Prologue
I absolutely hate buying new things, especially when I have to choose between Chinese and Turkish consumer goods of the lowest quality. Maybe that's why my family still uses Soviet-made mechanical and electromechanical watches.
Throughout the life of this watch, I cleaned and lubricated it several times. But, each time the result was worse and worse.
I lubricated the watch with MTs-3 and MBP-12 oils, which I got hold of when I was still working in production.
MC-3 oil is used to lubricate the journals of large gears, and MBP-12 oil is used for the most delicate parts of the watch mechanism - the balance supports and the anchor mechanism, as well as the pallets and impulse stone of the latter.
The trouble is that after fifteen to twenty years of storage, watch oils change their properties so much that watches lubricated with them either barely breathe or do not start at all. This is exactly the fate that befell my 1973 oils. It got to the point where only one clock continued to run.
Of course, I played it safe and, with the help of good friends, got some fresh oil (in the picture on the right), which, as I was told, was similar in properties to MBP-12. I didn’t want to buy a whole bubble over the hill for $100, not including postage.
Well, since the last clock stopped yesterday, today I decided to check the performance of this oil.
The balance pins, lubricated on top of the old grease, made it possible to spin the pendulum to its fullest extent with half a kick. Hooray! Now you can safely clean and lubricate all watches.
Cleaning and lubricating the clock mechanism
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To change the lubricant in a clock mechanism, it must be disassembled and washed in gasoline. You can, of course, disassemble it entirely, but you can also partially disassemble it. B70 (Galosha) gasoline or gasoline for lighters will be suitable for washing.
When disassembling alarm clocks and other large clocks, no special tools are required. A tool that is used to repair small electronic equipment is suitable.
It's good if you have a set of watch screwdrivers. The smallest of them can be used as a dispenser for pouring oil into stones.
To be sure to remove any remaining old oil from the stones, it doesn’t hurt to go over their inner surface with a sharpened toothpick.
When dosing oil, you need to make sure that it does not “run” onto the balance pins.
In this way, in a couple of hours I managed to set up three alarm clocks, as well as a kitchen clock and a timer. Now the whole apartment is ticking again.
It’s just that each such prevention brings up sad thoughts when you think about the fact that this is another step into oblivion. After all, after each cleaning and lubrication, the watch can work for 10-15 years.
With long-term use, even high-quality and expensive watches deteriorate the accuracy of the watch mechanism.
This happens due to the accumulation of dust and dirt between the parts. To restore accuracy, it is necessary to timely clean the product. In this article we will tell you how to clean your watch at home.
Materials
When working you will need a clean workplace, as well as certain tools and materials:
- wood shavings or sawdust, preferably birch;
- a small container, such as a glass;
- sheets of thin white paper;
- pipette;
- tweezers;
- soft brush with thin bristles;
- toothbrush;
- Galosh gasoline or ethyl alcohol;
- oil for lubricating watches.
Procedure
After organizing the workplace, you can start cleaning. There are many ways to clean wrist watch at home. We will tell you about the simplest and fastest. It is advisable to carry out cleaning once every three years, while lubricating the parts to reduce their wear. This will give the product durability and precision. Oil is applied exclusively to dry and clean parts, so all elements must be completely dry before lubrication.
The work is performed in the following order:
- Disassembly.
- Cleaning parts.
- Drying.
- Assembly of mechanisms.
- Lubrication.
- Watch assembly.
The working process
First you need to thoroughly soak the brush and toothbrush in gasoline or alcohol. While the tools are soaking, you can begin disassembling the watch. It is best to find instructions for disassembling your particular model, since even the slightest deviations during disassembly or assembly will lead to incorrect operation.
Once you have separated all the parts, start with the balance. Cleaning is always done from there. To do this, you need to pour gasoline or alcohol into a prepared container. About two centimeters of liquid in a glass is enough. Using tweezers, lower the balance by the rim into the glass and gently rinse it in the liquid.
Find out more about this in our material!
When finished, lightly move the part in the air to evaporate any remaining gasoline. Now you can put the balance in sawdust to dry completely. Birch sawdust is good because it absorbs a large number of liquids. That is why we recommend using them when working.
