Today's Project

[Chief Brody]

It was raining today so I decided to go junk hunting...found an old Cooper Tires clock and brought it home and cleaned it up and re-wired it and painted it with paint made for plastic, although it bunched up and ran in places on the inside....but you can't see it now...

The big mystery was whether it would run or not...the clock....or the back light.

 

[Chief Brody]

The light works...the clock doesn't...wonder what it cost for a battery powered clock mechanism?

 

[AR_K5]

Just get a cheap plastic clock from ChinaMart and gut it.

 

[Chief Brody]

Just get a cheap plastic clock from ChinaMart and gut it.

that's great idea!


I bet that old Cooper clock is 40 years old, maybe 50 I'd like to make it keep time and put it in the garage...

The plastic has yellowed from all those years and it still shows through the paint when lit...

 

[AR_K5]

I wonder if headlight restorer would do the trick?

 

[Chief Brody]

I wonder if headlight restorer would do the trick?

I don't know...I tried a Mr. Clean magic eraser and it did nothing...

 

[AR_K5]

Some of the headlight restorers are like an ultra light rubbing compound and require sanding with like 3000 grit paper or something, so they'll actually remove a light layer, then hit it with the wax stuff to make it crystal clear. But that's considering it's not discolored all the way threw

If it's caused by heat from the light you are out of luck. If it years of cigarette smoke, it'll come off. Carb cleaner might do the trick too.

 

[Chief Brody]

it's crazy...I was just looking on eBay for some similar clocks and they want $85 to $399.00 for them...just because it is automobilia...stuffs getting out of control...

 

[AR_K5]

American Pickeritis.

 

[sweetk30]

body shop trick on headlights if not to far gone is 1000 grit wet sand till shinny / clear . then buff and good coat of wax .

I tried just the 1000 grit wet sand on a turn signal lens unit I had for 89-91 front clip and went from yellow to clear in 10 sec or so . . .

 

[k5fd89]

The light works...the clock doesn't...wonder what it cost for a battery powered clock mechanism?

Hobby Lobby has them for like five bucks.

 

[ryoken]

body shop trick on headlights if not to far gone is 1000 grit wet sand till shinny / clear . then buff and good coat of wax .

I tried just the 1000 grit wet sand on a turn signal lens unit I had for 89-91 front clip and went from yellow to clear in 10 sec or so . . .

just like removing dead gelcoat from a boat...


my buddy used to buy plain clocks from Wallyworld, put an Indian motorcycle sticker inside them, and idiots on the intramaweb would pay him $200 for them....

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

You can buy clock mechanisms at hobby/craft stores. Sure looking online you could find a better selection that'll more closely fit the style of what you have.

 

[diesel4me]

I wouldn't spray carb or brake cleaner on anything plastic----or laquer thinner either,it'll either melt it,or make it cloudy and sticky,and ruin it...
I wrecked a dash cluster trying to use those 2 things to "clean" it..

You could try using some baking soda and vinegar in a paste and rub it in with a towel,or toothpaste,maybe rubbing compund ,to remove the yellowed stain--if its the plastic itself,it'll be unlikely to be removed though,its probably "burnt" from the heat of the bulb..

The battery powered clock mechanism's can be had at most hobby and department stores for about 5 bucks..maybe you could transplant the guts from an old 110V house clock into it too...

I cringe when I think of all the neat clocks,display signs and other counter trinkets I helped toss into dumpsters at the many parts stores I worked at over the years...probably threw a few thousand bucks away--they could have been mine,had I only taken them..

One store I worked at was in the process of moving to a brand new building a few miles from the old original location,and they had me tossing brand new superior mag wheels,headers for straight sixes,and floor shifters from 1970's displays that were all covered with pigeon crap in the attic into a dumpster 40 feet down,in the parking lot...

A friend of mine who worked in a tire shop for nearly 20 years was offered anything he wanted in the building when it was sold...he only took a few items,one was a large ash tray with a B.F. Goodrich tire around it that sat on the desk in the office for decades...not long ago someone offered him 400 bucks for it--so he took it...maybe he should have researched its actual worth first though,I bet it was worth more,judging by how anxious the guy wanting to buy it was...

I took home a whole "wall" of brand new 8 track AM-FM stereos and some other trinkets from that old store,but the board of health inspector kicked us out of the building--we didn't have proper "haz-mat" suits and he said the bird droppings could prove fatal,so my boss had to hire a legit company to clean out the place--and none of us were allowed to keep any of the merchandise,after they took over..

 

[Richcz28]

That clock is awesome!


I wouldn't bother trying to freshen up the outside of the sign. Yellowing is the patina of cool old plastic signs.

 

[Chief Brody]

I got a battery powered clock mechanism for $8.00 today....excellent! Best of both worlds...light is electric powered and the clock doesn't stop if the power goes out.

Now I just need to install an AM/FM radio and speaker into the bottom of it...and I will have a full service shop clock / radio...