Cleaning Fluids

[ricardopalamino]

Sometimes , but not always . I'm talking about Hamilton Electric watches . I will remove the hairspring when I am switching to another balance because of broken pivots , or the coil is not good on a balance but the hairspring is , Also to rotate the Hairspring on the balance because when the crown is pulled to the setting position it hacks and stops the balance . The balance has to be in a position that when the crown is pushed back in , the hairspring has to jump start the balance swing being that its an electric watch .

Otherwise I leave the hairspring on and use the glass eyedropper to place the cleaner directly on the hairspring being careful not to get the coil wet with the cleaner . Coils are varnished covered wires , and if  they touch each other that can change the resistance , or possibly short the coil .

  As I had mentioned , I use a fine cosmetic brush , or a fine artist watercolor brush to carefully clean the hairspring and the contacts on the balance shaft .

I use lighter fluid on mechanical watches . Drop the balance in the fluid , use a blower to agitate the fluid , place the balance on lint free absorbent paper , and use my blower to dry it .

[jdrichard]

Sometimes , but not always . I'm talking about Hamilton Electric watches . I will remove the hairspring when I am switching to another balance because of broken pivots , or the coil is not good on a balance but the hairspring is , Also to rotate the Hairspring on the balance because when the crown is pulled to the setting position it hacks and stops the balance . The balance has to be in a position that when the crown is pushed back in , the hairspring has to jump start the balance swing being that its an electric watch .

Otherwise I leave the hairspring on and use the glass eyedropper to place the cleaner directly on the hairspring being careful not to get the coil wet with the cleaner . Coils are varnished covered wires , and if  they touch each other that can change the resistance , or possibly short the coil .

  As I had mentioned , I use a fine cosmetic brush , or a fine artist watercolor brush to carefully clean the hairspring and the contacts on the balance shaft .

I use lighter fluid on mechanical watches . Drop the balance in the fluid , use a blower to agitate the fluid , place the balance on lint free absorbent paper , and use my blower to dry it .

I uae lighter fluid to hand clean all my watch work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[rodabod]

My watchmaking tutor told me earlier that he experimented with "essence" and found it to just be repackaged naphtha (lighter fuel). Not that I'd know what's in this Anchor solution.

[jdrichard]

My watchmaking tutor told me earlier that he experimented with "essence" and found it to just be repackaged naphtha (lighter fuel). Not that I'd know what's in this Anchor solution.

Most likely is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[rogart63]

Interesting thread. Having a lot of trouble with a hairspring that is sticking together tonight i search the forum for one dip. Found this? I have tried almost anything trying to clean the hairspring but nothing seamed to work? Until i thought what the h... . I try acetone. I have read about it somewhere that i might work? And it did. Tried google one dip and found out that Bergeon solution is tricloretylen and acetone? Thought that tricloretylene was forbidden? 

I am not recommending it as the shellac could melt with acetone. This was a Seiko so they aren't using shellac. 

Also read that instead of one dip you could use brakecleaner for cars or motorcycles. 

Nothing i would try though. 

[rodabod]

Acetone dissolves cyanoacrylate perfectly, so be careful.

For sticky hairspings, I have used a combination of naphtha and then Greiner water-based solution which is basically a strong soap. I rinse (quickly) in isopropyl alcohol which also has degreasing properties too. Not that I'm an expert, but thought I would share my experiences. 

 

[jdrichard]

Now I'm really not sure what to do...too many options. Just putting it in an ultrasonic cleaner should work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[jdrichard]

Now I'm really not sure what to do...too many options. Just putting it in an ultrasonic cleaner should work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[jdrichard]

Now I'm really not sure what to do...too many options. Just putting it in an ultrasonic cleaner should work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[jdrichard]

Now I'm really not sure what to do...too many options. Just putting it in an ultrasonic cleaner should work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[MilTimeCan]

On 1/22/2017 at 2:34 PM, noirrac1j said:

YEs exactly. I pour some into a small glass jar of about 100ml capacity and keep it tight covered. The solution does have a rapid evaporation rate, but if you cover tightly, it will prevent it from drying up too quickly and you can reuse it.

JC

hmmm this stuff sounds mighty interesting .....

[ricardopalamino]

Just to stir up the pot ,....I went to clean a dirty dial I wasn't worried about hurting . I gave it a shot of Simple Green , used a small soft bristle brush in a quick circular swabbing motion , and rinsed with warm water . The dial came out great . I wish I had taken a before photo because there was a big difference . I was using rodico before I tried this and the rodico was turning brown with the dirt it was removing .

 

Edited January 26, 2017 by ricardopalamino

[chadders1966]

19 hours ago, rogart63 said:

Interesting thread. Having a lot of trouble with a hairspring that is sticking together tonight i search the forum for one dip. Found this? I have tried almost anything trying to clean the hairspring but nothing seamed to work? Until i thought what the h... . I try acetone. I have read about it somewhere that i might work? And it did. Tried google one dip and found out that Bergeon solution is tricloretylen and acetone? Thought that tricloretylene was forbidden? 

I am not recommending it as the shellac could melt with acetone. This was a Seiko so they aren't using shellac. 

Also read that instead of one dip you could use brakecleaner for cars or motorcycles. 

Nothing i would try though. 

