Cleaning

[RogerH]

Hi, I have another lovely Smiths Mantle Clock on the bench. the case is in good condition but inside it appears to have been drenched in some gunky oil and left in a garage!!

The time and chime trains have cleaned up ok but the back plate looks awful. it's been lacquered and is very dark as well as rusty. Would the Laquerre have been put on by the manufacturer? is this something that should been stripped off? I've not had one so grubby before so any good tips on how best to clean it would be much appreciated. 

In the picture shows you can see the right hand side which I've given a bit of a clean.

Edited August 5, 2021 by RogerH
Photo added

[rodabod]

That flaking/corrosion at the holes is likely to spread oil. Sometimes you can remove lacquer with water-based cleaner like Elma 9:1 and perhaps with heating applied. On a later clock like that, I would personally use ultrasonic action too.

[RogerH]

8 minutes ago, rodabod said:

That flaking/corrosion at the holes is likely to spread oil. Sometimes you can remove lacquer with water-based cleaner like Elma 9:1 and perhaps with heating applied. On a later clock like that, I would personally use ultrasonic action too.

Thanks Rodabod....if only I had an ultrasonic cleaner  I may try the Elma route and just strip it right back. As you say, the holes are already in quite a state.

[oldhippy]

The lacquer is put on at the time of manufacture. I don't recommend ultrasonic cleaners.   Horolene Clock Cleaning Concentrated Fluid is best make sure you completely  cover the plates. Nail varnish remover will also remove the lacquer.  

[RogerH]

do I need to re-lacquer the plates afterwards or will a polish do - possibly the chalk method? I've looked up both Elma and Horolene and both do a similar job. tbh I'm leaning towards Horolene - I'll give it a go and let you know.

[oldhippy]

No to both. You need a good ventilated place with Horoline its ammonia based so it takes your breath away, use rubber gloves as well very fine steel wool is good to clean with. 

[watchweasol]

Its a shame to see it like that. The engine turned plates look when cleaned and polished, good luck with the clean up,   wear a mask if using Ammoniated cleaners and as OH says plenty of ventilation. 

[JohnR725]

20 hours ago, oldhippy said:

Horoline its ammonia based

you also want to be careful in that you mix it properly and it doesn't actually say in the instructions but I would not heat it up. Ammonia does a really beautiful job of cleaning but it can get carried away and start etching things you want to keep an eye on it.

 

[oldhippy]

You don't heat that stuff up. It gives full instructions on how to use it on the tin. 

[RogerH]

Panic not my friends, I'm not a complete novice with Ammonia based cleaner - I currently use Andrew Firth Cleaner which sounds pretty similar to the other versions and so far it's done quite a good job with cleaning. I've just generally cleaned the main plates by hand so as not to damage them - it was just that this particular plate is pretty bad and I didn't know if there was a better way. I'll send the pics when done.

[oldhippy]

Andrew Firth Cleaner. That's a new one to me. 

[RogerH]

I can't actually remember where I got it from but it seems pretty good. I now have some Horclean so I'll try that and compare.

Meanwhile see the final plate cleaned and buffed. It has a few historical scratches and marks but overall doesn't look too bad.

[oldhippy]

That looks better. Never ever machine buff any part of any clock. it can cause irreversible damage. Making it nice and shiny will not make it work better.  

[RogerH]

26 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

That looks better. Never ever machine buff any part of any clock. it can cause irreversible damage. Making it nice and shiny will not make it work better.  

it was all done by hand, I just meant I buffed it up with a cloth. It's always satisfying when you take an old clock in a poor state and bring it back to life.

[rodabod]

Looks nice and clean now. Did you lose the perlage finish? 

[oldhippy]

1 hour ago, RogerH said:

it was all done by hand, I just meant I buffed it up with a cloth. It's always satisfying when you take an old clock in a poor state and bring it back to life.

That's fine then. 

[RogerH]

1 hour ago, rodabod said:

Looks nice and clean now. Did you lose the perlage finish? 

Sadly yes, it was all part of the lacquering so once that was gone it was just back to the smooth finish. So not as fancy but still a lot better than it was. Interesting though as I thought that sort of finish would have been part of the plate but once the lacquer was removed there was no sign of it. It maybe they put it on so as to make it look more expensive than it actually is.