Mechanical WW Cleaning the green gunk off a case....

[fijidad]

Has anyone come up with a non-destructive way to remove the green gunk that collects around the back side of many wrist watches? It seems to collect around the perimeter, as shown in the attached picture. I presume this is a dried solution of sweat and oil from the skin, but other than scraping it off, is there some better way to remove it?

 

[GeneJockey]

I think it's probably verdigris from moisture and sweat reacting with the brass between the gold in gold filled watches. I scrape it off, but I think it actually corrodes back into the brass between the gold plates so it's hard to get rid of - in other words, it's not just on the surface.

I usually rub the edge with pegwood to get rid of as much as possible.

 

[fijidad]

I think it's probably verdigris from moisture and sweat reacting with the brass between the gold in gold filled watches. I scrape it off, but I think it actually corrodes back into the brass between the gold plates so it's hard to get rid of - in other words, it's not just on the surface.

I usually rub the edge with pegwood to get rid of as much as possible.

I watched the video on the link and noted the salt/lemon juice/vinegar process. Having become recently enamored with vinegar and it's capabilities, I decided to immerse part of this rolled gold tank case in the vinegar/water solution I've been using for the broken stem removal; after a couple of hours, I removed it and.,...the verdigris was GONE. Rinsed it thoroughly in water, scrubbed it with a toothbrush, and now I feel I've found another use for the wonderfully simple product called vinegar.

 

[Uhralt]

I watched the video on the link and noted the salt/lemon juice/vinegar process. Having become recently enamored with vinegar and it's capabilities, I decided to immerse part of this rolled gold tank case in the vinegar/water solution I've been using for the broken stem removal; after a couple of hours, I removed it and.,...the verdigris was GONE. Rinsed it thoroughly in water, scrubbed it with a toothbrush, and now I feel I've found another use for the wonderfully simple product called vinegar.

Mixed 1:1 with isopropanol you can use it to get rid of athlete's foot and nail fungus.....

Uhralt