Ingraham mantel clock

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:50 pm     Post subject: Ingraham mantel clock

I have an Ingraham mantel clock date coded 1903. It is originally a black finish with three columns on each side of the dial. The entire thing was painted over with an oil-based brick red paint sometime in the past, and I'm trying to bring it back. My questions are: 1) How was the original black color achieved? Some kind of pigment dissolved in shellac? 2) How can I safely strip the paint from the columns? What type of plastic/material are they? 3) Are the brass feet and handles solid brass or plated/gilded? How can I strip paint from them without harm? Thanks for our help!

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 11:17 am     Post subject: Ingraham mantel clock

The black cases by clock manufacturers at the turn of the century could be made of wood, metal or slate. Probably the closest you could achieve to the original finish after stripping the case is by spraying it with a low gloss black enamel.
Decorative columns were usually celluloid made to simulate marble or onyx. Removing the overpainting on the columns may also dissolve the original decorative finish.
The feet, handles and other metallic trim was often base metal that had a brass or gilt finish applied. The gilt finish can be removed by aggressive cleaning. The only solution is to apply a new gilt finish.
At the time these clocks were made to sell for only a few dollars. The American manufacturers were trying to give the appearance of expensive imported French and other European clocks for a price the average person could afford.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:20 pm     Post subject:

Thanks for the reply. I gently scraped some of the paint off one of the columns and the marbling effect seems to be molded into the plastic rather than an applied finish of some type. However, the scraping is also damaging to the celluloid so I don't want to strip the entire column that way. Can the celluloid stand up to some other kind of stripping agent? On the feet and handles I guess I will be losing the original plating and need to replate them some way. Would metallic paint work for this? Thanks.

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:50 am     Post subject: Ingraham mantel clock

Usually metallic paint can be sprayed on to restore the gilt appearance. The trick is to select a metal paint that has an antique look rather than a bright "brassy" one. There are also 'rub on' metallic finishes available.
Very often it's the stripper that damages the celluloid. You might want to experiment on a small portion of one of the columns that could be turned around out of sight if it should not work out satisfactorily.