"Quick" Craft - Small Clock Makeover

Since I'm waiting on parts (and a little inspiration) to finish up our radio cabinet makeover, I spent a few hours fixing up the little alarm clock I got the other week:

The case's finish was mostly rubbed off, so it was dull and grungy, and the plastic face plate was scuffed.

The face itself was gorgeous, with the glaring exception of those pale green glow-in-the-dark dots around the numbers and on the hands:

The maker name, Linder or Linden, is actually hand written on the face in ink. Pretty. (I don't know how old it is - although it's stamped West Germany, so that's at least pre-1990. Heh.)

I scraped out the green dots & popped out the green sections on the hands with the point of a craft knife:

Already lookin' better!

You can also see in that photo the little holes above the numbers. John drilled these by hand with a tiny bit, to make way for...

...some bling!

The crystals were scavenged from a ring that had already lost a few over the years. However, when I pried the stones out they lost their reflective backing, which is what gives them their sparkle. So - and here's where you'll start questioning my sanity - I applied silver leaf in each of the tiny holes before gluing in the crystals. Considering that the crystals are smaller than a bread crumb, this was a real pain in the rear. (Toothpicks. Gotta love 'em.)

However, in the end I think it was worth it:

The gems really sparkle in the light - far more than their plastic rhinestone counterparts.

For the body of the clock, I polished the inner housing and refinished the feet, handle and lattice side wrap with this:

We were faux finishers for years, so trust me when I tell you Montana's Goldchrome spray paint is one of the closest you'll ever get to "brass in a can." Of course, it's most convincing on small pieces, so don't expect to fool anyone on large bed frames or anything.


Here you can compare the original brass finish (the inner metal seen through the lattice) with the painted feet, handle, and lattice. Not a bad match, right?

I left off the scuffed plastic cover, so now you can see the face clearly:

Oh, and lest you think I sacrificed a perfectly good ring, that's it there. As you can (kind of) see, I removed the crystals in a flower pattern, so I think it actually looks better now than it did when I first bought it. A win-win!


The clock is sitting, ticking, beside my keyboard as I type this. I find the ticking kind of soothing, but it drives John bonkers. (A win-win-win?) :D


Important Safety Update: Thanks to dmontag in the comments, I was reminded that old clocks often made use of radium paint on their dials, which is harmful. We didn't *think* this one was old enough, but just to be sure we opened it up and found it was made in the early 70s. (From what I can tell, radium dials tapered out in the '50s.) If you have an old clock or watch with glow-in-the dark detailing on it, go here to learn more about the dangers of radium paint - and PLEASE don't go scratching it off like I did on this one. o.0