Posted 9 years ago
snowedin
(1 item)
My parents bought this clock in the 1970s and now it is mine. I've had it cleaned and serviced and it runs nicely (I wind it once a week). it chimes at the bottom of the hour once and the number of the hour at the top. From the crossed arrows, I understand it is a Hamburg American clock, and it has a small brass plate on the front with the date of January 1929, so it must have been made some time around or prior to that. These are just my guesses so please correct me if you know better!
My questions are, how do I clean the face? It seems to be metal and I wouldn't want to remove all of the patina, but it is rather dingy. Also sometimes the number of chimes gets "off" because it occasionally skips a chime, and it takes a few days to get back on track. Is there anything I should do to fix that?
Thank you very much, I appreciate any advice!!
Ps - I apologize for the sideways photos.
Have whoever serviced it address the issue with the hour strike.
Regarding the silvered dial, I'd leave it alone. If you try anything strong or even mildly abrasive you'll ruin the silvering and it will look worse than it does now.
If you're determined to do something try going over it with a warm solution of detergent (like Dawn). Don't scrub, just gently rub to remove any dirt/oil with a clean, soft cloth. Finish by using a paste of Cream of Tartar gently rubbing the dial again using a clean cloth. The Cream of Tartar may "brighten" the silvering without removing it to expose the underlying brass. The silvering is *extremely* thin so be careful if you go this route and do so at your own risk.
See this thread for a brief discussion: http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?75373-Gilbert-clock-face