Cleaning gold plating with household products

[Koby]

Hey, everyone. I have two gold-plated Seiko Lassale watches that have been through it. I’m brand new to repair and maintenance and thought cleaning these up is a great place to start. I have no specialized equipment to clean them other than the tools to open the case back and remove the movement. 
 

That said, is there a good way to clean these up with at home products? I’d like them as shiny as possible. But I’m not wanting them like new. 
 

Thanks!

[Koby]

Sorry. The title should have been “Cleaning gold plating with household products.”

[Mark]

1 minute ago, Koby said:

Sorry. The title should have been “Cleaning gold plating with household products.”

I’ve updated the title for you. 

[Koby]

28 minutes ago, Mark said:

I’ve updated the title for you. 

Thanks!

[lexacat]

Great topic, I'm also looking forward to the responses as I've recently acquired a vintage gold plated ladies rotary watch that needs some cleaning.

I was considering ultrasonic, but everything I've been reading states "do not put your gold plated jewellery into an ultrasonic". This appears mainly because of US cleaning fluids causing damage/discoloration, but some comments have mentioned the US vibrations may damage the plating. Honestly, I doubt US would damage plating through vibrations alone (unless you already have flaking plating I guess), but I'd love to hear what the experts here say.

I figure ultrasonic cleaning would be fine with a mild degreaser like a dishsoap in distilled water though, with thorough drying after.

IPA (isopropyl alcohol) wouldn't effect gold/silver/platinum in any way so should also be safe to use, for example as a wipe with cotton swabs or similar. If you want to use IPA or any other combustible materials in an ultrasonic cleaner you should use it in a sealed container, for example putting your case in a sealed glass jar with IPA, then putting that jar into the (water filled) US tank.

Obviously remove the movement before cleaning the case.

[ifibrin]

I’m quite sure ultrasonic cleaning will cause more plating to flake off, if there’s already some damage.

Elma Red 1:9 is a good water based watch cleaner that will brighten up (make shiny!) any brass, gold, gold plated surfaces. It doesn’t need any specialised equipment for use either. However, if you leave items in it for too long it can damage the surface.

[Neverenoughwatches]

On 10/23/2022 at 8:29 AM, lexacat said:

Great topic, I'm also looking forward to the responses as I've recently acquired a vintage gold plated ladies rotary watch that needs some cleaning.

I was considering ultrasonic, but everything I've been reading states "do not put your gold plated jewellery into an ultrasonic". This appears mainly because of US cleaning fluids causing damage/discoloration, but some comments have mentioned the US vibrations may damage the plating. Honestly, I doubt US would damage plating through vibrations alone (unless you already have flaking plating I guess), but I'd love to hear what the experts here say.

I figure ultrasonic cleaning would be fine with a mild degreaser like a dishsoap in distilled water though, with thorough drying after.

IPA (isopropyl alcohol) wouldn't effect gold/silver/platinum in any way so should also be safe to use, for example as a wipe with cotton swabs or similar. If you want to use IPA or any other combustible materials in an ultrasonic cleaner you should use it in a sealed container, for example putting your case in a sealed glass jar with IPA, then putting that jar into the (water filled) US tank.

Obviously remove the movement before cleaning the case.

Much depends on the condition of the case and the plating to stsrt with.  An us can do a very good job of removing debris and grime from a case quickly and efficiently. But i have in the past had pitting occur on an old worn case that has been subject to a particularly bad skin acid attack. The plating if in good condition can generally stand up to the untrasonic. Play it by ear if the case is worn then limit the cleaning to a good proprietary case cleaner and a soft tooth brush. Always thoughly dry. I like to polish up with autosol then maybe brasso which is finer. Machine polishing is also ok but a thin plate layer can quicjly be removed if not careful. Look for a 10 micron plate stamp to feel nore confident.

[watchweasol]

A jeweler friend always cleaned rings etc in warm water, dishsoap (FairyLiquid) and a little ammonia Spoonful in the U/s for a min or two brushed with a tooth brush,    swore by it , he never had any problems, thorough drying and a polish with an impregnated cloth.