Caslon/Copal 201: Questions and Requests

[jwh_vt]

Over the last few months, I've acquired four Caslon/Copal 201 clocks in white, black, tan and red. I really like their design and build quality.


Black: This one has a couple of problems (one self inflicted):

Problem #1: Although the clock was in very nice cosmetic condition when I received it (eBay purchase), I discovered that it has a pair of "7" hour tiles installed where there should be a pair of "8" tiles so it flips from 7:59 to 7:00 instead of to 8:00. Does anyone know if there is another Caslon or Copal clock that share the same tiles? I'm guessing the 101 does but those are pretty rare clocks. By any chance, does anybody have a spare set of the correct "8" hour tiles I could purchase?


Problem #2: Not wanting to remove the chrome bezel and glass in order to clean the inside glass surface, I tried rinsing the clock body (with glass installed) in gently running water. Yup... the "Copal" decal started to lift and part of it washed away (arghhh). I'm thinking of trying to create a waterslide decal replacement. Has anybody successfully done this? Or better yet, does anybody have an accurate reproduction decal I could buy? Any other solution ideas?

Tan:

Several of the tiles had pretty bad black smudging that required polishing with Simichrome to remove/reduce (before and during pics below). Anyone else seen this problem?

Red (only needed cleaning, lube, and a new lamp):

White (two tile tabs needed repair):

[Mackey]

Definitely good taste in flip clocks. The 201 is probably my favorite.
Interesting way to get rid of black marks. I may have to try that.
Anyway, I don't have any parts clocks at this time. And yes, the Copal 101 tiles would work. You'll need to use a 101 or 201 probably to match the Caslon font. It's pretty distinctive.
I've lost one of the copal labels before. On a 101. It's sucks. Hard lesson.
i've got a 201 in red, but You've made me want to continue my quest to get a white one. It made my top ten movie/TV flip clocks.

[jwh_vt]

Thanks for the reply and info re. compatible 201 tiles. If I can't find suitable replacement tiles, I was thinking of trying to sand and polish off the "7"'s from the existing tiles and then applying decal replacements although I suspect it would be pretty difficult to match the original look very closely.

As for the glass decal, since much of the lettering is still intact, I may try to very carefully repaint the missing sections although again, matching the surviving letters could be difficult. I figure if I'm not successful, I could just scrape off all of the letters and try a decal replacement.

The black smudges on some of the tiles on my tan 201 were really bad. Gentle cleaning and even alcohol didn't touch the smudges so I was debating trying a harsher solvent but decided I'd more likely ruin the tiles. Since the tiles are plastic, I thought I'd try Meguiar's Plastx but it wasn't aggressive enough. The Simichrome polish was pretty effective but it still took some time to remove most of the smudging. It's barely visible now and with a little more time and effort, I could probably get even more off.

Seeing the white 201 in the movie clip makes me think I should try whitening mine. I wasn't sure if the original color was more cream but the one in the movie is much whiter than mine.

Speaking of flip clocks in movies, I'm pretty sure I saw one in Season 1 of the TV series Silo. I can't remember which episode but the clock did serve an important role in the plot (one of the characters is an hour late for a meeting). Anyway, another appearance to track down!

[Johan de Jong]

My Copal 401 also has some very smudged tiles. I did not find no good way to clean them, but did replace some by laser cut and printed replicas because they kept breaking. See this post: https://www.flipclockfans.com/forum/...-401#post30075

[jwh_vt]

New 201 tile reproductions would be nice but I'm hoping I can find a parts unit. Try polishing the smudges on your 401 tiles with Simichrome! Maybe it would be a good alternative to finding new replacements.

[flipoclock]

That's a nice collection of 201's you've assembled, they are getting harder and harder to find. I have loads of parts for these and would be able to set you with some tiles, just send me a DM.

The dissapeared decal has been a nuisance to me as well over the years. The decal seems to be holding on well over the years but does not take well to any kind of detergent, however mild it may be. With all the clocks I have done so far I have left it as-is, without the decal. A waterslide decal would possibly do the job rather well but I would start by scanning an original (glass) and designing it from there, there is no way you would get the same font to match without doing that.

[jwh_vt]

Thank you so much for the replacement tile offer. I just found a parts unit on eBay that is heading my way so I hope I can harvest the tiles I need from it. If I run into problems, I know who to reach out to!