BAKELITE AND PLASTIC COMPOSITES

Is It Bakelite or Catalin?

Catalin and Bakelite are actually the same thing. Both are cast phenolic resins and in the 1930's to 1940'S they were competing companies. Bakelite went out of business and the Catalin Corp bought them, so the lines are very blurred as to identifying exactly which company made what. While the chemical composition differed slightly, the companies merged and manufacturing continued. Catalin and Bakelite are both thermoset cast phenolic resins and it is impossible to tell the difference 60 years after their manufacture. They were both colored (or dyed), Catalin just used more vivid dyes producing brighter colors.




TESTING BAKELITE & THE RESULTS

BAKELITE vs CATALIN:

Any refinished bakelite will not test positive for a couple of years

until it starts to gather patina again.

Some pieces that are Bakelite will not pass some or all standard tests
They include pieces which are very dirty, pieces which have previously had their finish stripped with chemical test agents such as Scrubbing Bubbles, some of the reds, blacks, pieces that have a resin washed coating, items that have been covered with plastics sealant compounds, items that have been sanded and/or newly re-worked pieces made from Bakelite. Items that have been freshly polished also may not test positive.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BAKELITE/CATALIN
Catalin was a thermosetting plastic popular in the 1940's. Chemically, it's a phenol formaldehyde resin almost identical to Bakelite, but because of the different manufacturing process (without using fillers such as sawdust or carbon black ), it is transparent or milky white rather than brown, so unlike Bakelite it can be dyed bright colors or even marbled . This made it more popular than Bakelite, which it quickly replaced for consumer goods.
The Bakelite that used sawdust and wood filler/flour was made into brown or black radio and camera cases, not jewelry.
Bakelite (phenolic) doesn't turn white with moisture. Polyester resins do.

Bakelite acquires an amber cast as it ages, so a bracelet may look green on the inside and amber or brown on the outside. The changing of colors is normal aging (patina) for this chemical composite material.