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#55780
chris mabbott
Participant

    Hey Michael,

    other than the good advice already offered, I would suggest that you dump the old hairspring and just buy a new one, installing a new HS is a needed skill, much more so than trying to fix a busted one.

    Speaking from my own many failed attempts, you can waste hours messing with one of these things and in the end, they don’t perform 100% simply because you’ve changed their shape and they have been contaminated with, in this case, WD40. It can also be a very disheartening exercise in futility and even the most seasoned watch repairers struggle with the straightening procedure.

    I would go with what the others have suggested and use a naptha soak, followed by a hand cleaning followed by another naptha soak. I’ve left parts soaking overnight and have NEVER had any damage to finish, jewels or any parts.
    Regarding sonic cleaners and cleaners in general, yes, they have their place, they are great if you have many watches to repair and economically, need to get them out yesterday..
    But IMHO, you can’t beat hand cleaning, if you have time and patience, which you must have in this hobby :-)
    I actually did a test with the U/S cleaner that I never use. I ran the cycle with some of the fluids, don’t ask me which ones, I’ve forgotten, then I took one of the gears, that had been ultrasonically cleaned, and I cleaned it by hand, the difference was like a dirty mirror and a clean mirror, also the amount of black…tarnish that came out in the naptha rinse was astounding.

    At the end of the day though it is what suits the user so what ever method works, is the best one for that person ;)

    I had a similar watch arrive, but I think they sprayed it with 3 in 1 oil, even worse, it really gums up the works 😆

    Chris