Smakfu you are totally correct. Anyone reading this who knows this guy personally please try and stop his practices. Watches of the like deserve a lot more respect.
Don't be stupid all your life. The old cats used lighter fluid or naptha all the time to flush out all the dried out oil and dirt. No sonic cleaners in 1899 thru 1970. So rather than disassembly of your whole watch just douche it out with. Yep.lighter fluid. Ain't really anything to hurt when you think about it. Shit evaporates clean.
@@bigwu100 Just because some old timer says thats what he did does not make it right. I have had it told to me. Your basically turning the pivots into grinding stones and all the dust, old oils and junk will wear the pivots out. That and now your running the watch dry with no lubrication so it will wear out faster. They used naphtha to clean the watches once taken apart. Once the watch movement was soaked over night you dry it off and take wooden pegs to clean out the jewel holes. Etc. Will soaking a watch in lighter fluid get a watch running? Maybe but not all the time.
@@bigwu100 the problem is that the lighter fluid removes all the lubrication from the watch so you would have to lubricate all the pivots on the watch or the mechanism will wear down fast.
Watch Maker for 15 years now,,, when you think you have seen it all,,, I just want to say there are videos to help get you started on the right track...
A watch maker friend, now deceased, used to use Zippo lighter fluid on movements that were rusted. He said it was very good at breaking down severe rust, but he always properly cleaned and lubed everything afterwards
I have an old key wind Civil War era pocket watch that I got as a gift. I had to order a key for it, but it would only run for a few minutes at most. I was planning on taking it to a watchmaker, but saw this video, and figured I had nothing to lose. I set it in a bowl of lighter fluid, and moved it a round a bit. It started running, and I left it in there for about an hour as it ran. I pulled it out, dried it off, and gave it a full wind. Now it runs constantly. It loses several minutes a day, but it's well over 150 years old, so I'm happy that just stays running. Thanks for the tip.
Beware eBay purchasers this watch has not been serviced only rinsed in lighter fluid without been striped down and is running dry without oiling, very bad practice.
Eek! I recently bought a lovely Elgin Hunter off fleaBay, listed as having a broken balance. After some research, and a few relevant purchases, I spent a very nerve wracking afternoon dissembling, cleaning, carefully oiling, and reassembling, it. Phew! I'm not sure I want to do that again! Much to my amazement it actually works! I had invested in a new balance shaft and wasn't looking forward to trying that repair, but when I took the watch apart my thoroughly inexperienced eye couldn't find anything wrong with it... apart from my suspicion the pallet-fork had "jumped" the balance wheel. (probably not the right term) It's running pretty well, although if held face-down at a 45deg angle (balance lowest) it gives a little "boing" and stops. Changing position or giving it a slight nudge starts it up again... blowed if I know what that is, I'm absolutely new to this. Why do I bring this up? Most of my "research" has been through watching RU-vid videos. With the tiny amount of knowledge I have gained even I know this is a really, really, bad idea... If I had seen this video a week ago I suspect I would have completely buggered my watch!
It takes years to get the right tools,, and learn how each part matters, I encourage to learn the trade , that is what you are paying for when you take a watch to a, watch Maker, do check if everything is good,,, and all it needs is a cleaning to get it back up and running properly.
@@plasticmoon222 you wash all the oil out, that will increase the decay and the cristals are fixed by resin or other glue. Lighterfluid could cause, that the escaper cristals go loose, which leads to an uncontroled power release. If the cristal then get stuck between the gears ... oh Boy...
I got a lot of pocket watches from the 1800s,,alot work and alot don't,,i bought them at flea markets,,the ones that don't work seem to be wound up all the way and wont wind up more but wont tick,,somebody told me slam it hard against my palm,,but that don't work,,there are just stuck,, I didn't try this guy in the videos method
@@plasticmoon222 Be carefull with slamming them in your Palm. Altough they are often solid, better try first heating them up to max 60°C (Shellac melts between 60 and 80°C), on a heat pillow or something. This may could soften the hardened Oils just enough to let it tick again. If they are wound up to Max, try to release the Spring Tension by holding the winding pearl and hold the pawl on the Cog. Then let the Tension slowly release trough the pearl between your fingers. But at the End, its your Property, do what you will with it.
