VR-347 - A Perfect Small Timepiece

Smaller Viennese clocks, like this one, are always a treat to work on – both because the case work is so perfectly executed and because the mechanisms remind one more of a watch mechanism than a clock works. This particular case was one of the filthiest I have worked on – which means that it is now one with the most perfect finish! Nothing like a thick layer of grime to protect the original finish. My restoration work involves use of a cleaning/polishing compound made up of rotten stone and mineral spirits. When one realizes that the French polishing technique used to originally finish this piece also used Rotten stone to achieve the surface finish – well, it just makes sense to use rotten stone in the restoration. And, the mineral spirits helps to dissolve coal-tars and the like that came from wood and coal-burning stoves.