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Pocket watch lubrication (funny story)

Neverdiewondering
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Neverdiewondering New Member

Neverdiewondering

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I have a funny story. I live right next to the Sydney cbd and was out walking one day when I came across a Parcel that was unopened and either discarded (maybe through embarrassment) or dropped.. I took it home, opened it and found several bottles of Super Slyde (clear synthetic oil) sexual lubricant.. 

After several minutes of laughter I decided to keep them as the label says it has won awards for best lubricant.!!

After months I purchased a "Smiths" pocket watch on ebay from overseas.. On arriving I was disappointed to find it didn't work.. It was a pretty low grade mechanical pocket watch mass produced in Great Britain.. I read online that mechanical watches need to be lubricated and thought of the bottles of Super Slyde.. I added a drop to the spring and workings and BINGO!!! it works.. 

Do you think it's okay to use this lubricant on my mechanical pocket watches? 

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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

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2 hours ago, Neverdiewondering said:

Do you think it's okay to use this lubricant on my mechanical pocket watches? 

Realistically just to get the watch running you could use just about anything including olive Oil. I guess it just depends on how much you care about the watch? Using unknown lubrication substances might be okay for short-term we just don't know what its long-term properties are. Especially if this is not what was designed for.

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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All lubricants are made for a reason. What you used is not for pocket watch movements. If it’s this type of movement, you can’t do it much harm. The better movements such as jeweled pocket watches not recommended.  

smiths2.jpg

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AndyHull Distinguished Member

AndyHull

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The problem with bio compatible lubricants (surgical and "personal" lubricants), and oils like olive oil is that they may be water based. They would be fine in the short term, but may cause rusting and corrosion long term.

I'm sure the watch probably enjoyed the experience though.:P

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Vacherin Member

Vacherin

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Neats Foot oil is often used to treat leather goods. There is a really high grade available, £25 a gallon or so. Moibus used to base their oils on this 100+ years ago! Neatsfoot Oil is also marketed as a general massage oil. I wonder if anyone has tried that (on their pocket watches!!)?

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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

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4 hours ago, rodabod said:

Neatsfoot - that's D5

moebius Has such a weird website in that you can now download the tech sheets but you can't download the material safety sheets without having a username and password like that's going to happen that were to get one of those. I always thought D5 was a mineral oil but I did swipe the text off their website it looks like it has natural Oils it?  I didn't even think there were using natural oils anymore.

Group Microgliss D is available with several viscosities increasing from D-2 to D-5. These oils are a combination of mineral and natural oils with specific additives to provide excellent stability and good resistance to pressure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neatsfoot_oil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_oil

 

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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

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Thanks for the material safety sheets for D5 mentally I always think of it as a mineral oil I didn't realize they had natural oil in their. Then there's something else that confirms if you look at the oil it has a grayish tinge to it? So it confirms what I always suspected there is molybdenum disulfide In the oil.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
AndyHull Distinguished Member

AndyHull

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Well, we know the ingredients for the secret sauce, I wonder if I can brew my own.
1832194.jpg

The ratio of components would need to be guessed or simply invented, as any further analysis might incur the wrath of the Disposable Watch Group (SA). I wouldn't want to be hunted down by the Swatchfinder general. I'm assuming of course that this potion is covered by some existing (non expired) patent.

If it all goes wrong, I could always see if there are alternative uses for it "Super Slyde with added Moly" perhaps.:P

Edited by AndyHull
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