Hi Joel,
Yes I’ve learned this lesson the hard way too. Once the lacquer has started peeling, all you can do is wipe as much of it off as possible to avoid getting it into the cleaned movement. I have heard of people reapplying lacquer to the plate, but it would involve scrubbing ALL of the exiting lacquer and then respraying the plate. Of course this will get lacquer into the pivot holes, which will have to be removed. More pain and suffering than its worth in my opinion.
Some of the movements that I’ve cleaned, have been previously serviced. And as such, the lacquer is thinner and peels faster or already has spots that are peeled and tarnished. On places where it is peeling, I take a micro-fiber cloth and scrub the area in all directions to try and remove the flakes as much as possible. After that, it is what it is.
Any time I run a lacquered plate ( and gears) thru the ultrasonic, I run the plate for 30 sec, scrub with a nylon brush, and run for another 30 sec. No more than 60 sec total to prevent peeling. The gears I run at 90 sec total. Rinse 2x, place in alcohol soak, inspect and, (if needed) scrub with ammonia cleaner/nylon brush and then re-rinse and back into the alcohol. I have found that if the plates are lacquered, the gears and levers are too.
So take this as a lesson learned. You have not damaged the movement, but it will tarnish over time. Just clean off as much of the flakes as you can and go from there.
Good Luck
Mike
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