Liquinox

[Murks]

Hi a bought this liquid called liquinox a watch this watch repairer called Alex use it but everytime a mixed it with still water to watch it keep bring rust and I'm not sure it is right to use?

[rehajm]

yes- water based and water is the enemy so if you use it you have to displace the water. Don't let parts soak for long and rinse in IPA immediately then warm air dry...

...there will be others here who avoid any water based products for just the reason you've discovered...

I use liquinox for extra dirty parts and case parts. It gets things extremely clean but use with caution...

[RichardHarris123]

I avoid water based cleaning products, tried them, straight in IPA and still rust. Cases go in hot water and washing up liquid. 

[HectorLooi]

I experienced this problem several years ago when I first started out in this hobby. 

I made a similar comment in a post about water-based cleaners causing rust, as did several other members.

I think it was @nickelsilver who promptly chided us for jumping to conclusions and making generalised statements. He pointed out that water-based cleaners have been used in horology for decades without any problems. He also noted that we were using non-horological products with non-horological cleaning machines.

After thinking about his comments, I have to agree with his observations. I think proper watch cleaning products have additives in them that inhibit corrosion and if used according to the manufacturer's instructions, should perform as expected.

Over this past year, I've been using my dental water-based ultrasonic cleaning solution for cleaning clock parts, as using quantities of L&R #111 enough to immerse such large parts would be expensive. And now I realize that I didn't get the rust problem. So, what did I do differently? 

I think it is the concentration of solution used. Dental ultrasonic cleaning solutions are typically used in 1% to 2% concentrations, similar to Liquinox. And up to 10% for heavily soiled instruments. I used about 5%-10% solutions as my clocks were really filthy.

Dental ultrasonic cleaners are supposed to contain corrosion inhibitors in them and are designed to prevent rust. But our surgical instruments are basically made of stainless steel and do not rust. So I suspect the amount of corrosion inhibitor in them are too low to prevent rust in soft and high carbon steels. By using my solutions at higher concentrations, it finally had enough corrosion inhibitors to prevent rust.

Liquinox is also supposed to contain corrosion inhibitors, but like dental solutions, are designed for stainless steels. So my advice is to try Liquinox at 5% concentrations and see what happens.

[watchweasol]

Hi. I use a water based ammoniated cleaner for clocks in the machine no problems. I think the most important part of the cleaning process is drying the parts well to avoid rust, warm air is the best and don’t skimp the process.

[ColinC]

I have had 1 watch out of the maybe 30 or so that I have done that formed some rust stains on the wheels.
I am not sure what I did different but to avoid it happening again I did the following

1. Lower the temperature of my washes.  Not sure if this was the cause but I feel the the one bad cycle was with a slightly higher temp (I keep the temp under 50º now)
2. Refresh my IPA rinse jars.  Perhaps I should add one more jar - my theory is that even though my final rinse jar looked clear and clean perhaps enough water had made it through from earlier stages to dilute it so that water remained on the parts?
3. I am more careful about getting the parts promptly out of the water based jars and into the IPA.  I previously thought that I had a lot of time as long as the parts were not exposed to air while wet but following this experience I am less inclined to wander off and do something else while the parts are cleaning.

Following this I have also taken to sometimes washing parts by hand in IPA using a small (#4) paint brush from the local arts shop and have found my results (measured in terms of watch amplitude) have improved.

 

[Jon]

21 hours ago, Murks said:

Hi a bought this liquid called liquinox a watch this watch repairer called Alex use it but everytime a mixed it with still water to watch it keep bring rust and I'm not sure it is right to use?

 

Is there any reason you're using Liquidnox instead of a solvent-based cleaner like L and R. I know it's biodegradable which is a good thing. As others have said, maybe up the concentration level.

[Murks]

Just because a so watch repairer on youtube using it to clean watch parts and plate and bridge thought to give it a try.

[rehajm]

Because of the concern of water here I use 1 percent Liquinox and deionized water, change the IPA rinse every time and into my dehydrator with the fan. No rust. The cost savings, no offensive odors and cleanliness are too good to pass up