Ansonia Zenith Crystal Regulator

[macaw]

These are before and after restoration pics of my Ansonia Zenith Crystal Regulator with jeweled pendulum and sash. I replated all the gold and replaced the rhinestones. No metal "finishes" were used.

 

[jmclaugh]

Nice job.

 

[new2clocks]

Excellent job! Congrats!

Regards

 

[Schatznut]

That is beautiful! How did you go about restoring the face?

 

[macaw]

That is beautiful! How did you go about restoring the face?

I managed to find nos dials on Ebay that matched the original perfectly.

 

[Schatznut]

I managed to find nos dials on Ebay that matched the original perfectly.

Amazing! That puts the last point on a 100-point restoration!

 

[Raymond Rice]

Beautiful restoration!
Ray Rice

 

[woodlawndon]

You really did a lovely job, nice one. One day I'd like to hear about your replating process.
Don

 

[macaw]

I use several chemicals and solutions after preparing the metal. One to further clean it, one to prepare it to accept the plating, a plating solution to act as a barrier so corroding brass can't bleed through, then the gold solution. The gold I use depends on the effect I want. All the solutions require different DC voltages to apply them to the metal.

 

[brian fisher]

to quote the movie "deliverance": He sure has a purdy mouth on 'em!

seriously, you really did a fantastic job. i am extremely impressed. just wow! i would presume you used nickel plate under the gold? i've done some plating but never with the brush. did you apply it to the assembled cabinet or individual pieces?

the impossible thought of ever monetarily recouping your time and expense really saddens me. of course, i know first hand that we never restore clocks like this for that reason. i spent just under 300 hours restoring an 11 tube grandfather clock a couple of years ago. i would like to think i did a nice job on it similar to what you have done to this little ansonia. i simply choose not think about what i spent compared to what i could likely sell it for.....

 

[macaw]

to quote the movie "deliverance": He sure has a purdy mouth on 'em!

seriously, you really did a fantastic job. i am extremely impressed. just wow! i would presume you used nickel plate under the gold? i've done some plating but never with the brush. did you apply it to the assembled cabinet or individual pieces?

the impossible thought of ever monetarily recouping your time and expense really saddens me. of course, i know first hand that we never restore clocks like this for that reason. i spent just under 300 hours restoring an 11 tube grandfather clock a couple of years ago. i would like to think i did a nice job on it similar to what you have done to this little ansonia. i simply choose not think about what i spent compared to what i could likely sell it for.....

It is a nickel under plate. The brush is actually an electrode with a swab to hold the solutions. The case was completely disassembled to clean and plate, and some of the screws holding the door pieces together were so corroded I couldn't get them out. I searched Ebay for months looking for doors that were identical, buying many that I found out weren't after I got them. After finally finding the doors, I got smart and soaked the old ones in Knock ER Loose for several weeks and it worked. Now I have a lot of door parts for the next one.