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Listing of best solvents, oils, glues and general goop for flip clock restoration

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    Listing of best solvents, oils, glues and general goop for flip clock restoration

    What is your secret potion for flip clock restoration? It's hoped that eventually we can compile a "FlipClockFans Recommended" list of stuff that can be used on flip clocks. I'm looking for your favorite solvents, oils, contact cleaner, sealers etc. I'll get us started with some basics. But just because I've mentioned one, doesn't mean you can't add your input. We can benefit from pros and cons too.

    Soap and Water - underrated cleaner of all things related to flip clocks. Many people jump right to alcohol or ammonia for cleaning when soap and water would work better and more safely. It's the best think to clean organic messes (think 'people crud' ) from the exterior of clocks. Down side? Excessive moisture can actually cause rust, especially in the older clocks (springs and some screws).

    Alcohol - removes oils, some adhesives, dries quickly. Known to get a gunked up motor spinning freely again. Cons: Can mar the cabinets of fake woodgrain, leaving a dull spot.

    Ammonia - The best thing to get the black oily residue off of the inside of clock cabinets and the backside of the front clear plastic. Can use high strength or just in window cleaner form. I call that black stuff "electric smoke" because I believe it come from the aging of some of the electrical components (capacitors, etc). Con - WATCH OUT - will remove a chrome stripe! On old cyclometers will actually ERASE the numbers off the wheels - bad stuff.

    WD-40 - Yes .... WD-40. It's a bad idea to use this stuff to lubricate your motors. Yes, it will get them freed up, but they will often return to their former gunked up condition due to the tendency of this stuff to trap garbage and then to dry out. But for me it makes a great, safe adhesive remover. Won't mess up plastic.

    Superglue - This is dangerous stuff around flip clocks. Get a hint of it on your fingers and you can leave a permanent fingerprint on the plastic of your clock. On many of the clocks (especially the RC-6030, RC-6015 types for some reason) it will actually start to melt the plastic. This is good though. Just enough will allow you to really fix a broken piece of plastic. This is best done for internal parts because it's very difficult to hide the fact that you've used this stuff. If you do use it on an external crack RESIST the temptation to wipe off the excess. You'll ruin the finish - there's no getting that back. Let it dry then deal with it (light scraping, sanding). Using superglue and baking soda I was able to repair flip clock tiles - actually building up a like-new tab and returning a tile to service.

    Hot Glue - has it's place. You can secure electrical components including wires without fear of short circuiting. You can tack down LEDs or other objects if you need to. It is hard to work with, cools too quickly, tends to spread thickly.

    My Favorites
    Whirlpool Adhesive 279368 silicone rubber adhesive (I call it Brown Goop) - I first learned about the stuff when repairing a clothes dryer. It's the Whirlpool Genuine Factory Specification Adhesive to secure a felt piece to metal. That's the thing, this is a silicone based, high temperature adhesive that will secure anything to anything creating a waterproof seal. It's brown, goopy, almost like tar. The directions say to coat one surface, let dry one minute then press parts together. Once it hits air it starts to change. It's like sticky gum after a few minutes then eventually gets pretty tight - like rubber. Officially fully cured in 24 hours. But still, if you have to, you can separate the parts in the future. Since it was made for dryers, it's designed for high heat applications. I don't have to worry about what's around it. Sort of like hot glue in that way, but I trust this stuff more than hot glue. It will resist heat. Like one of your silicone spatulas. You can spread it more thinly that hot glue, you have much more working time. I like this stuff (a little dab will do ya) to put back metal face plates that have dropped off. It's hard to get off skin though (gloves are recommended) and everything else for that matter. (my wife's like ... "what's this brown crap on my table?").

    Gorilla Tape - Not just duct tape - Gorilla Tape! This is some sticky stuff. You can use it to harness up wires inside the clock, but my favorite thing is to use it to safely and relatively easily remove stubborn knobs from flip clocks.

    NEVER USE
    Acetone - This will melt many (most?) plastics used in making flip clocks. This stuff will simply ruin your clock. It is known to be a solvent for cyanoacrylate adhesives (superglue) but should never, ever, be brought near your clock.

    Goo - Gone and other strong adhesive removers. These contain various hydrocarbon compounds, most notably D-Limonene (comes from citrus oil) - acts much like acetone on some plastics, especially the clear plastic fronts of clocks.
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    #2
    For the flip mechanism I found graphite powder in a volatile liquid (that dissipates) useful.
    "Lock-Ease" Graphited lock fluid

    Comment


    • davidm
      davidm commented
      Editing a comment
      My 'Malwarebytes' security software blocked that website for me.
      I recommend that anyone should use a search engine to search 'Lock-Ease' rather than click that link.

    #3
    3M automotive “Hand Glaze” polish works wonders for removing scratches from plastic faceplates.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Great Scott!; February 15, 2021, 02:23 PM. Reason: Both clocks were in similar shape. Top clock face was washed and polished with 3M hand glaze.

    Comment


      #4
      I like the Loctite professional liquid super glue. It dries without that white residue and I've typically found it to have better strength as well. Easier to manipulate into cracked plastics, too.

      Click image for larger version  Name:	Screen Shot 2021-03-05 at 8.17.07 AM.png Views:	0 Size:	532.7 KB ID:	18903

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