The next parts to clean will be the anchor fork bridge and hanger. The procedure is the same, only to dry you should put the parts on Blank sheet thin paper. Then the anchor fork itself is cleaned and also placed on paper.
Now you need to clean all the remaining parts, including the platinum and drum. Large parts are placed in sawdust, small parts are placed on paper. When finished, wait a few minutes for the parts to dry. If after drying you see deposits or other defects, carefully go over it with a brush or a soft-bristled toothbrush. Upon completion, wait until the mechanisms are completely dry and assemble them together. Assembly must be carried out as quickly as possible to avoid dust ingress.
When the working mechanism of the watch is assembled, it must be lubricated. IN in this case It is not recommended to use a brush as lint may remain with the oil. It is better to use a pipette and gently drip onto the parts. The watch oil used is quite liquid, so there will be no difficulty in applying it with a pipette.
Once you have finished lubricating, you can insert the clock mechanism into the case of the product and complete the assembly of the watch. After all operations are completed, the watch will work with an accuracy of about two to three years.
Appearance
Many expensive watch are created from noble metals. The main one is gold. This metal tends to oxidize, which leads to its blackening. Therefore, in comparison with a new watch, an old one may have a dull, faded appearance. To return gold to its original appearance, it must be cleaned.
Easiest to use for recovery appearance soap and warm water. The previously disassembled product is dipped into the soap solution. This is done to avoid damage to watch mechanisms. After lowering, you need to keep the product in water for a couple of hours to soften the dirt and plaque. Then, using a toothbrush, the product is cleaned and rinsed with water.
Ceramics
Ceramic products are distinguished by their strength and reliability. However, not everyone knows how to clean ceramic watches. Unusual physical properties ceramics allow the watch to be used in the harshest conditions. Therefore, caring for them is quite simple. You only need to occasionally wipe the product with a soft cloth soaked in glass cleaning liquid. Particular strength and unpretentiousness in operating conditions allows ceramic watches to serve without intervention from the owner.
Any wristwatch needs regular care. Aggressive outdoor environment, dust, rain - all this affects not only the watch case, but also its internal elements. Therefore, even the most expensive watches need regular cleaning. You can clean your watch yourself at home, without going to a watchmaker. You just need to follow a few simple rules.
How to clean your wristwatch?
How can you clean a wristwatch? This is a completely natural question. We hasten to please you: for careful and thorough cleaning you do not need to purchase special expensive cleaning products.
To clean a leather strap, you need a cloth with a leather cleaner applied to it. A stainless steel bracelet can simply be cleaned with a toothbrush (an expensive one, with soft bristles so as not to scratch the case) dipped in soapy water. A bracelet made of silver or gold plated should be carefully cleaned with a napkin.
The outside of the case and the dial can be wiped with a flannel cloth with glass cleaner applied to it. Wipes for wiping office equipment or optics are well suited for these purposes.
If you find ingrained dirt on your bracelet or case that soft products do not remove, you will have to resort to harder ones. For example, clean it with a toothpick with a soft tip or with a cotton swab wrapped around the tip.
The same toothpick is quite suitable for cleaning the mechanism. The main thing is to make sure that its tip does not break off or get stuck inside. It is also convenient to use tweezers for this work.
How to properly clean your wristwatch?
First of all, we clean the external parts: wipe the strap or bracelet, back wall and the lid, scrape out the old dirt. It is important to remember, especially if your watch is not waterproof, that you need to carefully protect it from droplets of water and cleaning agents. Then, we move on to cleaning the internal parts - the watch mechanism.
This process occurs in several stages:
- carefully remove the cover from the mechanism. To do this, you will need either tweezers or the smallest screwdriver with a magnetized tip, which is usually used when repairing tablets and laptops;
- we disassemble all the parts sequentially, placing them with tweezers in the order in which you will assemble them;
- prepare a container with alcohol: 2 centimeters of liquid is enough;
- First of all, we clean the balance. We pick it up with tweezers and carefully rinse it in alcohol. After this, you need to shake the part a little in the air to dry it and place it on a lint-free napkin;
- the next to be cleaned is the bridge of the anchor fork and anchorage and the anchor fork itself. The process of cleaning it is similar to that described in the previous paragraph, only after drying in air the parts should be laid on a sheet of smooth paper;
- then the remaining parts are cleaned one by one: large ones are placed on a napkin, small ones - on a sheet of paper;
After finishing washing all the parts, wait about 10 minutes until they dry;
- Once again, before assembly, carefully inspect the parts so that they are free of lint and dust. If we find any, brush them off with a soft brush;
- We try to do the assembly as quickly as possible so that dust does not get on the mechanism again.
