Want to get everyone's personal choice of cleaning 'agents' for watch movements...

[JRMTactical]

What do those of you use on those exceptionally or even slightly dirty movements to clean them up with. I have a couple coming that will need a cleaning fer shure!!!

[DolleDolf]

Good shout, looking out for the answers. What about agents for the crystal and the case?

[phd]

I use isopropanol (usually) for movements. It's probably not everyone's top choice, but it seems to work fine for me - it removes oil and gunk, and doesn't (at least in the short term) soften the shellac that holds the pallet jewels in place.

For cases - Brasso. For crystals - also Brasso! (Very very fine abrasive - it polishes out scratches just fine).

Cheers,
Paul

[JRMTactical]

Well that's what I used on the last one I cleaned, Paul. Seems like some oil got on the hairspring....but after the cleaning it completely stopped working.... maybe it is just my anti-Midas touch with watch movements, meaning everything watch movement related I touch, turns to crap!

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I give everything but the hairspring and pallet fork a good long soak in naptha aka lighter fluid.

Then out on some watch paper and a good rubbing with rodico, touch of oil and back together.

Has been working great so far.

[schnurrp]

I guess everyone has their favorite but when comes right down to it, if you carefully take the watch apart you can clean its parts in about any solvent you want. Alcohol and Naptha are often suggested because they flash off quickly without leaving a residue but do not produce noxious fumes and, therefore can be used inside. I believe a solution of warm water and and a mild detergent would also work if the parts were placed under lights to dry completely and quickly.

[Zzarkoo]

For movement parts (except balance) and case I use Meglio. It's strong universal degreaser.
http://trademark.markify.com/tradema...tess/010801447


For balance wheel and hairspring - pure benzine (I'm not sure if that's the correct name). This is a white transparent benzine, which I believe is also used to fill in Zippo lighters.

For dials - only water and soap (just soaking, not rubbing)

For acrylic crystals - fine sandpaper (1000 and 2000 grit) and polywatch or white toothpaste

[Nebuchadnezzar]

For movement parts (except balance) and case I use Meglio. It's strong universal degreaser.
Trademark information for MEGLIO LO SGRASSATORE UNIVERSALE CUCINA HOBBY PAVIMENTI T... from CTM - by Markify


For balance wheel and hairspring - pure benzine (I'm not sure if that's the correct name). This is a white transparent benzine, which I believe is also used to fill in Zippo lighters.

For dials - only water and soap (just soaking, not rubbing)

For acrylic crystals - fine sandpaper (1000 and 2000 grit) and polywatch or white toothpaste

Be careful not to confuse Benzine(petroleum ether) with Benzene.

Petroleum ether - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benzene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Health effects

A bottle of benzene. The warnings show benzene is a toxic and flammable liquid.

Benzene increases the risk of cancer and other illnesses. Benzene is a notorious cause of bone marrow failure. Substantial quantities of epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data link benzene to aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, and bone marrow abnormalities.^[43][44] The specific hematologic malignancies that benzene is associated with include: acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aplastic anemia, myleodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).^[45]
The American Petroleum Institute (API) stated in 1948 that "it is generally considered that the only absolutely safe concentration for benzene is zero."^[46] The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) classifies benzene as a human carcinogen. Long-term exposure to excessive levels of benzene in the air causes leukemia, a potentially fatal cancer of the blood-forming organs, in susceptible individuals. In particular, Acute myeloid leukemia or acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia (AML & ANLL) is not disputed to be caused by benzene.^[47] IARC rated benzene as "known to be carcinogenic to humans" (Group 1).
Human exposure to benzene is a global health problem.^[vague] Benzene targets liver, kidney, lung, heart and the brain and can cause DNA strand breaks, chromosomal damage, etc. Benzene causes cancer in both animals and humans. Benzene has been shown to cause cancer in both sexes of multiple species of laboratory animals exposed via various routes.^[48][49]
Some women having breathed high levels of benzene for many months had irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in the size of their ovaries. Benzene exposure has been linked directly to the neural birth defects spina bifida andanencephaly.^[50] Men exposed to high levels of benzene are more likely to have an abnormal amount of chromosomes in their sperm, which impacts fertility and fetal development.^[51]
[edit]Exposure to benzene

Light refraction of benzene (above) and water (below)

Vapors from products that contain benzene, such as glues, paints, furniture wax, and detergents, can also be a source of exposure, although many of these have been modified or reformulated since the late 1970s to eliminate or reduce the benzene content. Air around hazardous waste sites or gas stations may contain higher levels of benzene. Because petroleum hydrocarbon products are complex mixtures of chemicals, risk assessments for these products, in general, focus on specific toxic constituents. The petroleum constituents of primary interest to human health have been the aromatic hydrocarbons (i.e., benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes). In the U.S., OSHA requires that a mixture "shall be assumed to present a carcinogenic hazard if it contains a component in concentrations of 0.1% or greater, which is considered to be a carcinogen.^[52][53]
Outdoor air may contain low levels of benzene from automobile service stations, wood smoke, tobacco smoke, the transfer of gasoline, exhaust from motor vehicles, and industrial emissions.^[54] About 50% of the entire nationwide (United States) exposure to benzene results from smoking tobacco or from exposure to tobacco smoke.^[55]
[edit]Inhalation

Inhaled benzene is primarily expelled unchanged through exhalation. In a human study 16.4 to 41.6% of retained benzene was eliminated through the lungs within five to seven hours after a two- to three-hour exposure to 47 to 110 ppm and only 0.07 to 0.2% of the remaining benzene was excreted unchanged in the urine. After exposure to 63 to 405 mg/m3 of benzene for 1 to 5 hours, 51 to 87% was excreted in the urine as phenol over a period of 23 to 50 hours. In another human study, 30% of absorbed dermally applied benzene, which is primarily metabolized in the liver, was excreted as phenol in the urine.^[56]

[Zzarkoo]

The thing I have and talk about definitely doesn't have the the toxic (skull and bones) sign on it. Somebody told me that it's actually a low octane benzine/gasoline.

And as am not a native English speaking person, can anyone enlighten me what's the difference between gasoline and benzine?

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Sorry not trying to confuse you.

Benzine covers a range of petroleum based solvents.

Benzene is a specific petroleum product that has severe health side effects.

Just pointing out the difference in hopes of keeping people safe.