Reply To: Using Motor oil for clock lubrication…

[chris mabbott]

I was using motor oil on mainsprings until I changed to grease, after a few years the oil had left the building but the grease was still giving a fine performance as it adheres better to the constantly moving high pressure coils.
It’s fun to play with lube, if that’s a persons thing, but it’s something you have to monitor and that takes time.

I’ve often wondered who exactly did the study on watch lubrication. I mean who actually determined that the recommended oil maintains the correct oil film on the parts after X amount of running hours?
Watches are in a fairly constant state of motion, vertical, horizontal positions frequently change, oil is displaced, under the force of the mating parts, so the remaining oil film, the excess that isn’t squeezed out, is what we rely on for protection against wear and a frictionless contact point. We also are faced with two dissimilar mating surfaces, mineral/steel, whereas one lubricant may work well with the latter, it may not play well with the former.
You probably have read this article already but for those that haven’t , here is the link, it’s interesting because it doesn’t go too deep lol

http://www.abbeyclock.com/aoiltwo.html

I think most people just stick with the safe bet of recommended watch products. Does anyone actually know what kind of oils they are?

Chris