The proper way to repair a common low cost mechanical watch is to send it off to an experienced watch maker and after about $400+ you're good to go. So, a common low grade vintage watch in perfect working condition that's worth maybe $30 to $100 dollars cost maybe $500 for a complete service/repair. Or, if there is no emotional attachment, you could try the lighter fluid method and maybe get it running for the price of a can of lighter fluid. The downside is the watch probably won't be properly lubricated so a major part or two might wear out sooner than they would with professional service. I find a lot of cheap mechanical ca. 1909 to 1970's watches at estate sales, etc., and if they run at all I'll do the lighter fluid thing. It just doesn't make sense to spend $500 on a $1 garage sale watch worth $50 in mint condition.
1. Lighter fluid can remove numbers from watch dial. 2. Lighter fluid can remove pallet stones from pallet fork and roller jewel from balance. 3. Lighter fluid is not be inhaled. 4. After a proper cleaning, the movement should be lubricated with watch oil. What you have done is akin to cleaning a newborn baby with a brillo pad!
Don't think you have to worry about the lighter fluid affecting the resin holding the pallet stones and impulse pin (unless you keep them in the fluid for weeks). However, I always use some isopropanol (IPA) to rinse any lighter fluid residue and this can definitely destabilize the resin, so I only rinse the pallet fork and the balance complete for a few seconds and then blow them off. Other than that I think you're spot on! Imagine cleaning a car engine like this. Sure, it would run, but for how long, and imagine the damage. STAY AWAY FROM THIS METHOD!
I feel that you can do what you want to your own watches, but not to sell them on eBay with out informing the buyer what you have done, and definitely not on other people's watches.
@@see08sharp this guy is a pig. he didnt desamble th wath he did put the holw thing inside, how would be the barrel srping with that fluid inside, and yes never clean the pallets becuase they come out, happend me several times. I simple dont touch on the shellac with the fluid.
@@see08sharp Alcohol WILL dissolve shellac.. Very quickly.. You use alcohol, typically ethanol to dissolve shellac flakes when you're going to paint with it.. Shellac actually will stand up pretty good to nonpolar solvents like that napthalene he uses in the vid...
OHHH NOOO !!! naptha and butane may clean the old oil and dust , but what happens to the pivots when it is run without oil !!! Watches need a VERY small amount of watch oil -NOT WD40 or 3&1
Killed that watch didn't you bud? Stripped it of all lubricant. Took a huge chance on disalving the shellac that holds the jewels. Running it in fluid that causes drag on the movement and saying it keeps good time. Bet its fast after drying. It ran for a bit. But it will wear out very fast with no lubricant. Somebody will say "lighter fluid is oil based." Maybe so but it does dry rather quickly. Pour some on a piece of glass so its not absorbed. And see how long it stays there. Anyway, don't do this. Its stupid. Turn a few hundred dollar watch into a shit pile. I've been making and repairing watches for 52 years. If your going to try to fix it yourself, first you must educate yourself on the correct practices to better you chances of success. Otherwise, you may as well just throw it in the trash before you start. Take it apart. Clean it. Lube it very sparingly only in the correct places with the correct weight movement oil. Can take 2 or 3 different weights of oil. Take your time. Don't forget how to put it back together. And for goodness sake, use watch makers tools. Not your pocket knife.
Anyone with a modicum of mechanical aptitude should know this is a poor way to treat a watch. That said, common model pocket watches are plentiful and relatively cheap. There are hundreds of them at any given time on eBay, but unless it had sentimental worth, why would one spend $150 - $200 or more to have a watch with a $70 value properly repaired? The same ones ridiculing you for doing this would think anyone crazy for spending $3000 to have the engine in a twenty year old Ford Taurus rebuilt. Of course you could learn to service the watch yourself the correct way for a lot less, but not everyone has the time or desire to learn watchmaking skills. I see nothing wrong with your method if it works to bring a dead watch back to life if even for the enjoyment of a few months or a year or two. We can't take any of this stuff with us when we leave this place, and most of our treasures and gadgets will be tossed out with the garbage or sold for pennies on the dollar at the estate sale anyway.
