Reversing Wheel Lubrication

[ceejay]

Our Horology tutor has gone on the missing list and we have been left with someone who talks the talk but don't walk the walk

 

Anyone have recommendations on their method of oiling reversing wheels?

 

I have read on the net the following, replace them they can't be properly oiled once they have been through the cleaning machine.

 

Thin down some Moebius 9010 and rinse them in that.

 

Apply 9010 carefully to an internal part through a tiny hole?

 

Any advice guys?

[Rolexman]

Last one. Only oil the clutch levers inside the wheels. You need a microscope to do it properly.

[ceejay]

Cheers RM, I had a go with the 12x loupe and a shaped down oiler, even trickier than doing the pallet stones

Time will tell if I done it properly.

 

Talking of microscopes, I was at SalonQP last weekend and I was talking to a watchmaker from Zenith, he was using one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/221602073480

The clarity via USB onto a big screen was very impressive. He said that Zenith are so impressed with them they are equipping their workshops with them.

 

For the same price of a Bergeon automatic oiler, I think I might have to get one

[GenTLe]

I tried (after washing them):

- HP1300

- 9010

- nothing at all

- Lubeta V105

 

The only one working really well is the last one, which is a kind of wax diluted in ether and done by ETA to lube exactly the reversing wheels.

It is also very easy to use: just drop the reversing wheels in the bottle, shake for 2 secs and take them out. They will dry in few secs and they can be mounted instantly.

Mine comes from here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lubeta-V105-V106-Especially-designed-for-the-lubrication-of-ball-bearings-/151318401958

 

Cheers, GenTLe

Edited November 16, 2014 by GenTLe

[kbh]

Looking at the ETA oiling charts, I found the 2893 shows not to oil them and the 2824/26 shows to oil them.

 

2893 - Do not wash. If part is very dirty or rusty it should be exchanged for an original part which is lubricated and delivered by ETA SA.

 

2824/36 - shows to lubricate them with fine oil (Moebius 9010)

[GenTLe]

On my (recently downloaded) ETA charts for the 2824-2 and 2836-2 I see this:

 

 

But, as I wrote and by my direct experience, with the V105 you can securely lube them after a proper wash.

Here an article about it: http://hiro.alliancehorlogere.com/en/Under_the_Loupe/Lubeta_V105

[kbh]

Yep that's what I see on 2893. I guess they upgraded the 2824 chart to match.

 

Now the question is, if you're too cheap to replace them, what's better, cleaning and not oiling or cleaning and oiling?

 

I've found that with cleaning they'll usually work again but maybe that's not the best long term solution.

[GenTLe]

Yep that's what I see on 2893. I guess they upgraded the 2824 chart to match.

Now the question is, if you're too cheap to replace them, what's better, cleaning and not oiling or cleaning and oiling?

I've found that with cleaning they'll usually work again but maybe that's not the best long term solution.

Funnily I tried to replace them with gen ones coming from cousins... They were dry like mine after washing (no oil) and they were making hanwinding difficult.

Dropped into lubeta v105 = silk smooth handwinding

[ceejay]

Thanks 'G' I will try some.

Sent from my iBend 6

[kbh]

I've been following this since my ETA powered SSD has developed the problem of the rotor spinning when winding unless I hold it horizontal. When Googling Lubeta V105 I came across another post where a member on another forum used Kent Dry Lube on his reversers and it worked great. So I tracked that down and it's a PTFE (Teflon) based spray lube.

 

After checking out a couple of different spray lubes in my garage I found Liquid Wrench Super Penetrant had pretty interesting qualities. Main ingredients are:

 

Lubricating Oil (64742-47-, Glycol Ether (25498-49-1), Soybean Oil Esters (Proprietary), Corrosion Inhibitors (Proprietary), PTFE/BN Colloid (9002-84-0/10043-11-5) and Carbon Dioxide (124-38-9).

 

The lubricating oil is a very light "vanishing oil" or "flash lubricant" The glycol and soybean oil esters, are low VOC solvents that help clean and evaporate, and the main ingredient is colloidal PTFE. With a little corrosion inhibitor for good measure.

 

Anyway, call me crazy but I gave it a try. Sprayed a little into a container and dipped a couple of small drops onto the reversers with a toothpick. Then wound it a little to move it all around the insides and surprise, surprise, the reversers worked like new. I let it finish drying and closed it up. Now when I wind the watch laying flat on the crystal the rotor doesn't move. Don't know about long term but as of this morning, a day later, it's still working just fine.

 

By the way, normally I would have washed them in the sonic bath an lubed them with Moebius 9010.

[GenTLe]

Well yes! The sensation that the lubeta leaves on the hands is exactly similar to my teflon dry lube spray, so I strongly suspect that the main component is that in lubeta too

It would be good to give it a try on the infamous sec @6 chronos... But it must be an absolutely dry layer of ptfe because if you add there some oil then the transfer gears will be "glued" to the metal surface of the plate and it will probably be even worse than nothing at all...