HELP! - confusion here about cleaning solutions.

[biker4]

Reading through severals posts on the board here, I am getting some conflicting info and, as a newbie in the watch repair world, was wondering someone could clarify a couple things? First of all it seems that I am reading many claims that NAPTHA is a great cleaner. Other people are saying they only use in as a rinse and as a cleaner it doesn't do much for the older gunk buildup. What's the true story here? I am planning to go out tonight and buy some Naptha for my first watch disassembly and cleaning attempt. I have a second question here also. I know there are specialized cleaners for hairsprings so what is the reason these specialized "hairspring cleaners" are not used on the whole watch? Are they usually not strong enough or are they just too expensive? Thanks for any info.

[biker4]

Reading through severals posts on the board here, I am getting some conflicting info and, as a newbie in the watch repair world, was wondering someone could clarify a couple things? First of all it seems that I am reading many claims that NAPTHA is a great cleaner. Other people are saying they only use in as a rinse and as a cleaner it doesn't do much for the older gunk buildup. What's the true story here? I am planning to go out tonight and buy some Naptha for my first watch disassembly and cleaning attempt. I have a second question here also. I know there are specialized cleaners for hairsprings so what is the reason these specialized "hairspring cleaners" are not used on the whole watch? Are they usually not strong enough or are they just too expensive? Thanks for any info.

[doug sinclair]

biker4,

You will continue to get opinions that will be conflicting in nature! So you will have to consider all that you will learn, and base your decision accordingly. You will hear from people who clean a couple watches of their own, once in a while. You will hear from people who do this for a living, and who clean hundereds of watches a year, successfully. (Otherwise they couldn't stay in business). So you will have to pick and choose.

If you were to peruse several volumes on watch repair by noted authors of such books, likewise there will be conflicting information. I was going to quote Henry Fried from his "Watch Repairer's Manual" regarding cleaning solutions, because the information he gives seems to be considered the ultimate answer. His advice? Benzene to clean AND rinse. Does ANYONE use benzene any more? In 50+ years in this business, I have NEVER used it, unless there are traces of it in the solutions that I DO use. So, not to totally refute what Henry Fried has to say, here is my opinion for what it is worth.

Naphtha (note the spelling) is of no use whatsoever for cleaning tarnish and badly gummed and contaminated lubricant from watches. You may hear people refute that based on their experience. Naphtha may make a difference as to whether a watch runs or not, after having been cleaned in it, but take it from me (if you wish), it will NOT clean a watch to the extent that it should be cleaned! It is okay for a rinse, and I gather that there is naphtha in commercially available watch rinses such as L & R # 3.

I recently answered a question on this board for a fellow who was having difficulty unsticking the coils of a gummy hairspring using One-Dip (naphtha?) in an ultrasonic cleaner. He tried numerous times to no avail. He asked for advice. I suggested he use a recommended watch cleaning solution and RINSE in naphtha. That is what he did, and it worked perfectly according to his report. One-Dip is useless as a cleaner for anything other than fresh oil or grease. I am told it is naphtha in previous posts on this board. I don't use One-Dip!

You need a cleaner such as L & R No-Foam which is what I use. Or perhaps others may recommend other watch cleaning solutions (not naphtha or One-Dip) with which they have success. This cleaner will remove almost all varnished, contaminated lubricants, and brighten tarnished watch parts. In some cases, further intervention may be necessary to completely remove old crud from pivots and jewels. Pith wood and peg wood being the usual media used for this purpose.

I use L & R # 3 as a rinse. I am told it has naphtha in it. I also use it in place of One-Dip on the very odd occasion that I have to "dip" a hairspring which has FRESH oil on it. If you need to know more about these solutions I have mentioned, check out the MSDS listings for commercial chemicals which is available on line.

As to the expense of One-Dip. Check out he cost of Naphtha from the source you intend to purchase it from, and compare to the cost of a 2-ounce bottle of One-Dip, and you can answer this question yourself.

That covers the solutions. Then comes the method, and that is a whole different topic.

[biker4]

Well thank you very much for the info and quick reply. Your answers lead me to another question though. I plan on getting myself a container of L&R No Foam cleaner and from what you said it sounds like it is safe to use on the hairspring and hairspring bridge. Is it NECESSARY to use the L&R cleaner in an ultrasonic cleaning machine or can it just be soaked in the solution? I am very interested in this hobby but at this time do not think I can put out the money for an ultrasonic cleaning machine (unless I can find one for perhaps $50 or less).

[doug sinclair]

biker4,

As I said, the cleaning process is a whole other topic. It would be wise of you to eventually find yourself a cleaning machine. Even an older L & R Mastermatic which you can use to clean, rinse, and heat dry would be good to have. I don't know what you might have to pay for one of those.

There has been discussion on this mesage board re: readily available, small capacity ultrasonic cleaning machines. They are generally felt to lack the power of the recommemnded ones.

Since you posted your query on the Pocket Watch message board, I am going to assume that it is a pocket watch you will be cleaning. If you are going to use the "soak" method, there will be other things you should do first. I mentioned pith wood (for pinions and pivots), and pegwood for bearings. I would recomend complete disassembly, including the dial train and cap jewels. Pegwood and pith wood applied to all areas where congealed lubricant builds up and hardens. A good scrubbing of the plates with a tooth brush, agitating of the small parts in the cleaner, rinsing with L&R # 3(or benzene), and drying using an ear syringe or compressed air if you have it, of all the larger parts. I guess you'll have to air dry the smaller parts, or use a hair dryer to dry all the parts.

Getting good at what you are undertaking to do can take a long time to get good at! I really would recommend reading, and perhaps taking some courses if you are serious about this. And don't expect absolute success the first time.