ETA 2893-1 hairspring cleaning fiasco

[noirrac1j]

I Have a Hamilton Khaki GMT with an ETA 2893-1 automatic. It was running fine, just a little scatter on the timegrapher. I decided to clean the hairspring in the hopes of getting it to run better and dipped it in fresh KleenStrip Painter's varnish. It says on the can that it replaces VM&P Naptha. Well ,when I put in the balance back on, it was running very fast and the timegrapher looked like a constellation map. After removing the balance and taking a close look, I know see that the resin holding the hairspring to the balance wheel is completely dissolved!  All gone. There's nothing holding the hairspring to the balance wheel stud now. Is there s solution to this? Do I bite the bullet and  buy a new balance+hairpring and accept first prize for dumb repair mistake of the day? Mein Gott....

 

Edited April 14 by noirrac1j
typo

[Poljot]

Why not to use epoxy to secure it in place?

[GuyMontag]

If it dissolved whatever was holding the hairspring in place you may want to take a look at the impulse jewel and make sure it is still secure.

[HectorLooi]

What is the actual solvent in Kleenstrip? I checked the web and found that there are a lot of products called "Kleenstrip", ranging ftom acetone to paint strippers.

[JohnR725]

4 hours ago, noirrac1j said:

KleenStrip Painter's varnish. It says on the can that it replaces VM&P Naptha.

I don't think varnish is what you want to be using on your hairspring so I suspect you don't have quite the right title for the product. Then the problem is the company makes lots of products as you can find at the link below.

then if I do a search for something that replaces naptha the only thing I find is the picture below which has been discontinued. then the problem with products designed to replace other products they probably didn't have hairspring cleaning in mine as that's not really with stuff like this is made for.

Then the problem you're having is actually quite common if this was a Chinese clone and movement as the clues they used for the hairspring really doesn't work well. They can do a search and see if you find where people keep on gluing their hairspring otherwise as has already been suggested up above try epoxy. Probably want to do it in the watch if you can see can keep the hairspring in the proper alignment.

 

 

 

https://kleanstrip.com/

 

[VWatchie]

4 hours ago, GuyMontag said:

If it dissolved whatever was holding the hairspring in place you may want to take a look at the impulse jewel and make sure it is still secure.

I'm pretty sure the impulse pin is held in place by friction on this caliber, not shellac, so luckily that shouldn't be a problem. Of course, it doesn't hurt to take a look.

BTW, I've been using Horosolv degreaser for my balance springs for several years now and I'm super happy with it. Yes, likely costs a fortune compared to KleanStrip but as an enthusiast, I use very small volumes.

Edited April 14 by VWatchie

[watchweasol]

Hi When cleaning balances ,regardless of whether they are glued or not use products that are declared safe. As said by john375 although you read what’s on the can it might not be the full story, if unsure ask the forum members, might save a headache.

[noirrac1j]

9 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

https://kleanstrip.com/

 

Yes I used the Kleenstrip as mentioned above

 

 

This is a genuine ETA 2893-1, not a Chinese clone--I would have said so. I did not clean the pallet jewels so those are fine. I know on older watches they sometimes used Shellac to adhere the jewels, but I have used VM&P and naphtha in the past on Bulova and Omega movements without having this issue. I wonder if someone was fiddling with the hairspring?

 

I glued it back using JB weld super weld extreme and let it cure overnight. Its running OK on the timegrapher,although a few blips and aberrations here and there. JB weld says it  "provides a strong, flexible bond and cures in 24 hours. Maybe its a little too flexible? I ran it dial up and down with these results. the tiny aberrations are annoying though. Should have I secured with epoxy instead of the JB weld super weld?

12 hours ago, GuyMontag said:

If it dissolved whatever was holding the hairspring in place you may want to take a look at the impulse jewel and make sure it is still secure.

Yes, those are fine. Didn't dip the pallet in this stuff.

Edited April 14 by noirrac1j

[ManSkirtBrew]

46 minutes ago, noirrac1j said:

Yes, those are fine. Didn't dip the pallet in this stuff

Pretty sure @GuyMontag meant the impulse jewel on the roller table on the balance staff.

As for the timegrapher trace, have you demagnetized the movement? That might explain the slightly wavy line.

The little blips look to me like a rounding error in the beat error calculation so sometimes it tries to draw two lines, sometimes one.

[noirrac1j]

1 hour ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

Pretty sure @GuyMontag meant the impulse jewel on the roller table on the balance staff.

As for the timegrapher trace, have you demagnetized the movement? That might explain the slightly wavy line.

The little blips look to me like a rounding error in the beat error calculation so sometimes it tries to draw two lines, sometimes one.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a demagnetizer somewhere in a box, but haven't used it in this case. Thanks for reminding me I have one! The impulse jewel is good, it was just the hairspring/stud point, It seemed to have been secured with some kind of glue or resin.

 

Joe