Rodico Recycling?

[MechanicMike]

anyone else ever wonder if you can clean or recycle Rodico? No matter how hard I try making sure I only use it with cots or gloves on, it's inevitable: it will get dirty/contaminated and eventually I break out some fresh stuff so I'm not leaving a snail trail on everything it touches. this question dawned on me yesterday as I was doing just that(getting some fresh stuff, that is). Another question-has anybody used the "premium" Rodico? what's with the 'premium' tag and higher price? Talk atcha tomorrow. its Taps, and lights out.

[watchweasol]

Hi Mike    I used the same stuff (typeclean) when servicing typewriters may years ago for cleaning the type heads once it was used up and dirty it went in the bin.  The old stuff from using on watches can be reused for holding parts on the bench when measuring or other like tasks but the bin is where it usually ends up.  

Premium Rodico is likly to be an altered formula designed to remove money from your pocket it will be a bit more tacky so it collects more dollars/pounds    .

[Tudor]

I always have two pieces in use. The “clean” piece, and the “dirty” piece. I use the dirty one mostly, and the clean one for critical stuff. I also occasionally knead it to expose a “clean” area- clean enough for the task at hand anyway. It picks up the dust from the air and bench so keep it under cover when not in use  

I also have one bar of gray premium rodico. I hate it. It’s softer and stickier- it tends to leave bits of gray rodico behind. Seems like chewing gum actually. I may give it another try but i feel it is not worth the up charge. 

[AshF]

I've often seen watchmakers videos on YouTube where their Rodico looks like a small dirty rodent.  I expect that if it gets any more hairy it'll scurry itself off to the bin.

I also keep a clean piece, for cleaning inside of crystals before final casing.

Anyone used any other type?  A*F Rub-Off Cleaning Compound?

[nickelsilver]

There's no cleaning it, as above, keep a little clean piece for clean stuff and the dirty for odd jobs.

 

The Premium Rodico is total garbage. I don't know a single professional who likes it at all.  I haven't tried the A*F, but they recently were bought by an industrial tool supply house here, and I suspect their offering will diminish quite a bit.

[HectorLooi]

My mentor taught me a trick which he learnt from his Swiss master. Wrap a tiny blob of Rodico on a pegwood, like a Q-tip. You'll save a whole lot more of the stuff. And change it more often.

He also told me that the stuff from stationery stores, like Faber Castell's, work perfectly well, and at a fraction of the price of Rodico.

[MechanicMike]

15 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Mike    I used the same stuff (typeclean) when servicing typewriters may years ago for cleaning the type heads once it was used up and dirty it went in the bin.  The old stuff from using on watches can be reused for holding parts on the bench when measuring or other like tasks but the bin is where it usually ends up.  

Premium Rodico is likly to be an altered formula designed to remove money from your pocket it will be a bit more tacky so it collects more dollars/pounds    .

hi W2!  I usually keep the mousy stuff around for odds and ends yeah. so safe to say, keep it fresh for the clean work, right?

[MechanicMike]

15 hours ago, Tudor said:

I always have two pieces in use. The “clean” piece, and the “dirty” piece. I use the dirty one mostly, and the clean one for critical stuff. I also occasionally knead it to expose a “clean” area- clean enough for the task at hand anyway. It picks up the dust from the air and bench so keep it under cover when not in use  

I also have one bar of gray premium rodico. I hate it. It’s softer and stickier- it tends to leave bits of gray rodico behind. Seems like chewing gum actually. I may give it another try but i feel it is not worth the up charge. 

I think one of the key takeaways is keeping it covered, of which I am miserable at. once done, off to the corner of my benchtop, free to pick up anything and everything passing by. I think I'm going to start covering it because I'm like that peanuts character Pigpen, I attract and carry around an ever present cloud of dust wherever I go...what I'm hearing there isn't a way to recycle it and get it un-dirty again. 

[MechanicMike]

Just now, MechanicMike said:

I also have one bar of gray premium rodico. I hate it. It’s softer and stickier- it tends to leave bits of gray rodico behind. Seems like chewing gum actually. I may give it another try but i feel it is not worth the up charge.

WW kinda said the same thing. good only at removing money from your pocket...thats good tho because i was going to try it. maybe I won't.

[MechanicMike]

8 hours ago, AshF said:

I've often seen watchmakers videos on YouTube where their Rodico looks like a small dirty rodent.  I expect that if it gets any more hairy it'll scurry itself off to the bin.

I also keep a clean piece, for cleaning inside of crystals before final casing.

Anyone used any other type?  A*F Rub-Off Cleaning Compound?

yep. mine looks like what a cat might cough up...

I've seen that A*F stuff just the other day and thought I might give it a run..

[MechanicMike]

7 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

There's no cleaning it, as above, keep a little clean piece for clean stuff and the dirty for odd jobs.

 

The Premium Rodico is total garbage. I don't know a single professional who likes it at all.  I haven't tried the A*F, but they recently were bought by an industrial tool supply house here, and I suspect their offering will diminish quite a bit.

I might try some even quicker before that happens....

[MechanicMike]

3 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

He also told me that the stuff from stationery stores, like Faber Castell's, work perfectly well, and at a fraction of the price of Rodico.

know the name of it and/or what it's used for? is it that eraser stuff?

[watchweasol]

Hi Mike  Keep it in a zip loc bag and cut a little off to use and bag it seperatly untill knackered then bin it .  The stationry store stuff is somewhat like Blu Tac in the UK but BluTac is a little sticky,  commonly use for sticking notes to walls on a temporary basis and can be removed easily and re used.  I have some in the workshop for various uses including holding small parts (click springs and the like) the little Bu**ers dont fly away .