Cleaning Fluids

[Daniel]

don't know if I will try the class or not . I didn't see a schedule of when the classes are taking place. so I am not sure if it would fit my work time or not .

[bobm12]

No Daniel, there is no schedule, you take them when you can and as long as you can. Just visit the free sample lesson and you will understand what I mean. If you are spending that kind of money in tools and what not, might as well get the class I think. It is still a very personal decision though and I'm not associated to them in any way but I have learned a lot from them.

[Legarm]

Is it safe to put the Balance in an Ultrasonic Cleaner?

 

What about the Pallets?

[Geo]

I've cleaned quite balances ultrasonically over the years without any problem. If in doubt, try it on an old movement first to see how you get on. The only thing I will not ultrasonically clean I'd the dial. I tried it early on and it destroyed the finish.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Geo

[PadraicB]

Mark re-attaches the balance to the plate prior to cleaning in his videos, and the manually cleans the jewels after. Whipping around a liquid bath seems more violent and sitting stationary in an ultrasonic cleaner so I'd assume it's safe.

[Legarm]

Mark re-attaches the balance to the plate prior to cleaning in his videos, and the manually cleans the jewels after. Whipping around a liquid bath seems more violent and sitting stationary in an ultrasonic cleaner so I'd assume it's safe.

 

Mmmmmmm, sloshing about may be Ok, I'm concerned that 22Mhz may mess with the hair spring..............

[Geo]

My ultrasonic cleaner runs at 42khz and causes no harm.

[Legarm]

 

 

What about the Pallets?

[Geo]

What about the Pallets?

I clean them all the time ultrasonically and have never had a problem. Edited October 26, 2014 by Geo

[bobm12]

I agree with Geo, I do the same!

[Vich]

I have been collecting the tiny little Wilkin and Sons jam jars you get in some cafés, I can fit 3 in my ultrasonic cleaner and it means I can have a different fluid in each one if I wish. 

The brass fine mesh balls are useful sometimes as well for the really small bits. 

Like Bob and George I clean just about everything bar the dial and pointers.  The only thing I would say is dont use any solvent cleaner type substance that could dissolve the shellac/glue holding the jewels in place.

Since seeing Mark do it, I have started putting the balance back on the plate and it seems to be perfectly ok that way, it does not take long plus the plate gets a clean as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Vic

[clockboy]

I have been using Mark,s method with my L&R cleaning machine (that also ultrasonic cleans in all three jars) and perfect results every time.

Pallets could be a problem if one of them is loose other than this scenario no problems.

[SSTEEL]

As title really, all of the sites I normally use for my watchmaking, Cousinsuk, HSWalsh, and Gleave & Co, are all based in the UK, and all cannot ship the products I need to Finland due to being dangerous chemicals.

 

I am preparing my Elma Super Elite, watch parts cleaner machine, and need these following products...

 

L&R 111 Cleaning Solution

L&R #3 Rinsing Solution

 

2014-11-02_2210 by Micky.!, on Flickr

 

So as you can see, I am a little stuck on where to buy the above products from, and I don't know of anywhere in Finland that would possible sell them :(

Edited November 2, 2014 by SSTEEL

[bobm12]

Hi Micky,

 

Have you tried some US suppliers? Is it the same situation as with UK?

 

This is unbelievable but I searched for "watchmakers supplies, Finland" and I got "Rio Grande" suppliers... not even supplying watch related products. Apparently Mexico has borders with your country!! :D

In any case, if you don't find one close to home, check our directory of suppliers, maybe there is one close enough that can send what you need, probably ground shipping. I believe it is going to be expensive at best. If you were to find one in Finland, tell Mark so he can add it to our directory.

 

Bob

[SSTEEL]

 

 

I have contacted the The Finnish School of Watchmaking where I did my course, hopefully they will be able to help me.

[SSTEEL]

They got back to me with an outlet in Helsinki that stocks the L&R Cleaning Solutions range :)

[SSTEEL]

Not cheap by any means, but no other option, so just purchased the L&R #3 and #111.  Both are the 3.8 litre bottles.

 

#3 €55.00

#111 €59

 

Shipping €20

 

Total €134

Edited November 3, 2014 by SSTEEL

[Geo]

Ouch, that is a bit pricey.

As this is a hobby with me I'm going to experiment with brewing my own. I picked up an old watch cleaning machine recently and l love to experiment. I will post how I get on whether good or bad.

[SSTEEL]

Good luck Geo :)

[bobm12]

And I thought it was expensive here! Good luck and success to you too Geo!

[daz]

I clean all my balances in the ultrasonic and have had no problems, however I have learnt to be a bit more careful with the Pallets as the cleaning solution can get a bit warm if used for an extended time period ( I personally can use it quite a lot in a one session) and sometimes Pallet jewels can come loose due to the shellac/ adhesive softening because of the increase in temperature within the cleaning solution...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Legarm]

Thanks all for the info..... Balance in ...... Pallets out ....... :)

[SSTEEL]

And they are here :)

 

SANY7471 by Micky.!, on Flickr

 

Wiring has arrived too for the cleaner, so all thats left to do is spray the case parts with the clear coat, and then rewire, and reassemble :)

[clockboy]

Cleaned a watch this afternoon using my L&R machine and noticed the parts are a little bit sticky.  Thought it was my tweezes but i think the movement parts have a film of some sort on them. I have recently cleaned several clock parts in the L&R & wondering if there was just too much old oil etc & it has contaminated my cleaning solution.

I have been keeping count using two counts for clock movements & it totals 18 washes. Any suggestions guys.

I have been using Elma

[Mark]

I would not normally do clocks but if I did then I would use a separate jar of cleaner for the clock parts.

 

I used to work in a place where the clockies would take our used watch fluid to clean their watch parts (too dirty for us but clean enough for them). The exception was platform escapements which would not normally be a problem in the watch jar.

 

I have never used the Elma fluid but I have almost run out of my current stuff and was thinking of giving the Elma fluid a try. Apparently you use distilled water in the first rinse. Right now I use L&R watch rinse in the second and third jars. When the second jar gets dirty I will swap the third jar in it's place, discard the second jar's fluid and refresh it with new fluid - it becomes my new final rinse. Less waste this way.