Dial (face) cleaning?

[watchweasol]

Hi Welcome to the forum.  Cleaning watch faces is a dodgy operation, because  of the type of finishes on the different styles, Some are transfers, some are laquered and some are painted so in trying to remover blemishes etc.   damage could occur, so other than using a damp safe bud leave well alone

[Dwight]

I was afraid you'd say that.  Is there somewhere that I could send it to be professionally cleaned or are you advising against that as well?

[watchweasol]

Hi To have it professionly cleaned/restored in some cases devalues the watch and as its a family piece  it is probably left as is. You could always polish up the crystal to remove any surface scratches, This will enhance the look of the watch

[canthus]

Agree with comments above as this is clearly and expensive watch if perhaps only because of brand name.  It is often the case that small dinks and scratches in the crystal appear as 'shadows' on the dial which look very much like dirt/dust particles.  Often when the movement is removed the dial is found to be in excellent condition or there are few particles of loose dust/dirt then can be removed with a simple puff of air.   I would try and polish the crystal before anything else, 'Polywatch' paste is ideal for this.  If you are feel competent to un-case the movement then you could also inspect the dial and blow of any debris and clean the inside of the crystal.  Otherwise you could ensure this is done by a professional when a service is done.

[Dwight]

Thank you, Canthus.

[gary17]

Hey guys 

is it possible to clean 1950s 60s watch dials. I just attempted to clean a eterna matic 1000 dial only to see the lettering float away. If its not the lettering its the minute markers.

So before i have another go i thought i would ask. I was only using warm water and a cotton wool ear cleaner .

Any advice gratefully received

cheers

gary

[watchweasol]

Hi Gary   Alot of the old dials were water transfers so best left alone, which is probably the best advice for all dials.  Depending on the severity of th case a cotton bud lightly moistened may go some way to reducing the dirt. But be very careful.

[JohnR725]

1 hour ago, gary17 said:

is it possible to clean 1950s 60s watch dials.

cleaning dials no matter what the most part is very problematic. If it's a porcelain dial with the numbers are actually fused into the porcelain then those can usually be cleaned. Although in one case I heard of a porcelain dial with the numbers were painted and they didn't like to be cleaned at all. then you have all the rest the dials which can be either painted or silvered or electroplated. Then all the rest the lettering and numbering is typically printed but it could be a decal I suppose. A lot of times there lacquered which means the amount of cleaning you can do is going to be limited if the problem is under the lacquer.

 

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

Depending on the severity of th case a cotton bud lightly moistened may go some way to reducing the dirt. But be very careful.

if you really insisted on cleaning what I quoted would be the best but. Cleaning dials can range from a very happy outcome to a very unhappy outcome with the unhappy outcome tending to be more often than a happy outcome.

[HectorLooi]

Yes! JohnR725 is absolutely right. I learnt it the hard way. Luckily they were throwaway quartz watches. 

Now I only dab it with Rodico affixed to a pegwood stick and occasionally use the wooden end to coax stubborn dirt off.

[LittleWatchShop]

Here is a watch I bought on ebay for around ten bucks.  I have no affection for it as it was just part of the 404 club.  It is cleaned and running nicely.  The dial needs work.

Soooooo...this is a good test vehicle to see what I might do to clean up the dial--knowing full well that it may end up FUBAR.

So I am soliciting ideas for cleanup/restoration.

Ideas?

[jdm]

17 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

this is a good test vehicle to see what I might do to clean up the dial

This is often asked. In most cases the sort of damage like on your watch can't be cleaned because is not dirt in the first place. It is marking, decay, oxidation, chemical reaction, or anything else except superficial dirt.
You will read that the only "safe way" to clean these is going gently with demineralized water on a q-tip, well that may be safe where there is some lacquer, most likely will not clean much, but will damage matt finishes. And we're talking about the dial plate only, then there's the indexes that should be removed and replated, hands and dots relumed, etc, etc.

[Plato]

I tried perchloroethylene (dry cleaning fluid) recently on a dial using cotton swabs (q tips?). It seemed to pick up a fair bit of dirt but the dial didn't look much cleaner apart from the dial markers. I've tried IPA too but found it leaves a residue. 

[watchweasol]

I an afraid that jdm gave a good and precise answering that dial cleaning it is frought with problems but if you are willing to sacrifice the dial by all means have a go and see what works best for you. Things to bear in mind are the composition of the dial, painted, painted and laquered, transfer, water transfer etc,    good luck. 

[clockboy]

If you can remove the indexes then perhaps a decal printed transfer onto a newly painted dial. See vid which I have tried, but just had a lot of failures but got very close to perfect. I did purchase some laser decal sheets but I have never had time to test. Just a thought !!!
 

 

[LittleWatchShop]

Acetone cleans up well, but also removes printing.  I knew that ahead of time...not a surprise.  I cannot figure out what is on the numbers...not rust...some kind of deposit.  If I can clean up the numbers, I can just remove everything else...stay tuned.

[LittleWatchShop]

I am going to order some brass blanks from Esslinger.  Using them and the transfer paper I use to make printed circuits, I will attempt to imprint a dial on the blank...after I paint it.  With a flat blank, I am very confident about this method because I have used it many times for PCBs.  Will not work for this Waltham dial because it is curved.

[Plato]

23 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Acetone cleans up well, but also removes printing.  I knew that ahead of time...not a surprise.  I cannot figure out what is on the numbers...not rust...some kind of deposit.  If I can clean up the numbers, I can just remove everything else...stay tuned.

Acetone is nasty, avoid! 

[LittleWatchShop]

Just now, Plato said:

Acetone is nasty, avoid!

I have lots of experience with it...manufacturing PCBs...

[Plato]

27 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

I have lots of experience with it...manufacturing PCBs...

Cleaning solder residue? I use alcohol and lint free paper but my work isn't large scale stuff. 

[Graziano]

Hi there LittleWatchShop ,on that particular dial I would go no further than saliva (enzyme solution ) on a q tip .It will not remove printing and lacquer only dirt and leave it at that. But don't do it after eating chocolate and drinking coffee or you might end up with a tropical dial 

Cheers 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Graziano

[LittleWatchShop]

1 hour ago, Plato said:

Cleaning solder residue? I use alcohol and lint free paper but my work isn't large scale stuff. 

For that too (50/50 acetone and IPA).  But I use pure acetone to remove toner from the pcb after the toner transfer process.

[Pedro]

I have restored quite a few dials and have gained enough experience about when to do it and when not to. In this case I would definitely leave it alone and recognise that the patina and wear is part of the watches history. Any attempt to clean or restore this dial will in my opinion end in disaster and disappointment! Don't touch it! Live with it and learn to like it.