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Clock Maintenance
This brief guide to Clock Maintainence is about looking after your clock, and preventing damage to it. Caring for your clock, ensuring it is displayed, stored and handled correctly, is essential to preserve it for future generations. This guide is not about restoring or repairing clock’s. DIY repairs are NOT recommended - these can often cause more damage to the clock. The guide is split into 4 sections...
Cleaning
For the most part, maintaining your clock simply means keeping it clean, carefully. Wooden surfaces usually need to be cleaned only when there is a build up of wax or dirt. Before cleaning wood or coatings, the first and most important step is to check that the surface is stable and not likely to be damaged by the contact required in cleaning and polishing. If the surface is unstable, the polishing could knock off loose portions. Damaged surfaces should be referred to a conservator.
In most cases the dirt will just be household dust. This can be removed with a damp cloth - be careful as dust is an abrasive and can scratch the surface. Oily dirt or waxy residue can be removed with a mild detergent and water solution or with mineral spirits. However, it is vital to make sure that the cleaning solution does not affect the underlying surface. Even when you determine a cleaning method that works successfully, proceed cautiously.
For finished wood, dampen a cotton cloth with the solvent or cleaning solution, and gently rub over a small area at a time. Avoid using too much liquid, as they can cause damage. Then, wipe the cleaned surface with a clean dampened cloth to remove any cleanser residues, followed by a dry soft cloth.
Further protection and aesthetic enhancement can be obtained through the application of a stable, hard furniture polish, such as a hard paste wax. The hard wax surface can be dusted more easily because it will be more smooth, and the dust will not be imbedded in it as it would in an unwaxed surface. Waxing need only occur infrequently because the wax itself is not readily removed and it does not degrade chemically. Waxing too often can result in a built-up, clouded surface.
This simple approach avoids the problems created by popular methods of "furniture polishing" - such as sprays and oily polishes. These can build up over time, trapping and adhering airborne dirt onto the surface, and may cumulative damage to you clock.
Carving, fretwork, and other delicate work can be dusted with a soft bristle brush, with a vacuum cleaner host held close enough to take in the dust one it is dislodged by the brush. The vacuum cleaner can be useful tool when used with the round brush attachment but make sure you use the lowest suction available and don't let the metal or hard plastic parts bump into the surfaces. Also, watch out for damage that commonly occurs when the base of the clock is knocked with the vacuum cleaner.
Before going ahead and polishing the metal pieces of your clock, check first that they have not been coated in a protected lacquer. This measure is often employed by restorers to specifically eliminate the need for constant polishing. If this is the case, then you just need to dust off carefully.
For un-lacquered metal fixings, you must approach the task of polishing with caution. Metal can become dirty and tarnished with use and exposure to the atmosphere. In such cases, polishing can be justified. However, even this step is sometimes a poorly informed one. One common mistake is polishing what is thought to be brass, when it is really gilded bronze that is simply dirty. Polishing removes the gold.
If you choose to polish, remove the hardware from the clock, noting the exact location of each screw and nut. Polishing metal while on the clock will damage the surrounding finish and it also allows the polish to run beneath the hardware that can further damage both the metal hardware and the finish.
Clean carefully with a 50/50 mix of acetone and alcohol to remove any dirt and oil residue, scrubbing the piece with a soft bristle brush. After drying, the surface can be polished with a fine, lint-free cloth of felt block charged with a very fine abrasive, such as calcium carbonate or jeweller’s micro polish, in alcohol or mineral spirits slurry. Commercial polishes can contribute to the deterioration of the hardware, as they frequently contain harsh cleaners that corrode the metal.
After polishing, remove all residues. The metal piece can now be coated with a transparent resin lacquer before being replaced on the clock. This will protect the metal from tarnishing and eliminate the need for future polishing.
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 Environmental Factors
One of the primary considerations to preserving the surface of your clock especially wooden surfaces is to avoid direct sunlight, or intense artificial light. The amount of damage that light can cause depends greatly on it’s intensity and colour. Bright light is more damaging than dim light, blue light is more damaging than red light. In most cases, this damage is permanent ‘discolouration’ (usually bleaching).
