Copal 229 Restomod and couple Ebay picks

[Georgi]

Today I received 2 copals that I got while hunting on eBay.
Te first one is 225 near mint condition that I won for $26. It looks really shiny and all original ( I dont think it was polished). Everything works on it. When I opened it up was so clean inside. No major scratches overall and motor spun really feather light. I still put a very small drop of oil. The only bad thing I could say that it is humming a little bit. Not much, just barely more that the other copal which is really silent. I hope the humming sound goes away ...we will see but overall really happy with the purchase and I love the looks of it




One interesting thing is the serial number. It is 77113. Watching Mackey's video of how to disassemble the clock I was surprised to find out the numbers are the same...Why is that? I looked numerous other 225 and they are all different. Also mine is black while his is white. Does anyone knows why?

[Georgi]

The other copal is 229. Purchased for $40.50 + shipping and this one was supposed to work but alarm was not. And so that is how it was. Also when I opened it up one tile was found on the bottom. It is the 10AM tile which I am going to replace at some point when I get another clock for parts. What models will have the same size tiles? I ma guessing all 229 and possibly 227?
Fixed the alarm buzzer. First oiled it bun nothing happened. Then removed the 2 screws and cleaned the gunk around the metal spring tile. Then again did not work. Finally I bent it back a little to take some tension off. And Voila...It work again slightly quieter than I think it should be - even better.
The 229 was the older style with heptagonal day wheel, metal motor shroud and black Totoku cord.
I really do not like wood grain color, especially 70s style wood grain. If it was new then maybe but It has heavy and deep scratches. So i was like what the heck...let me remove the paint.
Took a drill with 3" sanding pads and while keeping it wet at all the time under the droplets inside the sink - I came off relatively easy but took close to 1 hour. The wood grain is like rubbery paint which has some brown paint under. Some newer versions had black plastic base which would be better in my case but never the less - I did it
I had problem around the alarm switch because it was brown in there too. Newer one would be black. With the use of dangerous paint remover gel very lightly coated the paint and it started coming right off but the plastic also got damaged a little bit. I was aware that might happen but currently I cant see it because it is hidden behind the alarm switch.


Next step 600-800 then 2000 grit sandpaper it was really nice and mat finish. Left the bottom brown part on the sticker side untouched - You cant see it and its better to keep the sticker on.
I then polished it with Meguiar's Plastix but the finish did not turn out like I wanted. It is still somewhat mat. I think I can live with it. Overall was looking so much better. Then I was like it is too black. Had an idea to remove the normal bulb and put an UV LED blacklight, hoping that the numerals will shine blue. Some white paint does glow under UV and so I took my small UV flashlight to test it out but unfortunately this type of white did not glow. So scratch that. I want to have either white face or white numeral tiles now. Since I dont have other tiles - I spray painted the face white. Covered the "copal" logo with small piece of tape it turned out better than I expected. One small imperfection is now around the copal logo but the clock looks so mach better than few hours back. It's pretty much like the black color white face 227.
Now I have Frankenstein clock which I love just like the other one

[gschmidt958]

Did Mackey sell his clock and then it ended up back on ebay, and you just happened to purchase it?

[Georgi]

That could fit the bill but how do you explain the difference in color?

[gschmidt958]

That could fit the bill but how do you explain the difference in color?

Poor lighting? Seriously, though it must be some kind of fluke at the factory I gather. BTW, very nice clocks!

[Georgi]

Poor lighting? This is literally black and white difference. Also if you look closely on the white one the last 2 letters "YA" are printed a little higher and interfere with the "120VAC" for the voltage. On mine is a little lower. I guess its the twin brother
Maybe I have to name it "Yin and Yang" so in this case mine is Yin (black side)

[flipoclock]

Interesting find about the serial number.... I've no explanation for that.

The humming in the 225 could be a small imbalance in the flywheel. If the sound is acceptable, I would not touch it, chances are you would make it worse instead of better.

You certainly improved on that 229! Finding a woodgrain 229, cosmetically in a good condition is difficult, they are very easy to damage on the outside. I like the white front and do agree, it would look even better with white tiles, only the days would then still be black, ah well, you did not have them anyway.

[tonyofthelord]

It's a date stamp 1977 11th week 3erd month 77113

[flipoclock]

That explains a lot, never looked at it like that, interesting and eye-opening :-)

[Mackey]

You got a good deal on those clocks for sure. I really like the result with that 229.
And thanks tonyofthelord the the date stamp info.

[RetroFlip]

I like your choice of matching a 227 color combo on the 229. Really clean looking.

[Georgi]

It's a date stamp 1977 11th week 3erd month 77113

Interesting. How you know about that? Did copal had that somewhere on the info back then?
thanks everybody for the support