Is it a good idea?

[JJM 16]

I'm a newcomer to this pulling watches to bits game, thus haven't invested in any component cleaning apparatus/chems. Could I use acetone as a degreasant?..... Well obviously I could, but do you think I may suffer unforseen complications come reassembly/commissioning time?....... I was thinking small amounts in a oil tray dimple rather than a 50 gallon vat, as the cat may well meet its Waterloo in such a hazardous contraption. 

[watchweasol 1,329]

Hi  Cleaning can be done using Benzine, Naptha, and rinsed in Isopropyl alchohol as it dries with no residu. The small single portion jam jars are suitable for small portions and having a screw on lid the cat will be ok....   This subject has been covered many times so for further information use the search box in the top right of the home screen there have been various discussions relating to cleaning fluids and methods.  Cheers

[JJM 16]

Ahh right, mini jam jars eh..... Now that's a great idea...... Many thanks 

[CaptCalvin 132]

Acetone will melt the shellac in a flash. Also evaporates in a flash and fumes are bad and give a nasty migraine. Careful with that stuff. 

[JJM 16]

I only have a 50ml bottle..... I'm going to look into getting some alternate chems soon. 

[VWatchie 440]

You might find this very long thread useful: Cleaning Solutions, UltraSonic and not

[FLwatchguy73 526]

To expand some on what @CaptCalvin touched on earlier, you have to be careful what parts you expose to acetone. In most cases, there are a few components that are essentially glued together using a natural shellac. The acetone dissolves this shellac and the parts come loose. The 3 most common parts that are shellacked are the pallet stones, roller jewel and occasionally the hairspring stud. I have made this mistake early on and have suffered with the struggle to get everything back in place. Ammonia is probably one of the more mild cleaners in addition to the ones @watchweasol mentioned above. 

[Jon 119]

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but Isopropyl alcohol is like trying to find unicorn poo at this present time, as it goes to make hand sanitiser. The price has gone from £5 to £6 a litre to about £50 to £100! This virus has brought out the worst in some people who want to make a fast buck. Be wary of anyone who is selling it too cheap, as this is probably not IPA and you'll only get a bottle of water, then find the ebay account has closed...

[Nucejoe 1,328]

Some good news.Plasma extracted from blood of healed coronavirus patients' is showing good preventive properties.Nearly 8 thousand patients who have recovered and released from hospitals here are now donating blood for plasma extraction.

[transporter 147]

get yourself some lighter fluid (petrol) its just as good as anything else and i use loads of it, as well as using my L&R ultrasonic cleaning solutions.

[JJM 16]

Lighter fuel, great.... Ilike cost effective solutions 

[Tore 4]

1 hour ago, Nucejoe said:

Some good news.Plasma extracted from blood of healed coronavirus patients' is showing good preventive properties.Nearly 8 thousand patients who have recovered and released from hospitals here are now donating blood for plasma extraction.

Sounds innteresting! Can you post from where you got it?

[Nucejoe 1,328]

Showed on TV, same old approach serum are produced , surely you know from horse blood, however did not look promising for coronavirus, since same individuals were seen to contract the disease again, which showed human body incapable of producing anti-bodies to coronavirus, imunologist here are showing, the old serum is not totally ineffective after all.keep safe.

[JJM 16]

Yeah, that! 

[Jon 119]

5 hours ago, transporter said:

get yourself some lighter fluid (petrol) its just as good as anything else and i use loads of it, as well as using my L&R ultrasonic cleaning solutions.

You still need to rinse the lighter fluid off though

[JJM 16]

Ahh, so IPA Really required! 

[jdm 2,133]

A distilled water bath helps in between petroleoum ether (which is the proper hydrological product, formulated to clean unlike lighter fluid that contains oils and perfumes, incidentally is also cheaper) and IPA.

But what helps the most is your eyes observing each step in a clear jar against the light. If you can see filaments or any debris floating, thow it away and repeat.

Edited March 26, 2020 by jdm

[JJM 16]

To be honest all my experience so far has been with relatively new analog quartz watches. Which I have found are extremely challenging...... The components are so small....