If you can afford watch cleaning solutions from L&R or Zantech from a supply house, I think this would offer a safer cleaning option than lighter fluid. You should disassemble a watch movement completely. The dial and hands need to be removed first to prevent any possible damage to these parts. Then, you can disassemble the movement completely.
Let's see, 50 cents worth of lighter fluid and 10 minutes of time, or $100 cost minimum for a watchmaker, or about twice that much for cheap tools and expensive grease with hours of trial and failure to repair it myself... Let me think...
Using lighter fluid is fine for cleaning metal and plastic and rubber. Not sure I would dip the dial and hands in it, but the movement is fine. Be sure to let all the fluid evaporate before oiling.
@@anthonyredford7775 There are also different grades of oil/grease for different points in the movement. It is NOT this simple! I am an amateur and have three grades, five or more are used professionally.
Ok...I'm no professional, but I've watched enough RU-vid videos on watch servicing to know that when a watch is serviced it is: 1) disassembled and all parts cleaned in a solvent which strips off all the old oil, grease and grime 2) rinsed a few times with 99% isopropyl alcohol to remove any solvent (carefully, as alcohol is a shellac solvent) 3) dried 4) jewels inspected and cleaned with peg wood 5) movement is reassembled, re-oiled, re-greased So... If there isn't anything mechanically wrong with the watch, using Rosonol will work just fine as long as the watch is rinsed of any solvent, dried, re-oiled and re-greased. I believe Ronsonol won't dissolve shellac, btw. Just because most of us aren't watch makers doesn't mean we're clueless to the fact that watchmakers do the same thing this guy did...just with WAY more expensive, tiny tools.
And professional watchmakers do it correctly, unlike this guy. There is a reason watchmakers exist, and it isn't because it was this easy to clean a watch... or men would have done this and professionals would have gone out of business. What this guy is doing is getting a watch to run TEMPORARILY. This is like putting sawdust in a transmission to silence it; it works, but doesn't fix the problem.
Got a Seth Thomas pocket watch and got it running but it was way too fast. watched video, didn't have lighter fluid and googled for alternatives and it suggested rubbing alcohol...soaked and afterwards it stopped working...period. Found a place that sold lighter fluid and repeated...afterwards bam it started working as soon as it was in the lighter fluid... Apparently alcohol will clean but it also removes and much needed lube...where the lighter fluid has some lube in it... The alcohol didn't harm the watch itself but USE lighter fluid as video suggests and you'll have a cleaner, lubed pocket watch w/o having to pay someone to fix...thanks!
That’s some crazy stuff. I’m a Watchmaker and I’m wondering whether I’m wasting my time completely disassembling cleaning reassembling and oil a watch when I could just toss the damn thing into lighter fluid and go to the park and baseball.
Just in principle, you should probably squirt WD40 in the gears before you close it back up and leave a tiny piece of duct tape on the inside of the case, to ensure you have used all modern repair techniques available.
I think he's making fun of the idea of cleaning the watch with butane and modern tools. Watchmakers doing repairs tend to use things like pegwood and other tools that would have been used by the original watchmaker. Things like ultrasonic cleaners are seen as a cheap way to do a cleaning, the butane method may be somewhat effective but is probably seen as heresy. Maybe find a nearby watchmaker and visit them sometime and take a look at the trade.
OH MY GAWD NOOOO! It requires a total disassembly, cleaned, lubricated, verify jewels are not damaged, remove the spring from the spring barrel. apply braking grease to the wall of the spring barrel, tiny drops of lubricating oil to the spring, then take the jewels out of the shock spring mounts, seperate the 2 halves, clean and a tiny drop of light jewel oil to the flat side of the jewel, put together and re-install in spring shock mounts. Then the pallet fork jewels, see if the lighter fluid did not remove the shelac the holds the jewels in place. Lubricate those jewels with light watch oil. Also, lighter fluid can remove the print from the dial is some cases where it is old and ink ready to seperate from the dial face. Only use a tiny amount of water on a que tip. With 0 librication the jewels don't stand a chance from wearing out. The fluid in the spring barrel will eventually seep out with dirt and grease inside the watch and eventually onto the dial leaving it discolored. The winding stem and grears need a heavier grease. Who ever bought this watch on EBay must take it in for a proper clean and service. I've been buying and repairing watches for 20 years.
