Wall Clock, Cleaning, Oiling And Cleaning Mainsprings 

There can be several problems. The best guess is that when you wind the mainspring full it puts enough pressure on the power wheel and train gears that one of the pivot bushing is bad causing the clock to stop running. If your mainsprings are in the open you can let them down use a rag with some 3&1 oil and start at the base of the spring and wipe the spring clean re-oiling them may help. The Bench Jeweler Mike E.

Liquid Wrench is a solvent used to cut rust and what not. It may attract your brass as well gumming up the works over time! It's a cutting oil not a good source of lubrication. A tiny bit of lighter fluid on a firm cotton tip would be a good cleaner with out risking the lacquer protection on the brass plates. Best to use my clock kit with the correct lubricating oil, grease and cleaning the clock. 35 dollars over the next 15 years is a small price to pay Sincerely mybenchjeweler.co

@@rhjgold Now you got me started on my clock again.... I would like to oil it. The first day the I treated it with liquid wrench and dried it, it sounded so nice. But I had to leave it for a couple hours to dry more and then it went right back to that coarse banging sound that I have been used to. Honestly, between this and my car, I don't know which one drives me more crazy?

@@ronaldjoseph4425: I think there is nothing sweeter than a well-oiled running clock which will give you years of pleasure. You need to buy a clock oil. To help you do not use 3 in one oil no spray oil no sewing machine oil use clock oil only. This will prevent your clock from grinding and drying out the pivot and bearing housings. Take time to watch my videos they tell a lot about keep your clock in ship shape. Sincerely, The benchjeweler.com

@@rhjgold My clock just stopped chiming again... Monday I'm going to order new movement (Hermle 451-053) from a place in Pennsylvania,I think. They sell complete sets. I think the movement and weights don't match up on this clock it a Sligh grandfather clock and I think the right weight is 7.6 lbs and the middle is 4.6 but the pendulum is 8.5" wide so I think I need 2 (6.6) 1 (4.6)? And I'll get some (Etsynthia#859 clock oil) now that you mention it.

@@ronaldjoseph4425 there are three weights when facing the clock the right weight should be the 7.6 the other two will be the same.

I don't recommend using any machine grade oils, most have either cutting agents or detergents that can or will damage your clock. Clock Oils are designed to work on most if not all clocks and are the only recommended types of oil to use. Regular q tips won't work very well to soft and unravel making a mess. I sell a brand that is much longer and has tight wound cleaning tips. Our cleaning swabs have a wood wound swab and on the other end a wood point used for loosening the dirt and impacted grease so that you don't drive it down below the pivot area. Mineral Spirits is a good cleaning agent and a small can be purchased from most hardware stores. I sell a very nice Clock Oil Kit to aid in cleaning your clocks. Hopes this helps Thanks The Bench Jeweler.

Depends the wooden cleaning swabs are pre-sharpened to a fine point rolling around the pivot to loosen the old oil then using a cleaning solution on the cotton swab part removes most of the debris. It works quite well. The well-sinks must be clean before placing clock oil in the well.

Not if you are careful just break up the build-up and use mineral spirits with the felt side of the cleaning sticks then oil. The Bench Jeweler.

Don, the only way to reoil the enclosed springs is to take the clock apart and the springs need to be removed from the barrel and cleaned and oiled. Best to leave them alone. You can clean and oil around the winding shaft that's about it. The Bench Jeweler

Don't try removing the barrels that gets detailed most of the time the springs will function ok.

On some clocks the barrows can be removed at that point you can remove the barrow caps and lightly oil the mainspring using 3 and 1 oil.

If the gears are dirty with build-up buy a very stiff short bristled artist brush using mineral spirits you can washer out the build-up then dry with a hairdryer. The Bench Jeweler

No, don't mess with the cable, rope, chain, or wire cable only the pullies if the cables are connected to one.

No don't oil the cables.

@@rhjgold Thank you.

No, too runny

First of all, never use WD40 it will gum up and eat at your brass plates and collect dust and anything else that wants to cling onto the clock. Buy a small can of mineral spirits you can use a spray bottle and spray the whole clock down use a hairdryer to dry the clock. Don't be cheap we sell Clock OIl on our website www.mybenchjeweler.com oil the pivots. If the mainsprings are open and you have a let-down key you can let the mainsprings down then using a folded rag squirt some 3&1 oil on the rag start at the base of the mainspring and pull the oiled rag as far up as you can pull it that cleans and oils the mainspring all in one motion. The Bench Jeweler.

Sorry, that's a bad idea!

I didn't Have time to respond to Keth's cleaning technique, please don't follow his example. Home cleaning can be done the way I show you and it works well. Yes, you can use mineral spirits I recommend it. Soak your cleaning swab in the spirits and with a circular motion clean the pivot and bushing the mineral spirits will dry almost instantly. Then use our oil kits and oil each pivot. Note: Mineral Spirits is a solvent used for many things thining lacquers and paints etc. Leaving your clock in a tub full of Mineral Spirits for several hours will destroy the protective lacquer coating on your brass gears and brass plates on your clock movement and you will end up with a mess that is not fixable. Rinsing with water and leaving it to dry overnight will produce rust on the steel gear shafts and pivots again not an easy fix. Thanks The Bench Jeweler. Mike E.

When cleaning clock mainsprings release the power, from the attached end using a paper towel with 3&1 oil on it. Pull the mainspring coils out as far as you can with the paper towel wrapped around the coil on the spring. This cleans the black slug from the spring and gives the mainspring a light coat of oil.... NOTE only time you ever use 3&1 oil. The Bench Jeweler.