Rolex Oyster bracelet cleaning

[dibs1]

Hi all,

 

Working on a Rolex explorer 114270 and the oyster bracelet is incredibly dirty as the links are folded and not solid there is a tremendous amount of build up in-between each link. Wondering if anyone has any tips on cleaning these bracelets. I have tried ultrasonic with some dish soap for about 15 min, and some Zenith Non-ammoniated cleaning solution as well. While a good amount of buildup is gone I can still see it lodged in there. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

Sincerely 

[Nucejoe]

A 48 hr soak in Coca Cola and  (  immediately after )  your tooth water pic flow and if thats not  strong enough, its car wash, cleans the bracelet and wash your car too.

Be careful car wash nozzles  shoot out flow strong enough to tear skin, so wear a glove.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Nucejoe

[RichardHarris123]

What is in Coke that makes it a good cleaner? 

[Nucejoe]

3 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

What is in Coke that makes it a good cleaner? 

Phospharic acid.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Nucejoe

[watchweasol]

Hi some bracelets can get very dirty and to get them clean takes a few goes to loosen the dirt .  Try Jose method with the coke and then a good brushing with detergent , I find dish soap is ok but I believe Joe uses waxing powder mixed into a paste.   Cheer

[Waggy]

I first clean by hand, using an old toothbrush and dish soap and a little warm water in the palm of my hand over the bathroom sink (the wife loves me doing this!!!), this usually takes a few rounds to take the worst of the dirt away. Once the part is relatively clean I then place in the ultrasonic at at 40 degrees C for 10 mins with dish soap solution - this will get the bits that you couldn't reach with the toothbrush and because you first removed the worst of the dirt by hand the solution will not be saturated with dirt. Again this may take several cycles. Once the detergent remains clear at the end of the cleaning cycle, rinse the strap under the tap to wash off any residual detergent and then put it through a couple plain water cycles (no detergent) in the ultrasonic (40 degrees C for 10 mins), just to be sure you got rid of all the soap. You can how dry it off and it should be clean enough to use or polish up

Dish detergent is a good choice because most of the debris is dead human skin and oils (AKA arm cheese ) which has attracted dirt and grit. Detergents are good at removing these organic oils etc as they closely resemble what is on your dishes, rather than things like naptha or IPA which are better suited for removing mineral oils and greases etc. Detergent also has the advantage that it is safe to use, unlike acids which could interact in unexpected ways with coatings etc.