I don't own a heated ultrasonic machine, can I just use a solvent and manually clean the wheels?
Deox-007 can be used manually. Just soak the parts for about 15 minutes in warm solution. Keep moving the parts around and brushing. You may need 0000 steel wool or a fine wire brush. Looks like you have more oxidation than dirt which explains why petroleum solvents didn't work. As long as the pivots are bright and smooth the discoloration won't affect the clock running.
So you're saying I can I manually put the Deox-007 on the wheels and let it sit for 15 mins then take an acid brush to it?
From the way you have worded this, I worry that you are planning to put the Deox-007 onto the wheels without dismantling the movement. Can you confirm that you are intending to disassemble the movement completely - otherwise you will be wasting your time.
Excuse my ignorance, but what is an 'acid brush'?
Thank you for that - I had never heard of an acid brush.
I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you are heading down the wrong rabbit hole. The "visible gobs and lumps, dust, debris" are not causing any problem as long as you leave them alone. Use of toothpicks etc. to remove this stuff just forces it deeper into the pivot holes where it joins the dried up crusty old oil that is a problem. Q-tips tend to shed stringy threads that you do not want to get into the pivot holes. You said, "I wouldn't attempt to do anything just for visual appearance", if you are not doing this for visual appearance, why are you doing it? What you describe may loosen up the clock so that it will sort of run for a little while, if it isn't severely worn out, but the effect is short lived. Take time to read some good books on basic clock repair and start by learning to do it the right way, which usually takes less time because in the end you either give up or realize that it has to come apart for aproper cleaning and inspection. It ain't rocket science and unless you are a total mechanical clitz I'm sure you can learn to do this and do it right.
Polychem Deox-007 is what I use in the US. It does a good job of removing tarnish (oxidation) and general cleaning. (Reread posts #2 & 4). If you are thinking about dunking the assembled movement in the US and expecting to "get all the grime out and makes the brass look nice and shiny" you will be sadly disappointed. Chemical cleaners like Deox-007 and those containing ammonia can only remove the oxidation from brass parts. They will be cleaner and look brighter, but they will not be any shinier than they were originally unless you use brass polish (not recommended). To get all the grime out will usually require some hand cleaning even if a US is used and the movement is disassembled. Attempting to clean an assembled movement in the US is not the recommended and is somewhat like taking a shower with your cloths on.