no it should be dessamssabled first, cause some debris may stay inside the movement, you can even have a small screw or piece of wood inside, i have found strange things incluinding human hari, your wathc dont get out of this with this piggy service. Now, hes gonna sell, well i dont buy watches to this guy for sure.And how can you oil it properly without dessassemble it??
The Lighter Fluid comes from Amazon today for my Dollar Watches. Backyard, dig a hole, soak them, if they don't run, throw them in the pit, light a match, then bury. LOL!
Funny to read all the horrified comments from watchmakers. I too am just a tinkerer with no training and I find a healthy dose of WD-40, then some brake cleaner, and finally a tiny bit of clock oil works just fine.
I have an Elgin Pocket watch that was my grandfathers. I busted it out today and it wouldn't run. Tried your lighter fluid idea and it's running like crazy. Thank you.
@@androidkenobi It ran about half an hour then quit. 120 year old watch worth about 30 bucks isn't worth the cost of having it fixed. The fancy fob hooked to it is worth more. Back in the draw it goes.
This makes me wary of buying watches or movements on eBay. After soaking it, it should be oiled with the correct lube. It may run now, but for how long?
@@jermanoid lighter fluid doesn't dissolve the shellac holding the pallet jewels. Lighter fluid is basically what is used to clean watches properly anyway. The problem is that you are stripping all the lubrication from the pivots so it will wear if used a lot. Although I think this is a hack, at least the watch is running. A proper cleaning would be very expensive and done without expert hands could easily destroy the watch. I have a collection of watches and to be honest I hardly ever run them so if it runs and the downside is a bit of wear which won't amount to a hill of beans it is better to do this instead of shit canning the watch don't you think? I took an early wire lug wristwatch to the jeweler recently and he told me it would cost $300 plus to get it running. That is more than it is worth. i don't think there is anything wrong with it other than the oil has congealed.
You can absolutely use lighter fluid to clean a watch, BUT, only if you follow proper procedures. Taking the movement completely to bits, cleaning, rinsing and then drying fully. Replacing lubricants as necessary. And of course, not submerging any component that utilizes shellac or adhesives. Otherwise, there's nothing wrong with lighter fluid as a solvent.
Eman, check the watch repair channel. He takes the watches apart piece by piece and cleans the parts with a special solution inside a special machine used specifically for that purpose. After cleaning and drying he reassembles and lubricates the bearing with a tiny oiler. I used one of his videos as a guide to repair (kind of) an IWC Schaufhaussen to get it running. His channel is amazing.
@@sreetips yes I’ve seen that video which is why i commented here. He did mention its ok to use lighter fluid whit components that have shellac or adhesives but not use IPA so i wanted OP to clarify.
I have a video on an IWC Schaufhausen. I watched”the watch repair channel” as a guide. It wasn’t working when I began. After my crude disassembly, oiling, and reassembly it was running.
Even the wrong oil is better than no oil at all. Sewing machine oil works if a person is cheap. Use thinner oils toward the balance and heavier oils the closer you get to the mainspring barrel in the gear train. A sharpened toothpick or a sewing needle works to apply the oil. It's a myth that household oils gum up faster than any other watch oils in my experience.
I have a couple of pocket watches I want to service. One is a Westclox pocket Ben dated the same year and month I was born in 1959. The other is an Elgin 1916. It’s been a lot of fun watching the videos and learning how to do it.
I've got a watch that was only $20 when it was new in 2015, it's beginning to stick now, and I think it's a great candidate for this sorta treatment. I doubt I'm even gonna oil it at all, as any specific watch lubricants would entirely exceed the value of it, and anything I might substitute for them is liable to just speed up it's demise.
