Beware of bad watch makers and 'easy fixes'

[GenTLe]

One dip should simply be

Trichloroethylene

Just sold at an extremely high cost...

Edited October 24, 2014 by GenTLe

[fraggle42]

One Dip is dangerous stuff. It is basically dry cleaning fluid and not good to breathe.

It is for cleaning oil off of hairsprings/balance wheels and not for plates train wheels etc.

 

One Dip is not to be confused with 'Solo Lube' etc that is an additive put in rinse to supposedly lubricate the parts without hand oiling. Not proper procedure imho.

 

I use L&R or Zenith cleaner and rinse. My cleaning machine is an L&R Vari-Matic ultrasonic, it looks like something in the bowels of Captain Nemo's submarine.

There is a video of one in action on You Tube.

Blimey, those Varimatics really spin the parts at high speed.

 

Are the parts held securely inside the mesh basket? I can't see them just being loose as the way it stops and reverses the direction of spin would cause loose parts to fly around and get damaged?

[automatico]

The baskets have a flat screen at the top with depressions in it for small parts (wheels etc) and there is not enough room to allow the parts to move around very much. Centrifugal force and the damping effect of the liquid keeps them from banging around in the compartments while being cleaned. Centrifugal force alone keeps them in place during the spin off. Plates etc are placed in the large part of the screen basket below the flat screen. Screws and other very small parts are usually put in a small screen basket about the size as a thimble. They screw together in the middle and are placed in the basket with the plates etc.

[Resistor]

Haha, years ago, when I heard people say that a poor running movement needs a good oiling, I thought that it was oiled like a creaky door hinge. Then, I watched some youtube vids of servicing and repair and saw the little oilers that watchmakers use.

Almost have to wonder if someone far removed from watchmaking had lubed that movement. Actually, there's little wonder - whoever did that had zero knowledge.

[fraggle42]

Just had the same thing with an ST25 auto winder, covered in oil.

Dismantled and dabbed the oil off with rodico as I don't have a dryer wash and am worried about using the cleaner after reading what someone said about having to remove jewels first?

Took ages, but clean and back together now.

[electric0ant]

Probably not long as everything would rust.... If I would just chucked it in a bath of white spirit/ one dip/ lighter fluid there would be a big chance it would run again.

Stupid me. Should have done that and flipped it in the sales section with a profit

Hahah back when I was a noob (many years ago), I had a cheap sea master rep which would keep stopping and I thought to spray WD40 into the movement to oil it. Not as bad as this but obviously it stopped working.

Now that I have built up my skills in modding and doing repairs on movements (not been able to afford the full set of oils for full service yet) I found this watch again, and being a 21J movement I couldn't be bothered to clean it piece by piece, so I just dumped the while movement into lighter fluid and let it soak for an hour or so while swirling the liquid from time to time. After drying it started working again! LOL

[iixxboredumxxii]

My watchmaker "26 years in the business (2nd generation following father and 6 brothers all watch makers)"

He gets customers all the time that after he told them it needs to clean and overhauled, take the watch get wd40 spray it into the watch and say it's running fine!

Seen some others with quick fixes that blow a type of material into the watch and the watch begins to go again.

There are a lot of inexperienced people out there working in people's watches.