I bought a new clock at Carlisle this year. Don't ask me how, but I got a small scratch in the lens. How hard is it to replace the lens?

 

You bhave to uncrimp the bezel and then recrimp it. Not hard but a little touchy.

 

How bad is the scratch and what year is the car.

3m makes a compound called finesse that can usually polish out small scratches. It will take s ton of work but the effort will save you from taking out the lens.

On 1963-1967 clocks, the lens is pinched between the clock outer bezel and the clock bezel lens retainer. You will need to remove the clock ****. To replace the lens you will need to un-crimp the lens bezel retainer from the main clock. Once you have the retainer and bezel loose, you will need to carefully pry the outer bezel from the retainer. If you look at it closely you will see rivets holding the two items together. If you are careful you can separate them without pulling the old rivets off. Once you have the two sections apart, insert the new lens and then try to match up the original rivets with the original holes. If you force it, you should be able to get the old rivets to pass through the bezel retainer. Once done, you will need to then peen the old rivets back over with a small punch.

The trick is to peen the old rivets back without knocking loose the paint on the bezel. If you do, the static will make the paint stick to the inside of the lens. It’s no big deal, it will fall off with time, but it’s a hassle when you get the car back together and then have dark green or black paint flakes on the back of the lens.

If you pull off the rivets you will only have two choices. 1) Replace the outer bezel, or 2) drill the outer bezel from the inside and install tiny self tapping screws. Using the self tapping screws will work, but you will need to make extra sure to use some lock tight on them when you do the final assembly. If they back out, the outer bezel will fall off the clock.

 

The scratch is bad enough that I don't think it will rub out. I'm in the middle of a re-wire project. While I had the gauge cluster out, I figured that I'd re-paint it. It actually came out pretty good. Even though my car is a 63, the gauge cluster is from a 64. The car didn't have a clock when I bought it. A C-4 logo was inserted in the clock hole. It looked really stupid. Being that I didn't have a core clock to trade in, it was hard to find someone willing to sell me a clock. The only one I found was from a 65. It was restored and looked brand new. But 65 looks different than 64. I had to paint the bezel to match the gauges. That's how I scratched the lens. I have too much money invested in the clock for it not to look perfect. Thanks for your help. I'll try it over the weekend.

 

if you bought one that has been redone you'll probably find the screws that attach the bezel most do it this way.

Jason

 

It is a lot easier to remove a scratch from a lens than to replace it (unless it has been refurbished and has the screws). If you are going to replace the lens, what do you have to loose trying to fix it?

Start with a small square 400 grit sand paper with lots of water. Make sure you remove the clock mechanism first. Cover the entire front (not just the scratched area) until the scratch is gone. Go to a 600 grit, than 1000 and finally 2000. Now buff it with a polishing compound. Finish it with a Nu finish car polish. If you use a dremel tool to polish it, put it on low RPM or you will burn the plastic. Mine came out perfect.

 

Thanks for the info on the clock repair. I am not sure how to remove the clock ****. I don't want to break it. Can you pls let me know how to do this?
Thanks-
Justin

 

take a small pair of vise grips or something to hold the shaft with then take another pair carefully to the **** and twist it off its threaded on there.

Jason

 

Thanks Jason. Don't suppose you know how to get the lens out of the bezel by any chance? I can see 3 sets of 2 rivets each holding it inside-not sure how to keep these intact....

 

I remember having to drill out those tiny rivets to get the lens out. I tried tiny screws to put it back together but couldn't get the threads to bite well enough so I mixed up some JB Weld and made some little rivets using that. After it cured, it held very solid.
It's been holding for 13 years now.

I suppose there is another "proper" way to do it but that's water under the bridge for me.

 

Thanks for the advice, Hardnoks. "Improper" as long as functional is fne w/ me....

 

Thanks very much for the info. Do you happen to know how to remove the hands from the clock? I am interested in repainting them but am concerned about breaking them w/ improper removal.
Thanks-

 

You can simply grab them at the center and pull them off.
When you put them back on align them all back at 12:00 to keep time.
You can also just use a small paint brush and paint them by hand leaving them on.

And I'll tell you how I remove the studs..I find it easier than drilling them out.
Take the bezel and lens retainer and turn it sideways...take a thin flat head screw driver and put it in between them at the studs and whack it with a hammer...it will break the studs off flush then you can center punch the holes and drill them out.
Always drill at an angle if you drill straight it WILL come out of the bezel.
Be glad to help if I can

Jason

 

Hey, I remembered that I DID still use those screws to put it back together but I used the JB Weld to glue them in and help them hold.
It's like being a senior in highschool and trying to remember what you did when you were in pre-school.
I also remember that it was VERY delicate as far as the drilling and putting those screws in. That's pot metal I believe and it will crack if you screw those screws in to tight. I think that's why I used the JB Weld to help them hold.
What I don't remember is if I used 3 or 6 screws and I'm not taking the clock apart to find out.
I also painted the clock hands while attached to the clock.

Good luck.

 

Thanks Jason, Hardnoks & Wilcox Corvette. With your advice I was able to separate the outer bezel from the lense and even kept the rivets intact. I'll pull the hands and spray paint them. Amazingly enough the clock still works but needs a face lift.
Justin