@Arutha wrote:
Where dials are concerned, anything with painted numbers or transfers i just dont touch unless there is nothing to lose because it is already very bad then I start at the very edge of the dial and slowly work my way in under a 10x loupe with warm or soapy water to make sure nothing is being removed other than any dirt. I will touch the very corner of a number and if I see any sign of things going wrong then I will stop but this is for a bad dial only, as Bob said your safest bet is a dial restorer, if the customer or you dont want to pay for that then leave it alone unless it is a test subject and has no worth. I have cleaned old spotted varnish or lacquer from a watch dial with ammonia before now but it was my own watch and I was willing to risk it because the dial looked terrible as it was.
1st rule of Horology – Do no harm.
2nd rule of Horology – Buy lots of tools
Paul.
#1 – I haven’t kept
#2 – I’m on board.
THanks!
Tom