Restoration Techniques A practical guide to the methods I use for restoring French crystal regulators. For many years the debate has raged in clock collecting circles as to whether antique clocks should be restored or not. Advocates on both sides of the issue have strong and often vehement opinions as to the merits of their own approach. In my case, I made the conscious decision that I would rather see my clocks as the French craftsmen saw them when ready for sale, rather than as the often broken and abused items that they had become during their existence. My attitudes were strongly influenced by my past history with the antique car hobby where I always thought that a vehicle looked best restored to its original condition rather than the sad condition it was in when acquired. Restoration of my clocks also created a deep appreciation for the skills and manufacturing methods used in 19th century France. Having had a grandfather of Germanic descent, I was raised to admire Teutonic craftsmanship and look down on anything of French manufacture. Grandpa was wrong. The skill and quality of manufacture manifested by the French during this period were superb, strong, and second to none. A restored clock of the vintage is a thing of beauty and an object of deserved admiration. In this section, I will detail the various steps and techniques which I use for restoration of cases. Movement restoration will be covered in a later essay. The French cases are always an agglomeration of castings, milled extrusions, fabricated sheeting components, and glass (always beveled-sometimes flat, sometimes bowed) joined by blued steel threaded fasteners, indexing pins, and cleverly milled grooves and ridges. The quality and finish of all the components is of a very high quality and discloses "UAW" (my apologies to Walter Reuther's finest) design features so that components can only be joined together in the correct orientation. The usual metal used was brass alloy, harder for the extrusions and castings, and softer for the sheet components. The case parts are all stamped with an identical number if the clock is all original. I always begin the restoration with a thorough examination of the case and movement. Multiple photos are taken for reference and copious notes regarding fasteners and their respective locations are made. Any defects are noted. After the initial assessment, the various pieces are disassembled and labeled with their position and name. Tape tags showing position and orientation are applied to the glass pieces before removal. Disassembly is straight forward but often screws and securing knobs (having been undisturbed for over a century) must be treated with solvents and gentle torch work to facilitate their removal. When all the brass parts are separated, I soak them for 24-48 hours in a basin of warm soapy water and then follow with vigorous brushing to remove all dirt and old polish residue. Occasionally the case parts must be boiled in water with baking soda and allowed to sit overnight if they are seriously filthy. After drying, the parts are laboriously polished on cloth buffing wheels with "White Lightning" and finer rouges. This restores the original brilliant brass shine and rids them any acquired scratches and abrasions. The parts are then thoroughly soaked in detergent solution, brushed, dried, and briskly rubbed with an acetone saturated cloth to remove any traces of rouge, wax, and oils. They are then ready for a spray with gold-tinted lacquer and a "bake" in the sunshine to set and smooth the lacquer. Reassembly is done from the bottom up after the glass panels have been cleaned. The photos that follow show the progress of restoration on clock #26-the crystal columned regulator with laurel leaves. The photos in the top row show the front and rear aspects of the clock as received. The next photo shows the main case components after disassembly and cleaning but before polishing of the brass. The components have been reassembled only for the photo. Normally they would not be put back together again until after polishing and lacquering. Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge it. 
This next row of pictures shows the partial assembly of the case parts after polishing and lacquering on the left followed by two views of the finished product ready for movement insertion and final detailing.    |
