Project "Westclox Big Ben Alarm Clock, Style 6" (2/3)

EDIT: PLEASE READ!!!! before attempting any sorts of repairs to any sort of antique clock be aware that the luminous paint used on the face might contain radium which is extremely risky if it is ingested and/or inhaled. this can happen when you open the clock and the dust from inside gets out. if it glows regardless of whether you charged the face with an external light source or not then it surely contains radium or other radioactive substances and must be treated with care!

spent about an hour plus just polishing the plastic lens of the alarm clock...it isn't done yet and still requires a few more rounds of polishing especially around the sides but i think i did a pretty good job.

i used sandpaper (grade 2000) on the lens and then followed up with this plastic polisher, novus:

http://www.novuspolish.com/

i came across this brand while researching online for something to clear up the badly fogged lens. it is very good for cleaning most kinds of plastics and comes in three grades. novus number 3 is for clearing deep scratches, novus number 2 for fine scratches and novus number 1 is just for cleaning and also gives the newly polished plastic a nice shine. i used novus 2 and 1 as i felt that the sandpaper would be equivalent to novus 3, works well enough!

i fixed the alarm issue and it rings on time now. i oiled the gears that i suspected are causing drag on the mechanism and now it doesn't stop every 30 seconds but it still stops after a few hours on its own. it needs a little jerk before it starts up again so i know that it is definitely a gearing issue...maybe dirt or rust causing a gear to stop every now and then.


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