Thrift Store Miniature Grandfather Clock Upcycle

I don’t do a lot of furniture painting these days. Every now and then I will work on a piece for fun or for a friend. But I do get my trash to treasure fix by renewing smaller decor items. This miniature grandfather clock has been in the “items to upcycle” staging area of my garage for quite some time. Today is the day that she gets her new look!

She surely has seen better days.

She has lots of knicks and scrapes.

She is even missing one of her sweet little hands.

But, alas! I have a vision for her. I have a small collection of old clocks. I’d love to set up a little display area for them. I have so many little collections just sitting in boxes. It’s time to enjoy them by setting them out in my home.

Did someone say collections? And upcycles? And Thrift Store decor? That’s right! This is the perfect project to share for this month’s Thrift Store Decor Team Wednesday!

The plan is to either paint or decoupage this miniature grandfather clock with some sort of print, most likely a floral. And if I was a betting girl, I would say she will be blue and white…duh. I will see what I can find locally.

What’s the Plan?

First step is to find a pattern that I like. I considered using old magazine pages for a random but colorful look. Decoupaging magazine pages can be tricky, though, since the are often two sided. You never really know which side of the print will emerge. One option is to to browse the internet and find some floral patterns to print. I am fresh out of white paint so I decided to stop at Walmart to grab some white chalk paint. I will see if they have any decorative napkins or paper that call my name.

I found the paint!

I found these napkins! My next favorite color/pattern after all things blue would be gold and marble. Score! This is really my idea of the ultimate neutral. You can use inexpensive napkins for a variety of decoupage projects!

A Hidden Gem

This little beauty becomes more and more interesting as I move forward. I got excited when I saw this Made in Germany marking on the back. All of the best clocks are made in Germany!

I removed the back with a firm but gentle wiggle and pull. Yes, that’s a thing.

It is actually made of plastic.

It is also actually a working clock! Note the lever for a pendulum (arrow #1), though the pendulum is missing. Also note the chime mechanisms behind the pendulum. And last, see the actual clock manufacturer’s details (arrow #2).

I think this project will have a part two…restoring it to working order. I really only need to find the pendulum and a key for winding. How fun would that be??

But let’s get part one of the project finished first!

Prepping the Miniature Grandfather Clock

With painted plastic, you really have to be careful not to use petroleum based solvents because those will melt the plastic. You can see that the paint was both flaking and bubbling in many places.

In these areas, the paint just rubbed off. But there was much of the surface where the paint was still adhering.

So I opted to use a fine grade sandpaper of 100 grit to hand sand the clock.

I stayed away from the face plate as it is metal and I did not want to scratch it.

A thorough gentle sanding over the entire surface removed all of the loose paint. I used a foam sanding block which is very pliable to get the curves around the arch and the crevices along the molded areas.

After a good rinse, she was ready for paint!

I used a small detail brush around the face plate.

I used a thicker brush around the rest of the miniature grandfather clock.

Here she is after one coat.

I gave her a second coat and allowed her to dry.

Up next, Mod Podge! I started adding the paper.

You can find my Mod Podge Tutorials in the following posts:

shopatblu the blue building antiques customize your pumpkins patterns

shopatblu The Blue Building Antiques decoupage mannequin head Philly postcard

Lay the paper onto the Mod Podge.

Add another layer of Mod Podge and use the brush to smooth out the bubbles.

I used some white paint to cover the roses on the clock face. Then I mod podged some paper over the roses.

This will all be easily removeable should I wish to change the look of this beauty when I find the pendulum and key.

Fabricate A missing Part

I removed the remaining clock hand and made a copy on my printer. I used tiny scissors to cut it out. Then I coated it with Mod Podge several times to give it some thickness. I allowed my new hour hand to dry.