This lighter fluid trick isn't that bad and it actually works. Beware of anything that could dissolve shellac on pallet stones and impulse jewels, etc. I use proper watch oils now, but in the beginning when I first started messing around with watches I used a mix of Mobil One engine oil mixed with Marvel Mystery Oil. It worked great and didn't "gum up" over the years any different from real watch oils. Dirt cheap, too. Balance pivots and escape wheels got straight Marvel oil because it's thinner.
I did this on the recommendation of a friend who does watch repair. I have no experience with watch repair. But I've received so many negative comments from others that I would hesitate. It does get the trash to wash out of the movement, but the lighter fluid probably will wash any lube from the bearings and cause problems. If the bearing surfaces could be lubed then it would probably be ok.
I was absolutely shocked. I have an old Elgin pocket watch that used to work but hasn't worked in years, and I put it away thinking it was just broken. I took it out today and was shaking it to see if even the balance wheel would turn. It kept on wanting to turn on its own a couple of times and then it would stop. So I decided to look on RU-vid to see if there were any videos on how to fix this problem myself. I ran across your video about dipping it in lighter fluid to try to get the sticky gears and parts to move again. Well I poured a little lighter fluid in a small metal pie tin and then placed the watch chassis inside it and the dam thing immediately started running on its own. And it's still running. I started to laugh to myself and I said it works it actually works. Now my watch is running in that bath of lighter fluid which I will leave in there for a while just to clean the works and then I will take it out and try to carefully lubricate it and then put it back in its case I have to say it again I was absolutely shocked when I saw your video and found out that I could actually get this watch to work again. Thank you very much for posting your video. Now my pocket watch will run again for another 100 years.
great video, just as a cautionary recommendation instead of pushing the hour hand back you are much better off just removing the hands and then putting them at the correct time. If you push the hour hand back you're liable to mess up the internals.
a very fine knife blade under the minute hand and slightly rotate the blade will pop the hand off then repeat with the blade against the face of the watch being careful not to scratch the face for the hour hand
Got it. This was my first time doing this. I'm usually ripping into the case with giant cutters to try and remove the internals so I can get the gold filled material into some acid. It was very refreshing going the other way with it. I simply couldn't believe all the dirt that came out when I began to squirt the lighter fluid in. But I was really astonished when the movement began to work and keep good time!
YES ITS GREAT, IT IS JUST A SHIT, YOUR DAMAGING THE WATCH... THESE FUKIN IDIOTS DESTROY THE WATCHES, AND SOME DISTRACTED BUYER WILL BUY IT. if you want to repair soemthing you ahve to get in a school, course, or at least studying soemthing, ohersise your just a pig trying to fix watches, a pig!
ham-handed. I'm surprised he didn't spray WD40 on the movement. Now there is absolutely no lubrication and we all know what happens when moving parts have no lubrication. Just am atter of time before the real damage occurs. Hopefully someone rescued it.
Ok so i did the same thing with my Hamilton movement watch. And yes it works while in the lighter fluid great. But soon as i take it out of the alchohol my watch stops running agin im so annoyed. Why does mine stop after taking it out of the lighter fluid? Thanks
I’ve taken lots of flap for this video from watch repair people. I used lighter fluid for this experiment, not alcohol. You probably got junk in the gears. All it takes is a tiny piece to gum up the works.
@@sreetips oops idk why the hell I said alcohol I'm sorry lol. Yes I used lighter fluid and it didn't work at first so I mixed some of my cheap liberally synthetic oil with the lighter fluid let it sit for longer now my watch runs great! So few drops of the oil with the lighter fluid works great. Thnks for the video man I learned it from you!
Wow some watchmaker really come down on you hard. Even if the are correct. I like pocket watches but I know some of my limits an know I can't handle the small parts. So when I buy a non running watch I leave it that way. I'm not sure of the scrap value of a goldfilled open faced watch but wouldn't think it would be more than $15. Watch makers typically don't work cheap.
Yes, one the major reasons watches stop working. crud from the outside, dust from worn parts and solidified lubricants. This may be a good start. A cheap watch and a little lighter fluid.
