I use lintless paper. It is very soft and will not leave any residue. I fold it to a point around the size of pencil end, spit on it and begin to clean the dial. I know it sounds crazy but it really does work. Ive tried everything I could think of and every thing leaves a residue. I even tried it with plain water just on the tip, would not clean it. I tried many different cloths, no luck. The spit on the end of the lintless paper cleaned a black dial perfectly, no marks, no lint, no residue Hope this helps