Restoring the Buckingham Palace Turret Clock
Read about the restoration of the Buckingham Palace turret clock
The case
The exterior wrought iron and steel case screws and fixings were showing signs of oxidation.
The rusted case parts were soaked in a solution containing tannic acid, made with tea bags at approximately pH6. These were then carefully brushed by hand with a soft brass brush, to remove all traces of rust, and rinsed, firstly in water, and then in alcohol.
Next they were cleaned in a propitiatory spirit-based cleaning solution, before being rinsed again in a spirit-based rinse.
After treatment much of the original surface finish was intact and visible. These surfaces were then treated with a cellulose lacquer or a wax-oil solution to help prevent further oxidation.