Just found a circa 1899 Waltham "Seashore" or some such model pocket watch with a gold (filled?) case that was my long-late grandfather's. Funny thing is it doesn't have a seconds dial, which I have never seen one w/o. The watch was almost fully wound when I found it. It runs for a few seconds, then stops, until I shake or tap the watch hard, and then it goes again, over and over. like that. So there is nothing I can just soak the whole watch in that will safely clean it and get it running again? I'm afraid if I take it to a pro shop to clean and oil then it will cost more than the watch is worth, so should I just scrap it for the gold? It's my understanding that this model was Waltham's cheap-o (ist) for some reason anyway (maybe b/c it doesn't have a seconds dial)?
I'm not a watch repairman. I tried this based on a suggestion from a friend who does repair watch movements. But I've been told by other experienced watch people that soaking in lighter fluid may cause problems with the jeweled movements. Plus it washes off any lube so parts will wear out quickly if not properly oiled after soaking and before its put into service. But you are right. If you take it to a watch repair they will extract all the value from the watch. Do it only if it has value as a family keepsake. If not, then I would just scrap it and recover the gold. That is what I would do my friend.
You can tell if the case is gold filled by looking inside the cover. If it says, "20 years" or "warranted 15 years" or something like this then that means it's gold filled and warranted not to wear through the thick coating of gold down into the base metal - which is probably brass, a common fill material for gold filled watch cases. If it's made of SOLID karat gold then it will be stamped "14k" or even "585" if they use solid karat gold then they will go to the trouble of making sure that is is stamped as such - usually but not always.
Most gold filled watch cases are 3-5% 10-14K gold. a typical watch case weighs 2 oz of less, meaning you've got all of 1-2 grams of salvageable good in a case. They are worth more being preserved to hold watches than they are at the smelter. Plus, they are often beautifully engraved works of art that will be lost forever in smelting. No bueno. Destroying art is always bad. Always.
It's nice to keep. I got my granddads watch which my dad had so I've not seen it in over 50 years. When my granddad died it wasn't working. My watch does the same as yours. I've seen a bottle of watch cleaner fluid on e bay so I'll try that rather than lighter fluid. The proper stuff has to be better for it, followed by careful oiling.
I am so glad I randomly came across this channel. Also very surprised to see the man behind the channel. I was expecting some 30 year old who is not american. But you remind me of a guy I used to sell random jewelry to I met off craigslist in oklahoma.
If you're not going to remove this video regardless of comments - I assume it is pride then. Because you could at the least put a disclaimer in by editing the video with text boxes at the start, that there are many things that can go wrong as this may work for some watches but there are less harsh methods available at the same cost. Please man, for the sake of the dead who made these for history to endow. I respect your putting this out there, as there are things one can learn from this video good and not good, and you at least want to help others and are, but please put a disclaimer in there at the start trust me someone is gonna mess up a really expensive watch and you'll be in my boat, which dented my bank account. Don't just let people blissfully walk into this without a disclaimer, I find it dishonest but you may just be too busy with life like many to put that in - but you should, trust me on that. Subscribed
Kyle Fogg Don't do it. Will screw up the impulse jewel as the lighter fluid will loosen the shellac that holds It on. Really really bad thing to do. Watch my videos on watch repair and cleaning please
@@JDRichard SOME YEARS AGO I WORKED IN SOME SCRAPS,,, TO PRACTISE , NOT MENT TO BE USED OR SELLED. PALLETS JUST GOT LOOSE , SOME TIMES, WITH LIGTER FLUID. EVEN TODAY, USING THE RIGHT CLEANER, AND DONT SOAK THE PELLETS... I CLEAN ONE BY ONE.
Would anyone recommend this for a mechanical timex watch without any jewels for a cleaning of course I’m still going to oil it with some Moebius but I wanted to be sure that this type of cleaning would work on a timex movement
Though not recommended?? It actually worked!! I received small box of broken pocket watches. A few were intact. I came across this video and figure to give it a shot. i open the back covers and place one in a small dish of lighter fluid. after a minute of dip and slushing away. IT started to ticking away! Wow! taken it out to prevent any possible damage. I looked closer, i can see the bits in the fluid like in the video. Now i need to order watch oil and i am in business.
