How to loosen a rusted dial screw.

[Flubber]

I've got an old Nvidia Ladies Watch with an ETA 2360 movement that I'm trying to get up and running. The movement looks nice and in good shape and luckily I also have som spare parts lying around. The dial is mounted with tiny screws on the sude of the movement. There seems to have been som moisture ingress into the movement since I can see traces of rust and, of course, one if the dial screws has rusted pretty bad so I'm unable too remove the dial. I can see the groove in the screw and I can fit a screwdiver there but the screw is really stuck. I've tried putting some WD40 on it and letting it soak for a day but to no avail. 
 

How can I remove the screw ? I have extra screws if needed so I don't need the stuck screw.

[watchweasol]

Hi  Put a drop of vinegar in the hole and let it soak  Being acidic it should hopefully eat the rust a little.

[Nucejoe]

No harm to try various solutions , penetrating oil , clean reapply and give it more time to soak. If you can get to the end of dial feel tapping on it helps push the feet out, you may end up removing parts to near full disassembly to gain access to free end of dial feet. 

If you got a soldering gun, try to heat the screw only, mount pointer needles on the gun to put in contact with the screw. Expansion and contraction due to heat breaks the rust loose.

Rusted dial screw can be a royal pain in lower abdomen.

Good luck.

[Flubber]

Thank you guys for your suggestions. I do have a soldering gun so I'll try that. I also have some vinegar but never thought I would use it on any of my watches though.

[jdrichard]

May also try lighter fluid if it is super gummed up


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[Nucejoe]

Just for a test, drop a used faulty gear- arbour assembly in vinegar, couple of days later, you would find the gear damaged to a point that arbour has come loose.

I sometimes use vinegar or soak parts in it, but no longer than thirty minutes.

[nickelsilver]

Hi  Put a drop of vinegar in the hole and let it soak  Being acidic it should hopefully eat the rust a little.

This can help, but you'll want to clean out the oil first. Don't get the vinegar anywhere but in that hole!

Sometimes alternating between tightening and loosening can help, if it moves a tiny bit then get more oil in there and go slowly. Rust takes up more space than the original steel; the oil will help move the rust out of the threads as you go.

[VWatchie]

My dial screws weren't rusty but in this context I thought you (or someone else) might find the following thread interesting:

 

[rduckwor]

The soldering iron trick has worked for me several times.

 

Good Luck,

RMD

[Nucejoe]

1 hour ago, rduckwor said:

The soldering iron trick has worked for me several times.

 

Good Luck,

RMD

. Hey, great. .

[Flubber]

Thank you all for your input. Unfortunately it looks like I must give up my efforts since the screw won't bugde at all and I risk making everything worse since not much is left of the groove in the screw. I think I've tried everything. Soaking in WD 40, vinegar bath and heating and cooling the screw but all for nothing. I'm very frustrated having been beaten by a tiny screw.

 

I will put the movement in a box, forget about it and try again in a year, perhaps.

[jdm]

25 minutes ago, Flubber said:

Unfortunately it looks like I must give up my efforts since the screw won't bugde at all

Can you post a good side picture? It could be possible to grab the head with a pin vice, or deepen the slot with a file made for that.

Another way to take it, sacrifice the dial foot by sawing or just pulling, it can be resoldered.  And with the place totally stripped the screw can be dissolved in alum.

Edited March 7, 2020 by jdm

[nichod]

If available in your part of the world, Sea Foam Deep Creep is hands down the best rusted screw remover ever made and available at motor parts stores.

Everything from old fire trucks to watches.  I've used it on a number of setting lever screws after water ingress.  They looked hopeless, but freed in 24 hours of immersion soaking.  One lever cleaned up enough to be reused.

The trick is to be able to get the screw into the stuff without getting it on the dial.  Not sure what it would do to a dial.

[Ammar]

Hi, I had the same problem once and after I tried every thing it turned out that the freaking dial screwes were reverse screwes I wasn't so happy about that.

I don't know how common this is but coud it be the case with your watch?

[jdm]

6 minutes ago, Ammar said:

Hi, I had the same problem once and after I tried every thing it turned out that the freaking dial screwes were reverse screwes I wasn't so happy about that.
I don't know how common this is but coud it be the case with your watch?

No. That is about a dial screw (tiny ones one the side of the mainplate holding dial feet), which are never left threaded.
The only screws made like that are the one subject to loosening factors, typical example the crown wheel which turns anti-clockwise. 

[Ammar]

6 minutes ago, jdm said:

No. That is about a dial screw (tiny ones one the side of the mainplate holding dial feet), which are never left threaded.
The only screws made like that are the one subject to loosening factors, typical example the crown wheel which turns anti-clockwise. 

I am aware of that and that's why it was a shock for me when the screw loosend when I turned it the other way, I still have the watch and I just oppened it to make sure that I am no mistaken and they are knfact left threaded.

It's an old lady's watch says Laurens on the dial and the movement says swiss made.

I know nothing about this brand it's just what's avilable  for me 

[jdm]

1 hour ago, Ammar said:

I am aware of that and that's why it was a shock for me when the screw loosend when I turned it the other way

Which screw? Please post a picture so we can understand what are you talking about.

[Ammar]

The dial screwes, those little screwes that hold the dial in its place they are located on the sides of the movement, they tighten on the dial feet to secure it and sometimes they are concentric (I spelled that wrong didn't I) and that's what this post is about right?

my phone camera is an ass and doean't like focusing if I bring stuff close to it.

I am an absolute ignorant noob but I know what dial screwes are 

[jdm]

12 hours ago, Ammar said:

My phone camera is an ass and doean't like à if I bring stuff close to it.

I am an absolute ignorant noob but I know what dial screwes are 

To take macro pictures with a common phone just place the eyeglass in front of the lens.

The reason why I was asking for a picture of the screw is because there are actual screws horizontal to the plate, and dial retainers that are actually eccentrics, these are mounted vertically. It would be perfectly normal to loosen an eccentric in a clockwise direction, but it would be very strange to meet a left threaded dial screw, because there would be no reason for that.

[Ammar]

3 hours ago, jdm said:

To take macro pictures with a common phone just place the eyeglass in front of the lens.

The reason why I was asking for a picture of the screw is because there are actual screws horizontal to the plate, and dial retainers that are actually eccentrics, these are mounted vertically. It would be perfectly normal to loosen an eccentric in a clockwise direction, but it would be very strange to meet a left threaded dial screw, because there would be no reason for that.

Now I used my brother's iphone to take a couple of pictures these are the screws that are left thread I was gonna submit a question when I was trying to desassemble this movement but I tried turning them the other way and they just lossened, I thought that's a normal thing but you seem to be surprised which means this is strange

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Ammar

[Elton]

The smaller cog wheel has a left hand thread.  Turn clockwise to unscrew it

[jdm]

24 minutes ago, Elton said:

The smaller cog wheel has a left hand thread.  Turn clockwise to unscrew it

Read above, ammar is referring to the dial screw indicated by a black arrow in the picture. 

[Jon]

Ammar, that's an FHF 362 with the left handed dial screws. They even have the ubiquitous three cuts in them to denote that. I'm working on one at the moment and too was surprised by them.

[Jon]

I use oxalic acid to remove rust. It's also great for limescale around the house. Mix it up with some water and it's amazing for cleaning up old collets and tools. Cheap as chips, which is good. It's a lot stronger than acetic acid (vinegar)

 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Jon

[Ammar]

There is a thing called Evapo rust used by people who restore old ruaty stuff, they claim that it's super safe  ut I don't know how would it react with the jewels and other parts if it comes in contact with them.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Ammar