lubrication

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

Can I ask a clockmaker a silly question please? In the bottom of a box of junk ,that I bought about 20 years ago, Laid in rusty water, I have found a wind-up watch. This must have laid about 20 years outside in all weathers. I've cleaned the outside with WD40 and it looks OK and little wear. It winds up and runs but only for 10 hours. I would like to clean and lube and see what happens. It's a swiss make but of no value, so I thought it would be a good practice piece. Any suggestions eg. lube to use. Thought of using white spirit as expect it will be a one off job. Apologies if of-topic .

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Gordon NEVER put wd40 anywhere near a time piece To clean it you will need to strip it down completely especially the main spring I usually clean in lighter fuel and oil with watch oil Not a job for the faint hearted if youv'e never done one before But we all had to start somewhere

Roy

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

That was quick. Already been cleaned with wd, on outside only. Only then could I see what it was, yes it was that bad. My thoughts are that I can't make it any worse. The s/s back has a peg spanner type fitting , so I thought to unscrew it and swill it out. BTW 6mm screws are small to me. It's ticking away quietly now so I thought to try and preserve it.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

Gordon.my guess is if after sitting in bucket of rusty water for years..running at all might be a sign that its water proof. .thus its brief flirtation with wd 40..might be harmless..but clocks and locks don’t often benifit from that stuff..

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

If it's not too much trouble, do you see which make it is? Could form the basis of my next watch purchase

graham.

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

Jason- that's the conclusion I came to, so thought it would be nice to save it. It's a Swiss Nidor Vibraflex. I think it must be waterproof, actually looking better now with all the handling.

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