What to use to remove mid rust?

[JeremyLaurenson]

Well, I got my first watch apart and now I need to remove some rust I see on train wheels etc...

I'm going to use L And R #111 Ultrasonic Waterless Watch Cleaning and #3 Watch Rinsing Solution in an ultrasonic cleaner.... but do I need to treat these first somehow else?

I have IPA, Benzine, OneDip on hand and am happy to source whatever is best

[VWatchie]

The most efficient way to remove the rust from the centre wheel would be to use a Jacot tool. However, that is certainly not a beginner's tool and it takes quite a bit of research, money, and practice to master.

What you could do for now would be to cut the tip of a piece of peg wood into a square (four flat sides). Then charge the tip with some rouge (I'd suggest Dialux green). What I do is take a small glass jar, scrape some rouge into it and then mix the rouge with some oil, any old oil, until I get a gooey texture. Then place the wheel in a hole in a staking block, hold it in place with a flat piece of peg wood and polish around the pivot with the rouge-charged piece of peg wood. To inspect, brush off the wheel in some IPA and repeat if needed. This method, if you do it long enough, will also give you a very shiny and frictionless pivot. Even though I have a Jacot tool, I sometimes use this method when I don't have a suitable runner for the Jacot tool. Anyway, I hope that makes sense, or if you need some clarification just ask for it. 

You could try the same method with the tip of the fourth wheel, or try with some Eveflex. But be careful not to remove too much material or the second hand won't fit.

I don't see any rust on the minute wheel, so I don't know what to say.

Edited December 26, 2023 by VWatchie

[JeremyLaurenson]

The minute wheel here has a layer of rust on it, the picture does not show it well... It Ill also try a scratch brush pen for that.

[Neverenoughwatches]

7 hours ago, VWatchie said:

The most efficient way to remove the rust from the centre wheel would be to use a Jacot tool. However, that is certainly not a beginner's tool and it takes quite a bit of research, money, and practice to master.

What you could do for now would be to cut the tip of a piece of peg wood into a square (four flat sides). Then charge the tip with some rouge (I'd suggest Dialux green). What I do is take a small glass jar, scrape some rouge into it and then mix the rouge with some oil, any old oil, until I get a gooey texture. Then place the wheel in a hole in a staking block, hold it in place with a flat piece of peg wood and polish around the pivot with the rouge-charged piece of peg wood. To inspect, brush off the wheel in some IPA and repeat if needed. This method, if you do it long enough, will also give you a very shiny and frictionless pivot. Even though I have a Jacot tool, I sometimes use this method when I don't have a suitable runner for the Jacot tool. Anyway, I hope that makes sense, or if you need some clarification just ask for it. 

You could try the same method with the tip of the fourth wheel, or try with some Eveflex. But be careful not to remove too much material or the second hand won't fit.

I don't see any rust on the minute wheel, so I don't know what to say.

I also use a very similar method but with autosol to see if that does the job first before going in with rust removing chemicals. 

[Waggy]

I use a commercial rust removing solution (Evaporust) which can remove rust and rust staining. I know some on here regard it as the devils work but I have never had an issue with it. I usually soak the part in a miniature jam jar of the solution for 20-30 mins, and then inspect and re-apply if needed.

[Neverenoughwatches]

7 hours ago, JeremyLaurenson said:

The minute wheel here has a layer of rust on it, the picture does not show it well... It Ill also try a scratch brush pen for that.

I prefer light mechanical methods such pegwood or bamboo sticks which are harder and fibreglass pens to try first, anything heavier than this can potentially damage material on already weakened parts. It all depends on what the part is and how long the rust has been attacking the steel. Steel wire brushes definitely not, brass just depends but usually not. I used to use vinegar the acetic acid does a good job of eating away at the rust, problem is it will also eat away at good steel and can etch the steel quickly. The water content in vinegar also causes flash rusting, parts soaked in vinegar should be dunked immediately in ipa afterwards. Personally i dont risk anything waterbased anymore and strong acids can end up doing more damage.

10 minutes ago, Waggy said:

I use a commercial rust removing solution (Evaporust) which can remove rust and rust staining. I know some on here regard it as the devils work but I have never had an issue with it. I usually soak the part in a miniature jam jar of the solution for 20-30 mins, and then inspect and re-apply if needed.

Ive been thinking about giving this a try, what is the active ingredient in it Waggy ?

[oldhippy]

A glass fiber brush will do the trick providing it is just surface rust. 

[VWatchie]

8 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

I prefer light mechanical methods such pegwood or bamboo sticks which are harder and fibreglass pens to try first, anything heavier than this can potentially damage material on already weakened parts.

Good suggestions! I have a fibreglass pen as well and use it now and then, but it too can scratch up a brass wheel pretty badly. So, go easy!

[Waggy]

On 12/27/2023 at 11:42 AM, Neverenoughwatches said:

what is the active ingredient in it Waggy ?

The composition is below (from the MSDS sheets), but it's mostly water:

The active ingredients are proprietary, but there is conjecture on some forums that the "the chelation agent [is] most likely EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetate). It's synthetically manufactured and many people swallow small amounts for health reasons"

Here is an excerpt form the FAQ, basically saying that the only thing it can hurt is your wallet $$$

I usually decant 50ml or so into a small glass jar and use it that way, sometimes it comes out sticky, so I usually dry it off with some paper towel or a rag once I am happy that the rust or rust stain is gone and and then dunk it in a small jar of IPA or naphtha for 30 seconds. Sometimes I find it helpful to use one of those fibreglass pens to when it is sitting in the solution to accelerate the rust removal process if there is excessive rust, but generally I leave it alone (apart from the odd swirl of the jar, to do it's thing.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Waggy

[Neverenoughwatches]

12 minutes ago, Waggy said:

The composition is below (from the MSDS sheets), but it's mostly water:

The active ingredients are proprietary, but there is conjecture on some forums that the "the chelation agent [is] most likely EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetate). It's synthetically manufactured and many people swallow small amounts for health reasons"

Here is an excerpt form the FAQ, basically saying that the only thing it can hurt is your wallet $$$

I usually decant 50ml or so into a small glass jar and use it that way

Yikes, noooooo not water

23 minutes ago, Waggy said:

The composition is below (from the MSDS sheets), but it's mostly water:

The active ingredients are proprietary, but there is conjecture on some forums that the "the chelation agent [is] most likely EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetate). It's synthetically manufactured and many people swallow small amounts for health reasons"

Here is an excerpt form the FAQ, basically saying that the only thing it can hurt is your wallet $$$

I usually decant 50ml or so into a small glass jar and use it that way

Haha i like the way this skirted around the question " does evapo rust contain acid ? "  it has a ph of 6.1 . Considering it contains 85 % water thats not really surprising lol.