Oil coating on winding wheels to prevent rust

[Bill Keegan]

Rust spots on winding wheels are a common problem. In modern times it is even more of a problem for those who carry their pocket watches. Ever notice how your glasses fog up on a hot & humid day when you exit an air conditioned building or car; this is also happening to the watch. I would think a coating of the least amount of oil would be very protective for wheels and on some watches the regulator and whip. I would think common machne oil like 3 & 1 would be suitable but a more sophisticated protectant like Boeing Boeshield could be used. I would appreciate opinions on adding this coating.

[Bill Keegan]

Rust spots on winding wheels are a common problem. In modern times it is even more of a problem for those who carry their pocket watches. Ever notice how your glasses fog up on a hot & humid day when you exit an air conditioned building or car; this is also happening to the watch. I would think a coating of the least amount of oil would be very protective for wheels and on some watches the regulator and whip. I would think common machne oil like 3 & 1 would be suitable but a more sophisticated protectant like Boeing Boeshield could be used. I would appreciate opinions on adding this coating.

[doug sinclair]

Bill,

The problem of humidity has been discussed old ref::here before, although primarily with watches in storage, more than while being worn. Just click on the link and see if these threads answer any questions for you.

I would think that, if rust as a result of humidity can form on the winding wheels, then the whole watch would be at risk. And because of greater exposure, I would suspect a wrist watch in a case that is not sealed would be at greater risk than one which is cozy and warm in a pocket.

Of course, what would I know, here on the high altitude Canadian prairies where humidity (or rather LACK of it) is a greater problem. One thing is for sure, there's no way I'm coating anything with 3 in 1!

[Don Dahlberg]

The object of oil in a watch is to reduce friction in the pivots and their holes. The problem with oil elsewhere is that it attracts dirt and also if it makes contact with the oil in the pivots, it will draw the oil away from that pivot.

There are "cleaning and oiling" solutions that are supposed to clean and oil the watch at the same time. The problem stated above is why they are bad to use.

Probably the main source of the rust spots on the winding wheels is from the combination of moisture and the salt from finger prints. If you do not have the salt, a good polished surface will not easily rust from a small amount of moisture. Using watch paper, or finger cots when assembling a cleaned watch would go a long way to presenting this problem.

Don