Watch dial restoration/cleaning

[chrisdt 41]

I know this is a difficult subject and many a watch dial has been completely ruined by over zealous attempts at cleaning but I thought I would pass on a method that seems to work for me. 14 or 15 q tips and a tiny amount of neat  'Sensitive Metals Ultrasonic Cleaning Fluid. I did'nt take a before and after photo because I thought it would be a failure but I can assure you that the dial of this Rotary Super Sports was nearly as dark as the pad it sits on. In fact it was almost impossible to read the 'Super Sports' wording. Whatever you do dont flood the dial with the fluid, just damp q tip and work from the centre out. Just thought it might be worth a try especially if you have an ultrasonic cleaner. No liability accepted.

[noirrac1j 456]

Yes, I believe you even if you had posted no photos at all because I've done the exact same thing using  a different ultrasonic cleaning solution. 

J

Edited September 15, 2017 by noirrac1j

[jguitron 80]

Awesome share. Looks great!

Thank you.

 

JG

[ricardopalamino 578]

I AM NOT making a recommendation as I have ruined my fair share of dials ,.....BUT , and that's a big BUT ,.... I have had some luck with Simple Green cleaner and a soft Ladies cosmic brush .  I spray the simple green on and quickly give the dial a few swipes with the brush usually from the center out , then quickly rinse the dial with running warm water and also quickly blow dry it with my watchmakers hand blower .

Use at your Own Risk .....

 

Here's the results of my latest game of Russian Roulette with dial cleaning using the method I described . 

Disclaimer , " I Lucked Out "....

[MyRetroWatches 11]

I AM NOT making a recommendation as I have ruined my fair share of dials ,.....BUT , and that's a big BUT ,.... I have had some luck with Simple Green cleaner and a soft Ladies cosmic brush .  I spray the simple green on and quickly give the dial a few swipes with the brush usually from the center out , then quickly rinse the dial with running warm water and also quickly blow dry it with my watchmakers hand blower .
Use at your Own Risk .....

 
Here's the results of my latest game of Russian Roulette with dial cleaning using the method I described . 
Disclaimer , " I Lucked Out "....

Impressive


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bsoderling 57]

Hi Chrisdt,

This is interesting! 

Personally I have had "some" success with oil-based cleaning methods ex. a drop of 9020 on a cotton swab. My main mishaps have been when trying anything with a fair amount of or based on water. I had one case where even the slightest amount of water would immediately start to dissolve all printing, whereas the oil didn't affect it at all. 

I suppose these ultrasonic cleaning fluids are water based? Do they come with any hint of ammonia (should be apparent to your nose if they do) ?

I will for sure try to get hold of some of this to carefully try out. Can you possibly post a picture with the brand visible and I'll see if I can get hold of that in my part of the world?

[chrisdt 41]

Manufactured in the UK by Allendale-ultasonics.co.uk

The website gives a MSDS but no smell of ammonia

[rappeleur 10]

Hi, and there is no print colour rubbing off with this liquid? I destroyed quite a few letters when trying to clean a dial (making it completely blank in such cases) with other fluids...

[chrisdt 41]

I'm sure most of us have a box of scrap watches and or dials to practise with various liquids and methods for improving dials. Some dials react differently to cleaning. Raised batons and silvered surfaces being more hardy than print on dials. Perhaps we could have more contributions from members as to what works best for them or are these dials best left with dirt spots and stains to grow old gracefully (as we all do!!!)

 

[rappeleur 10]

yeah, some youtube guy used to do this solely with warm (about 60 ° C iirc) water, letting the dials soak a bit, then tapping them off with q-sticks afterwards (no rubbing). results were quite good!