But proper lubrication cannot be applied this way, nor can dirt and contaminants be removed. Yes, it will bring the watch “back to life” for awhile, but it will suffer a premature death. Viewers: Do not do this to a watch and call it “servicing”. This is not the proper way to treat a watch.
Hold it right there........ you could even simulate an ultra sonic cleaner by tying the movement to the vibrating end of an electric toothbrush, then dunk both in the lighter fluid!
WOW, I have heard stories of this sort of thing but always thought it a tall tale, so let me get this straight, its running and keeping time in the lighter fluid, I would think the fluid would cause drag on the balance, but what do I know. I wager he sold it on eBay as “serviced”. . . ahhh, and just pushing the hour hand back in line with the minute hand . . . priceless . . . LOL
Can anyone who has tried this say how your watch ran afterward? It's obviously not the right way to do it but then again most of us aren't running an antique pocket watch daily. If you have one seized up and it's not especially valuable or a family heirloom then why not. Better than one which isn't running at all. People saying it will strip the oils... how much lube do you think that old watch has since last being serviced decades ago? I'm not paying 400 dollars or more for a thing worth 50 bucks nor do I possess the skills or tools necessary to do it myself.
Deadly for the springs. Please give a little more information here. How can the lighter fluid damage, or kill, these springs. Genuine curiosity here. Thank you!
sreetips The petroleum distillate such as Naphtaline or others inflamable liquids derived by gas weaken the crystalline structure of the metal of the spiral bringing to the consequent breakup after a few times of use
Just think of what the mainspring barrel looks like inside now.....gross. Whoever bought this has to disassemble it and clean it properly anyway. Better to just have sold it dirty. it's only a 7 J, not like it was going for an astronomical amount anyway; pretty sure the case is worth more than the movement
Well I don't know about doing this after reading the comments below. I have my granddads pocket watch and took it into a large jewellers shop to see if they could get it running. I've not seen it since about 50 years ago when my granddad died and it didn't work and my dad looked at it, then it got put away. My dad died and I have it now. When I said it needed a glass and the minute finger is broken and it's out of it's case they said I need a specialist watch repairer. I put it back into it's case. No problem there. It runs for a few seconds. I think first I'll buy a bottle of quartz watch cleaner movement repair service clean for £4.99 I've seen on e bay rather than do this. Then some careful oiling. I've seen proper quartz oil for watches too, £4.99. Why not buy the proper stuff?
This is how not to service a watch, you would not drain the oil from your car engine then run it ,you would not get far and this watch that you have now sold on eBay will die in a very short time.
No. I would never do that. But my car has a nitrous oxide breathing 283 small block Chevy with a roller cam and Dart II heads making around 500 horse power. A big difference from a tiny watch spring. But I get your point.
Question for the professional/hobbyist watch repairers: Have any of you tried using supercritical carbon dioxide as a cleaning solvent? As a chemist (graduated in 1982), I know that it is an excellent (and fairly inexpensive after equipment purchase) cleaning method and is even replacing Carbon Tetrachloride in drycleaning applications. And in the cleaning of electronics as well. I realize that the watch parts would still need disassembled and that not all parts would require solvent cleaning.
i must have binged dozens of hrs of repair videos this past week and at some point this thought also entered my head. I'm glad i'm not the only one! Are you familiar with the channel AppliedScience? He built his own supercritical fluid chamber and several months later he discovered the CO2 actually ate its way into his acrylic viewing chamber. Thus, i would not use this method on the crystal, and i would even be fearful that it might also eat away at the synthetic gems and balance spring. Lastly, without agitation, u might just have a really clean watch with really clean dirt particles in the gears, as I'm not sure how one agitates with supercritical fluid.
I cant believe you posted a video claiming to repair a watch with lighter fluid but didn't spend any time watching a video on youtube on how to properly repair a pocket watch by disassembly, cleaning, reassembling, and lubricating. What you did is not a repair by any means! It may work for a short time but its days are numbered. It wont be working very long. Thats for sure!
A friend of mine’s mother had a wrist watch that she popped open and rinsed with lighter fluid every year. 50 years later it was still working and keeping good time even after she died.