Tips for cleaning your wristwatch
In order for your watch to look the same after cleaning as it did immediately after purchase, be sure to lubricate it. To lubricate wristwatches, only ultra-purified liquid oil labeled “for wristwatches” is used. You should not use any other oil for mechanisms, as it may interact with the material of the watch mechanism. You need to drip oil from the tip of a toothpick, because too much lubricant is just as harmful to the mechanism as too little.
After complete assembly of the watch, you can use a dry microfiber cloth to final clean the case and apply the gloss.
The thorough cleaning of your watch, which is discussed in our review, does not need to be done too often. It is enough to carry it out once every three to four years, not forgetting to lubricate the mechanism. And then your wristwatch will delight you for decades.
Cleaning the clock mechanism.
Why do you clean a watch mechanism? Once every 3-5 years, regardless of the cost of the watch, the watch mechanism requires cleaning and replacing the lubricant to avoid wear of the watch mechanism parts. Cleaning the clock mechanism or complete ( preventive maintenance) of a clock is necessary for a clock as air is for a person. Few people know that the balance of a watch mechanism carries enormous loads; it has been calculated that if the oscillatory movements of the balance are converted into rotational movements, then the balance rim covers a distance of approximately 40,000 kilometers in one month, which is actually equal to the circumference of the earth at the equator. Therefore, the clock mechanism and its parts must have fresh lubricant to avoid wear of the parts. As you know, oil is applied to a clean and dry surface, so the watch mechanism must first be cleaned and dried.
The cleaning process itself can be divided into several stages.
Disassembly process clock mechanism.
Cleaning process.
Assembling the clock mechanism.
Lubricating watch mechanism stones.
Installation of the mechanism into the housing.
So, pour galosh gasoline into a small container to a height of 1-1.5 cm. First they clean the balance, then all the small parts, then the large ones. To clean the balance, simply lower it into a container of gasoline and “rinse” it while holding it by the rim. Then the balance must be taken out and put in a box with sawdust, and trembled a little. You need to be cowardly so that the hair of the pendulum (spiral) does not get tangled. To do this, it is enough to move the box with sawdust and the balance “back and forth” several times with sharp movements along the plane of the table. We clean the anchor fork and place it on tissue paper; in general, it is advisable to lay out the cleaned parts on clean, smooth paper so that debris and dust from the table do not cling to them. It is necessary to dry all the parts after taking them out of the gasoline with a rubber blower, with the exception of the balance; it is dried after being taken out of the sawdust by lightly blowing it with a blower (so that the hair does not get tangled). We clean the bridge of the anchor fork and the hanger, then the wheels and spring bridge, the plate and the drum with the spring are cleaned last. To clean the drum, you need to open it and remove the cover. To remove the cover, just press the opposite side of the cover onto the drum shaft (core) with the back of the tweezers. After you have cleaned all the parts and components, you need to reassemble them as quickly as possible.mechanismso that dust that is in the room does not get in.
After assembly, the mechanism must be lubricated, with the exception of the spring, which is lubricated before assembly. That is, before closing the drum cover, you need to lubricate the spring. To do this, apply an oil dosage soaked in oil over the surface of the spring without removing the spring from the drum. Close the lid and lubricate the friction points between the core and the drum and the drum cover. The mechanism stones are lubricated to 1/3 of the oil can, with the exception of the anchor fork stones, they are not lubricated at all. In the anchor fork, only the pulse plane of the pallet is lubricated. To lubricate the balance stones, you need to disassemble them and lubricate the onlay stone, drop a drop of oil into the center of the onlay stone.
Quite often one has to face the thought that no matter what High Quality neither were yours mechanical watches, they are still subject to negative influences from the outside. Therefore, in this article we will tell you how to clean your watch at home, because not everyone wants to spend time and money on regular trips to a repair shop.
Why clean your watch?
