is really basically the same stuff & if that piece is from Europe & especially France it probably is catalin not bakelite tho again they are basically the same substance.
wait whats catalin>?
Think when some French company bought out Bakelite it was renamed to Catalin. Also think they started to make white and see through versions. Not an expert though so don't quote me on that.
Great information, inspectorgadget! Is there any way to tell which is which other than appearance? For instance, some test that they react differently to? Or visually are they quite distinctively different with little/no overlap?
IMO They actually look nothing alike... think of old toaster handles (real dark chocolate brown, flat color + non transparent) & then look at what you have which is brown with some green & is slightly translucent or opaque & not a flat color.
What you have is technically Catalin I can tell from the pictures, there is no filler material in your piece. But again the terms are interchangeable & both terms are used to describe both materials by people. Catalin is technically correct & yet bakelite is not really "mis-describing" it.
**edit** The 409 & semichrome test will not or can not tell the difference between the 2 substances.
Thanks that helps a lot! I have a pretty good idea of how to differentiate between the two now. Would "genuine" Bakelite fetch a higher price than a Catalin piece of the same design? Or does it simply depend on the design/ desirability of each piece? I hope you don't mind me picking your brain on the subject!
So does that mean that asbestos will only be present in those dark colors and it would be safe to work with pieces that are lighter in color? I feel like running out and looking for more pieces now :P. I saw that a lot of the highest valued "bakelite" pieces were the old tube radios and "cherry amber" large bead necklaces & prayer beads. I'm still looking to find bakelite pieces.. let alone figure out which ones hold genuine value. I'll figure it out eventually!