9020 or HP500? Which would I get the most use out of?

[Simeon]

I have been battling an Omega 3220 movement with Dubois Depraz chrono module. I have several generations of technical guide for this movement which initially proposes using 9020 for oiling pivots and in the later version HP500.  Not particularly concerned as to which one I use for the 3220 and I am also happy to have an oil somewhere between HP1300 and 9010 for oiling the slower moving wheels in the train on other watches.

Which one would I get the most use out of for servicing other watches?

Edited 14 hours ago by Simeon

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, Simeon said:

I have been battling an Omega 3220 movement with Dubois Depraz chrono module. I have several generations of technical guide for this movement which initially proposes using 9020 for oiling pivots and in the later version HP500.  Not particularly concerned as to which one I use for the 3220 and I am also happy to have an oil somewhere between HP1300 and 9010 for oiling the slower moving wheels in the train on other watches.

Which one would I get the most use out of for servicing other watches?

Depends what sizes of watches you mostly service . If you were to say pocket watches then you might benefit by wholly replacing the 9010 for 9020. As a rough guide hp500 is twice the viscosity of 9020 which is twice the viscosity of 9010 at 20°c.  So hp500 would give you a more mid-range oil between thin 9010 and HP1300, but as it happens hp750 is more mid- range than hp500, but is that more or less useful when oiling a train of wheels. After the barrel arbor the jump down in pivot size is around half, then after the centre wheel maybe more than half until the escapement. And pivot size isn't especially a deciding factor, as the torque and speed of a pivot would be more relevant when thinking about which oil to choose. So 750 might only be useful on a centre wheel and nothing else, and 500 might be better than 1300 for oiling the centre wheel but still comprises the rest of the train, where 9020 would be ok for the train but too thin for the centre wheel, leaving only 1300 for the oiling of it. You see the problem we're having here. What can be ok for one thing is less ok for another in a different way, damping down power compared to oil spread.  Maybe mixing a drop from two opposite range viscosity synthetic oils will give you some approximate thickness of an in-between . You want a short answer now ?  I tnink I'd go with the 9020. Now be prepared for a whole host of different answers.

Then to go with this, watch manufacturers change their minds about which oils to use more times than actresses change their knickers. 

Edited 13 hours ago by Neverenoughwatches

[Simeon]

I did wonder about the feasibility of mixing two oils. I am guessing that 9010 / 9020 or HP500 / HP1300 would be a better mix than 9010 / HPxx.

Some people might think that was heresy but I guess the only consequence is that you might have to service the movement again if you got a poor result.