Need some advice on how to clean watch hands

[Drulee]

Alright it is finally getting to me. I can't stand the smudges on my 088 hand set anymore. As they are silver, the smudges and/or finger prints really look bad at certain angles.

I had tried to clean them up once, when the watch first arrived, with Rodico (this was before I found out that it would just add more residue). I also tried wiping them down with a tiny cut-out piece of lint-free cloth, without any luck.

So, anyone have some suggestions?

[bob bean]

Rodico doesn't work? Ggrr I just bought some for cleaning up some dials. It'll get used anyway, but I thought it was good for removing oils from dials.

[silverspeed]

Normally the Rodico putty works flawlessly...It might help to warm up the putty a bit before applying it on the hands.

If it doesn't work you can try the good ole Cape Cod cloth...Francisco did a tutorial on cleaning hands with the cape cod

[FxrAndy]

One good tip i have found to work is to remove the hands and seat then in a peice of flat pith wood, that way when you are rubbing you wont bend them, the portion of the hand that sits on the pinion will press into the pith wood easily and hold quite firm, I have generaly been able to remove finger prints with rodico, a thined down bit of peg wood and the fluid from cap cod has helped polish out scratches on some occasions but you can easily add new ones!!!!

[sander]

Just be very careful with hands. My experience is that they scratch very easy. It's also a really thin Rhodium layer which is easy to remove.

When I clean hands and dials, I always take a new piece of Rodico. I noticed that it works way better than a used piece.

You can also polish them with Cap Cod and then have them Rhodium plated again.

[fakemaster]

a cloth eyeglass pouch.

[freddy333]

Rodico is exactly what you need, but it is important to use a fresh/clean piece. Otherwise, you are just spreading/smearing the residue that has collected on the rodico.

[Drulee]

Thank you all for your great tips. Just have to find out what "pith wood" is

And for those that mentioned using clean Rodico DOOOH! Didn't eve occur to me that I was just transferring all the oil and smeg from one surface to my shiny new silver hands

As I have a bunch of extra silver GMT (oversized triangle) hands, I've got some to test out the different cleaning methods on now.

Thanks again.

Rodico is exactly what you need, but it is important to use a fresh/clean piece. Otherwise, you are just spreading/smearing the residue that has collected on the rodico.

[bertieng]

If the hands are oxidized, then no luck with anything.

Never use cape cod unless you wnat to leave the hands in brass colour. Cape cod will remove the plating on the hands very effectively.

Rodico is good for finger prints or removable dirts, that's all. Once the hands are scratched, there is no returns. Only solution is to get a new set.

[Drulee]

If the hands are oxidized, then no luck with anything.

Never use cape cod unless you wnat to leave the hands in brass colour. Cape cod will remove the plating on the hands very effectively.

Rodico is good for finger prints or removable dirts, that's all. Once the hands are scratched, there is no returns. Only solution is to get a new set.

Thanks for the CapeCod warning. Luckily none of the hands are scracthed just prints and smudges (probably caused by rubbing with dirty Rodico )

[gplracer]

So what is the best technique for doing this? I have a watch coming in that I know has finger prints on the hands. I would like to clean them before the movement goes in the case. I would assume that I need to remove the hands first. Sorry this is my first time for this kind of thing.

[Bike Mike]

And for those that mentioned using clean Rodico DOOOH! Didn't eve occur to me that I was just transferring all the oil and smeg from one surface to my shiny new silver hands

Thanks again.

Rodico will also pull the oil out of your fingers and transfer it as well. Try to handle it as little as possible. Also Rodico comes in contact with oil, it tends to become gummy, so using a new surface on the piece you are working with helps a lot.

[Drulee]

Rodico will also pull the oil out of your fingers and transfer it as well. Try to handle it as little as possible. Also Rodico comes in contact with oil, it tends to become gummy, so using a new surface on the piece you are working with helps a lot.

Thanks for the tips. I've started to use watch/camera lint free paper when handling the Rodico (tearing pieces off and placing on toothpic, etc).

I'm just waiting for my Bergeon leather buffer before tackling the silver hands though. Also in the process of making a 111H build with silver hands, so all the above tips will be quite useful

Thanks all.