Where possible, position your clock where it is unlikely to get direct sunlight for long periods of the day. If the clock is situated near a large window, try and make sure you reduce the light levels by closing the blind/curtain during the time of day when the sun is passing this window. Ultraviolet filter films can be used to filter ultraviolet radiation from sunlight or indeed from fluorescent bulbs.
Another threat to clocks, especially those made primarily of wood, is humidity. Wood absorbs the water in the air when the humidity is high, and dries out when the air humidity is low. This makes it swell and shrink. The problem lies with the fact that this process occurs unequally along different grain directions, and different pieces of wood. This causes stresses in the wood itself and in the construction of the clock structure leading to distortions and sometimes fractures/splits.
The effect of humidity on the wood of your clock can cause other related damage. Coatings, such as gilding and paint, become more brittle with age. As the wood surface area fluctuates underneath, these coatings can become fractured and sometime separate from the wood.
So it is the changes in air humidity that causes the damage to the clock the cycle of absorption and drying out. During the winter, when the air can already be quite dry, you need to be careful not to reduce humidity level too low. In this respect, be aware that modern central heating systems can, by raising the temperature, lower the air humidity still further. Try and position your clock in a cooler part of the house turn off the radiators in this room if possible.
During the summer months air humidity is generally higher. De-humidifiers can assist in keeping air humidity to a reasonable level. As well as helping to reduce humidity fluctuations, the other reason for keeping overall humidity relatively low is the threat mould, mildew and fungi. Whereas moulds and mildew growing on the surface of wood may stain it, other fungi can completely destroy wood.
Lowering the humidity level in a damp area should be done very slowly to prevent excessive stress and possible warping and splitting of wooden clocks. It is also important to locate any source of excess moisture and determine what can be done to remove it. Underground walls should be sealed, and leaks should be repaired in roofs and walls.
Termites, carpenter bees,ants, powder post beetle larvae, and other insects can severely damage wood by eating channels beneath the surface. The larvae tunnel through the wood until they are ready to emerge through exit holes at the appropriate time in their life cycle. Look out for holes that appear to have the colour of newly chewed and digested wood. Also, piles of wood dust (fras or frass) at the base of your clock is another indication of active infestation. If this is the case, quarantine the clock immediately and seek profession advice.
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Handling and Moving Furniture
When transporting you’re clock, or merely moving to the other side of the room, the key to success is planning and patience and the larger the clock, the more care is needed. Examine the room and the route whereby the furniture is to be moved and check you know where everything is such as low ceilings, steps, and light fixtures. Where possible clear a route to your destination. If something cannot be moved clear, protect it with a blanket or something else soft and padded.
The first thing to do with the clock is to try and determine how it is put together and if any of its parts are removable or detachable. With grandfather clocks, always remove the pendulum and weights from within the clock before doing anything else. These pieces are heavy and may damage the case and the mechanism itself if left in situ.
Remove the hood from the top of the grandfather clock (they often slide forward), and lay it down to pack and move separately. Make sure the door to the case is locked or securely closed before moving the clock. If you are moving the clock only a few feet, you can get away with lifting it by grabbing the narrow case from the underside of the moulding at the top of the waist, or centre portion of the case, provided that the moulding is firmly attached to the case itself. For longer moves, or if that moulding is not secure, the clock case should be carried flat.
Wrap the clock in protective padding and lift it at it’s strongest points - usually the major structural element of the clock. Never hurry when you are actually moving the clock. Scratches, dents, and gouges from bumps normally occur when moving the clock in a rush. Never slide or drag furniture along the floor. The vibration can loosen or break joints,. Whenever possible, use trolleys or dollies for transporting heavy pieces and make sure you have enough manpower to do the job!
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Specific Clock Maintainence
These guides are for specific types of clocks. They have been written exclusively for The National Clock Register by clock expert Christopher Jenkins MBHI.
You will need Adobe Acrobat to view these (pdf) files. If you are not able to view them, click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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