The Bergeon One Dip (there are other versions) is tetrachloroethylene not trichloroethylene - still potentially a hazard but not as dangerous, at least under current guidelines ;).

Stephen

[jdrichard]

Just to stir up the pot ,....I went to clean a dirty dial I wasn't worried about hurting . I gave it a shot of Simple Green , used a small soft bristle brush in a quick circular swabbing motion , and rinsed with warm water . The dial came out great . I wish I had taken a before photo because there was a big difference . I was using rodico before I tried this and the rodico was turning brown with the dirt it was removing .

 

What was the dial material? I used some denture cleaner on a dial once and it cleaned the dial right off


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ricardopalamino]

Just a painted dial , applied indexes, printed logo . I didn't see any clearcoat peeling or any thing else unusual .

[jdrichard]

Just a painted dial , applied indexes, printed logo . I didn't see any clearcoat peeling or any thing else unusual .

Where do I get Simple Green?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[NMarsh]

4 hours ago, jdrichard said:

Where do I get Simple Green?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Around me, I see it in Ace Hardware and True value hardware. You may have some luck checking out the "where to buy" product locator for places that sell it near you. 

[ricardopalamino]

6 hours ago, jdrichard said:

Where do I get Simple Green?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hardware stores , super markets , Wal-mart , Home depot . It is primarily a super grease cutter  . I don't let it linger on any watch parts , and I really don't use it on watch parts that often , but it does work . Try it out  first on anything that you are not afraid to mess up ,.... like a greasy car part .

Edited January 27, 2017 by ricardopalamino

[jdrichard]

Hardware stores , super markets , Wal-mart , Home depot . It is primarily a super grease cutter  . I don't let it linger on any watch parts , and I really don't use it on watch parts that often , but it does work . Try it out  first on anything that you are not afraid to mess up ,.... like a greasy car part .

Thanks for the tip.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

[StuartBaker104]

At the risk of further confusion, I use this for almost all watch parts. Don't leave shellac in it for too long, but good for everything else. Add a brush for more stubborn stains.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Instrument-Degreaser-Cleaning-Fluid-250ml-Essence-of-Renata-Watches-hairspring-/381837066990?hash=item58e74342ee:g:slYAAOxyMxpRwaJY

Recently though I picked up an old pocket watch which had been lubricated with industrial quantities of what looked like green engine oil. The cleaning fluid dissolved and removed all the oil, but left behind the "green". I had to clean the hairspring with a small paintbrush soaked with cleaning fluid. Yuck.

[jdrichard]

Sometimes , but not always . I'm talking about Hamilton Electric watches . I will remove the hairspring when I am switching to another balance because of broken pivots , or the coil is not good on a balance but the hairspring is , Also to rotate the Hairspring on the balance because when the crown is pulled to the setting position it hacks and stops the balance . The balance has to be in a position that when the crown is pushed back in , the hairspring has to jump start the balance swing being that its an electric watch .

Otherwise I leave the hairspring on and use the glass eyedropper to place the cleaner directly on the hairspring being careful not to get the coil wet with the cleaner . Coils are varnished covered wires , and if  they touch each other that can change the resistance , or possibly short the coil .

  As I had mentioned , I use a fine cosmetic brush , or a fine artist watercolor brush to carefully clean the hairspring and the contacts on the balance shaft .

I use lighter fluid on mechanical watches . Drop the balance in the fluid , use a blower to agitate the fluid , place the balance on lint free absorbent paper , and use my blower to dry it .

How does this electric watch have a balance? Do you have a picture of the movement. And I am not sure how you clean an electric watch with a circuit board, resistors and capacitors and coils. I can see cleaning the few hour, minute and second wheels.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

[rogart63]

On 1/27/2017 at 8:33 PM, StuartBaker104 said:

At the risk of further confusion, I use this for almost all watch parts. Don't leave shellac in it for too long, but good for everything else. Add a brush for more stubborn stains.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Instrument-Degreaser-Cleaning-Fluid-250ml-Essence-of-Renata-Watches-hairspring-/381837066990?hash=item58e74342ee:g:slYAAOxyMxpRwaJY

Recently though I picked up an old pocket watch which had been lubricated with industrial quantities of what looked like green engine oil. The cleaning fluid dissolved and removed all the oil, but left behind the "green". I had to clean the hairspring with a small paintbrush soaked with cleaning fluid. Yuck.

Would like to test but looks like the seller doesn't ship to Sweden? 

isn't that allowed to send fluids with airmail? 

[rogart63]

Could buy as the seller only ship to UK? Can anyone be of assistance and help me with the buy? 

Looks like the ingrediants are tricloromethane and lighter fluid? 

[ricardopalamino]

2 hours ago, jdrichard said:

How does this electric watch have a balance? Do you have a picture of the movement. And I am not sure how you clean an electric watch with a circuit board, resistors and capacitors and coils. I can see cleaning the few hour, minute and second wheels.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
 

These watches are pure electric , not electronic . No circuit board , resistors , and the coil is on the balance .

 

[jdrichard]

These watches are pure electric , not electronic . No circuit board , resistors , and the coil is on the balance .

 

That is friggen nuts. I am always amazed at the ingenuity of humans. Electrical engineers needed to be involved somehow:)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro