Friday, July 11, 2014

Please Don't Clock Me...

The 4th of July seems to always involve a project for me! Remeber this $2.00 Clock I picked up at the "Happy Days" lunch box estate sale? Well, it needed a little TLC... if you are a "clock purist" you might not want to read anymore. 
My amazing Dad, once again saved the day by welding a new point back on the top of the clock.
 (Missing in this picture.) 
I then took the clock apart to repaint the black spoke backing.
(Made in Germany, December 6, 1954)
The entire clock was held together by these three mounting screws on the back. Before I painted the spokes I thought I would try to polish up the gold plate on the clock surround.
(You know what I shouldn't do? THAT.)
The gold was a little pitted with rust and when I tried to clean the gold plate, it just came right off...
(The gold plate on the inside of the clock surround.)
Since I had ruined the finish, the clock doesn't work, and it was only $2.00 I decided to just paint the surround gold. 
(Almost as good!)
While the paint dried, I polished up the clock and moved the stopped hands to 2:00, in homage to the Casablanca's late night 2 O'clock Club!

(Ta-da! Finished product.)
For something that was $2.00 and I was worried about painting, it turned out looking pretty sharp! It also compliments the "space age" feel of the Sputnik light and theme of the formal living room. I'm pretty pleased with the result, and who knows maybe someday after the bathroom is in I can have the works fixed... right after I get the Predicta up and running!

-Mick-

3 comments:

Dana@Mid2Mod said...

I'm enough of a purist that I like to try to reupholster thing in fabrics as near to the original as possible, but that's about as far as it goes. I think some things have taken too much of a beating over the years to still be pretty, so I don't mind restoring them. I think your clock looks beautiful now. You and your dad did another amazing job.

ThrifterSisters said...

I have projects that have been sitting in the corner of my garage for 2 years. I wish I had your motivation!

Clock looks awesome! Love the 2 O'clock homage :-)

Erica

Vonlipi said...

That sounds like a project I would tackle exactly the same way!

You did amazing!