Dirt, dust, high humidity, drying out, wear of parts - these are the factors that have to be dealt with in order to maintain mechanical watches and time accuracy. It depends on them with what precision they will show the time, and this directly affects the quality of your life.
In some cases, it is enough to clean the watch without disassembling the mechanism. But an option such as alcohol is not suitable in all cases. Sometimes you need to resort to complete or partial disassembly to clean your mechanical watch at home. Several of our useful tips will come in handy in this painstaking task.
How to clean a watch at home?
Brushing off the dust from the surface of your handheld accessory or home walkers is only a small part of what can be done. But even if you perform a similar procedure with enviable regularity, this will not be enough. Over time, you will have to take the time to thoroughly clean the watch at home, or, more precisely, individual parts of the item. The following parts of the mechanism require constant care:
- The case, and it doesn’t really matter what material it’s made of.
- The strap, if it is a wristwatch, is the same situation.
- An internal mechanism that we actually need for a clear understanding of the passage of time.
Cleaning will take place in three stages - we will look at each of them in more detail. 
Stage 1. Mechanism:
- Open the case and carefully remove the mechanism. To do this, you need to remove the winding screw that holds the mechanism in the case.
- If the dirt is large and visible to the naked eye, you can use a clean toothpick. Use it to remove dirt from easily accessible places.
Important! Manipulation must be carried out with extreme caution so as not to break the tip of the toothpick. If it gets stuck inside, this may cause you new problems with getting out the torn part and a new question - how to repair a mechanical watch at home, due to the fact that this same toothpick has damaged important structural elements.
- Use compressed air to clean the entire mechanism. Just apply light pressure so as not to damage the delicate connections of all watch parts.
- Carry out the same procedure with the body. In this case, you can increase the air pressure for better cleaning.
- Take a thin brush and moisten it in pure gasoline or alcohol. Use gentle, smooth movements to process all the details of your mechanical watch.
- Wipe with a cloth or napkin if there are rough stains on the parts.
- Allow the entire mechanism to dry completely.
Stage 2. Body:
- Alcohol and gasoline will very well remove everything greasy and unnecessary from your watch. Dampen a cloth or cotton pad or swab and wipe the body.
- Corrosive dirt inside and outside is removed with a brush dipped in one of these solutions. You can use a toothbrush.
- After performing these manipulations, wipe all surfaces dry with a napkin.
Important! If you are not sure about the quality of your watch, then be careful when processing the front side of the glass. If it is of poor quality, gasoline or alcohol may negatively affect its clarity.
Stage 3. Strap:
- Use a toothbrush with medium soft bristles to clean the hard material strap, and apply soap or toothpaste to remove any dirt.
- If the dirt is corrosive, then you will need a brush soaked in gasoline or alcohol to clean your watch at home.
- For a gold or silver plated strap, use a cloth or swab instead of a brush.
- If the strap is made of leather or a substitute, then a swab moistened with a special solution for cleaning such material will help remove dirt. Just wipe the strap thoroughly on both sides. For minor stains, you can use an express solution - arm yourself with a damp antiseptic wipe and thoroughly wipe the entire material.
- Wipe with a dry cloth and dry in a warm, ventilated area.
Important! If your watch has a leather strap, do not use alcohol or gasoline. When using toxic materials, the skin will be damaged and lose its original appearance.
An effective product for cleaning and restoring watches
Not everyone can afford luxurious, expensive watch models, because in essence, the main thing is that they clearly display the passage of time. Everything else is just a tribute to fashion and the desire to prove one’s social status. If your mechanical watch is of low quality and the glass is damaged, then there is a simple way to clean it at home.
To do this you will need felt cloth and Goya paste. Take this product, apply it to the material and thoroughly rub the glass until all mechanical damage is removed. After the procedure, wipe with a damp cloth.
- Upon completion of all the procedures for cleaning mechanical watches at home, it is necessary to lubricate the internal parts of the watch. For this purpose, it is best to use a pipette or oil can - this will make it easy for you to drip into the rubbing mechanisms. The oil used is liquid, so it is not difficult to use.
- Assemble the mechanism as quickly as possible to avoid new dust from entering the housing.
After cleaning and lubricating your mechanical watch, it will serve you faithfully for many years and delight you with jewelry precision. This means that you just need to be able to organize yourself correctly in order to manage everything and be always punctual.