*Tutorial by Kim @ Maiden D’Shade for her win in the Finale round of Season 14!*
Once again, thank you all for this amazing honor of winning season 14! But I’ve got to say, even though it was fun, I’m glad it’s over!
Here’s how I transformed this “seen better days” clock from my husbands side of the family and gave it new life.
This clock was built in 1987 by a friend of my in-laws. It has spent many years in my basement. It had some damage (bottom corners and the weight sleeves are scratched and oxidized) and some missing pieces (pendulum bob and tall door glass) likely due to many moves over the years.
First thing I did was clean the surface. I wanted to give it a more commanding presence so I added some molding along the front edges to give it more interest. Because the molding wood is “raw” I sprayed it with shellac so the surface wasn’t as porous and would be more like the surface of the rest of the clock when I went to paint it. I also thought this front molding piece matched the molding on the top of the clock quite nicely and gave that “blank” space some interest! I added the molding with wood glue.
I took it apart and laid it down, using some really professional stilts (ok, cups) to prop it up off the floor. I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint {Old White}. I chose chalk paint because it covers so well without having to sand the previous finish.
Then I sanded it. I used 400 grit sandpaper to get a really nice and smooth finish. I also wanted some of the old finish to show throw along some of the edges and molding.
There was a large chip in one of the original moldings. While I was painting it, I found the chipped off piece inside the clock! So I glued it on with wood glue and painted it!
I finished it with Annie Sloan Dark Wax. I love that it picked up the wood grain from the veneer and worked its way into all the grooves in the molding!
For the damaged bottom corners, I picked up some brass corner covers and glued on some decorative corner pieces that I found in the scrapbooking section! I love that it mimics the clock face plate. I also replaced the “feet” for two reasons: one was missing and the remaining three were pretty worn.
I also found some decorative key hole plates in the scrapbooking section! Who knew?! Of course that was AFTER I went to all the hardware stores I could find looking for one. Ugh. I decided on one that I thought looked best on the clock then used some bronze foil paint so that it matched all the other metal pieces.
The glass was inexpensive and purchased from a local glazier. I made a stencil out of vinyl and used frosty spray paint to frost the glass. I decided to use paint for that rather than etching so that I can change the design every so often! 🙂 Because of that, I put the design on the inside so that it is less likely to get scratched or washed off before I want it to. I also replaced the glass pins for the top glass and this glass.
As for the missing clock parts, I haven’t been able to find replacement sleeves yet that are the same size as these, but I was able to borrow the pendulum bob for the photo shoot since the one I ordered hasn’t arrived yet :/
It was a long ordeal getting this clock {mostly} done, but overall it was a fun project and I’m happy to have it “back in circulation”!
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