Train Wheel Polishing/Shining

[TheVinylTrain]

I don't think there can be too much debate as to whether aesthetics is as vital as functionality in watch repair, but when carrying out a service for someone else, obviously it would seem advisable that both constraints are met. I have a small, 7-jewel Swiss-lever pocket watch (around 1880) that I'm servicing for a friend, which presents no problems at all; however, I find that my cleaning machine (I am an amateur, having gained the majority of my experience from books and forums such as this one, though I have indulged in more professional equipment at times) and associated fluids and rinses don't remove oxidation on brass components - in this case, the wheel train, barrel, balance etc. - but rather just removes residual grease, oil and dirt. Assuming that there isn't an issue with the fluids I'm using, or my machine (all of which are L&R), does this mean I need to clean the train wheels with a brass cleaner/some other polishing compound or product to restore their lustre?

I tried something with a scrap movement (similar age to above) which I imagine is likely to be met with some gasps of horror, but I'll talk through it regardless... Having dismantled the movement, and just prior to cleaning, I took a benzine jar full of benzine (left over from the days before I bought my cleaning machine) and dropped a brass train wheel into it. Once it had shed most of the visible oil and dirt, I used a dust blower to dry it, and placed the wheel on a block of clean, scrap hardwood with a small hole drilled into it (one pivot being placed into the hole so that the wheel was lying flat). From here, I applied a small amount of Brasso to the wheel, holding it still with pegwood, and used a leather buff stick to polish it to a high shine, before repeating on the other side. Brasso is abrasive and produces a black residue when used (any that isn't washed off will also turn white and dry hard), so to remove this I dropped it again into a jar of benzine, and used sharpened pegwood to clean the teeth and leaves. At this point, the wheel is gleaming and I'm fairly happy with the results. I burnish the pivots using a jacot tool, run all components though my cleaning machine, and finally oil and reassemble the movement. All seems to be good with the polished wheel as far as I can tell, but I wanted to ask whether there is any better method, or whether the method I employed could yield adverse results when I do the same with the pocket watch mentioned above?

[Tudor]

Well, like you I have no formal training, but here's another "unauthorized" idea you may want to try.

Once degreased fully (benzene, acetone whatever) place the part in CLR with either melted wax (probably best), or Rodico (might eventually be "eaten" by the CLR) on the pivots to prevent any material loss there. You may want to run this in your ultrasonic.

 

Check it frequently, and rinse three times in distilled/deionized water when clean to remove all CLR.

This will remove the oxidation, and do so evenly- using any abrasive runs the risk of heating the part locally, which can bring it out of flat, as well as rounding of corners and edges.

I use the CLR method for old Cymbals, and it is gentle enough to leave the black ink stamp IDs in place while removing oxidation- as long as you stay on top of it. I do cymbals in the sink and rinse with tap water but you don't want any sort of ions depositing on your gears while drying from tap water so get a gallon of DI water from the grocery store.

Good luck!

[Vacherin]

I have just googled CLR, it is a proprietary cleaner that works on Calcium, Limescale, Rust. Perhaps it works like Vinegar, or Coca Cola!

[anilv]

No harm trying to get everything clean but some watch parts are plated and the plating is very thin. Brasso and other metal polish will remove this and leave a nice shine which is quickly dulled.

Anilv

[transporter]

I was going to suggest L&R cleaners as they work for me UNLESS the train wheels or plates have been lacquered, like on an old smiths Enfield clock I worked on, no amount of ultra sonic cleaning got them shiney, that is until I soaked them in acetone, clears the lawyer off and a spin in the cleaner with some L&R and they were gleaming 

[Tudor]

CLR is a dilute acid. It works well and quickly on brass and bronze. 

I didn’t think about lacquer but yes that would have to come off and I doubt the CLR would touch it. 

[transporter]

Well you can only have a go, I was miffed when I first cleaned the plates on that clock, I even went for the Brasso with no luck, but a 10 Minute soak in acetone and it was lifting off nicely.

[syfre]

I use Elma 1:9 solution and its remove oxidation, the brass comes out nice and shinny. The pb is that brass oxide very quickly.