Need help restoring Seth Thomas Adamantine that was painted over

[Gage_robertson_collector]

Hello all, haven’t been active in a while, sorry about that,

Today I picked up this Seth Thomas Adamantine mantle clock. It is complete, original movement, it has all of the case ornamentation, (I removed them upon arrival so they didn’t fall off) label and besides the red looks to be rather untouched. I wanted to ask if anyone has any advice for how I could take off this red paint while still preserving the Adamantine beneath. I have a slow working paint remover that is not as harsh as most brands, and I was thinking about using it and applying layers over and
over until the paint has gradually been removed. There are a couple noticeable chips on the top where if looks like the Adamantine had chipped away underneath the paint but the rest of the case looks great. (This is probably why it was painted over in the first place). Thanks guys!

check out the mountain of dust on the inside of the case! I don’t think the back panel has ever been taken off from the factory.

Gage

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

Hello all, haven’t been active in a while, sorry about that,

Today I picked up this Seth Thomas Adamantine mantle clock. It is complete, original movement, it has all of the case ornamentation, (I removed them upon arrival so they didn’t fall off) label and besides the red looks to be rather untouched. I wanted to ask if anyone has any advice for how I could take off this red paint while still preserving the Adamantine beneath. I have a slow working paint remover that is not as harsh as most brands, and I was thinking about using it and applying layers over and
over until the paint has gradually been removed. There are a couple noticeable chips on the top where if looks like the Adamantine had chipped away underneath the paint but the rest of the case looks great. (This is probably why it was painted over in the first place). Thanks guys!

check out the mountain of dust on the inside of the case! I don’t think the back panel has ever been taken off from the factory.

Gage

View attachment 699941 View attachment 699942 View attachment 699943 View attachment 699944 View attachment 699945 View attachment 699946

update: I took apart the top of the case and stripped the paint off. Here is what the top piece looks like under all the paint:

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

update: I took apart the top of the case and stripped the paint off. Here is what the top piece looks like under all the paint:

View attachment 699954 View attachment 699955 View attachment 699956

attempting to touch up the top:

 

[PatH]

That's a lot of chips! I wonder if they started out as cigarette burns....

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

That's a lot of chips! I wonder if they started out as cigarette burns....

I am not sure, I have worked with other Seth Thomas clocks that have had this similar issue with burn marks especially on the top. I am starting to give up on touching up the veneer though because I can’t see myself ever getting it looking decent enough for re sale or display. I am starting to consider taking off all the veneer on the top and just painting it black. What do you think?

Gage

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

That's a lot of chips! I wonder if they started out as cigarette burns....

I started taking the red off the bottom and it is cleaning off well though, the stripper does leave the adamantine feeling a bit sticky but after a thourough scrub with Murphy's soap and 0000 steel wool it looks good as new!

 

[T.Cu]

I started taking the red off the bottom and it is cleaning off well though, the stripper does leave the adamantine feeling a bit sticky but after a thourough scrub with Murphy's soap and 0000 steel wool it looks good as new!

View attachment 700212 View attachment 700213

You are doing a great job or working on this clock to bring it where you want it!

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

You are doing a great job or working on this clock to bring it where you want it!

Here is what it looks like now. I have gotten almost the whole case restored. All the Adamantine you see is original and basically untouched.

Gage

 

[Dave T]

Looking good! Good work.

 

[Dave T]

I like before and after pictures. So I took the liberty of this one. More like before and progressing.

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

I like before and after pictures. So I took the liberty of this one. More like before and progressing.
View attachment 700902

Thanks Dave!

 

[Paul Arsenault]

Gage great looking case. if i might suggest give the black a rub with rottenstone. this will produce a high gloss.

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

Gage great looking case. if i might suggest give the black a rub with rottenstone. this will produce a high gloss.

Thank you.

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

I like before and after pictures. So I took the liberty of this one. More like before and progressing.
View attachment 700902

Getting closer…

 

[Paul Arsenault]

gage im not sure what you have planned for the top. my idea would not make the clock original but i would strip the finish off and use a good primer and give it several coats of high gloss black lacquer rubbing between each coat then finish with at least three coats of clear high gloss lacquer. do a final rub starting with 4x pumice then rotten stone. just a suggestion.

 

[Dave T]

attempting to touch up the top: View attachment 699977

Another option to what Paul suggested, would be to use an artist brush and camouflage the damage with some like color ivory paint. And because it's on the top, only the front edge will be prominent most of the time.

 

[Paul Arsenault]

This is an eBay find. i disassembled the case, washed it with paint thinner then sanded with 320 grit and refinished all the parts separately as i described above. the dial has new paper.

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

gage im not sure what you have planned for the top. my idea would not make the clock original but i would strip the finish off and use a good primer and give it several coats of high gloss black lacquer rubbing between each coat then finish with at least three coats of clear high gloss lacquer. do a final rub starting with 4x pumice then rotten stone. just a suggestion.

Hello Paul, I have been wondering how to address the issue as well. I had a Seth Thomad with this exact issue before so I ended up taking it all off and painting black, but that clock was missing way more of the Adamantine then mine. I think I will probably end up painting it black though because I have tried different tactics and it isgoing to be nearly impossible to patch/ repair the missing Adamantine and get it anywhere near where I would be satisfied with it. I have a good method for repainting the top to match black Adamantine because of my previous experience and it involves doing coats back and forth of semi glood black and gloss clear spray paint, with lots of high grit-sanding in between. I will be sure to share the final result here regardless of what I choose to do. Thanks again for your input.

Gage

This is an eBay find. i disassembled the case, washed it with paint thinner then sanded with 320 grit and refinished all the parts separately as i described above. the dial has new paper.

View attachment 701053

Good work!

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

This is an eBay find. i disassembled the case, washed it with paint thinner then sanded with 320 grit and refinished all the parts separately as i described above. the dial has new paper.

View attachment 701053

I lucked out on the dial with this clock. I only had to rub off some of the red paint from the edges and give it a good polish with brass cleaner. One of the mounting holes had been soldered over for some reason because of the previous repairs, so I managed to lightly clean out the solder to reveal the original brass-screw hole which was fine condition under the solder.

Gage

 

[Paul Arsenault]

The dial on mine was ugly badly worn brown. i replaced it with new white paper. nothing is original but i love it. this is really one of my favorite clocks. made in 1885

 

[Gage_robertson_collector]

gage im not sure what you have planned for the top. my idea would not make the clock original but i would strip the finish off and use a good primer and give it several coats of high gloss black lacquer rubbing between each coat then finish with at least three coats of clear high gloss lacquer. do a final rub starting with 4x pumice then rotten stone. just a suggestion.

The case is all done Paul, and I decided to go with your idea. I took all of the Adamantine off the top and I repainted black. Movement is now completely stripped down and cleaned, just need to reassemble. What do you think?

Gage

 

[Paul Arsenault]

Just gorgeous