Cleaning a hermle clock

[JosephVolz]

My clock teacher once told me you can do a cleaning/ re-oiling of a hermle movement at the house where the clock is at as long as it doesn’t need repair or rebushing. I see the plates are laquered. What do some of you use to clean the oil wells and escarpment wheel?  I seem to remember him telling me I could use hairspring cleaner and artist brushes. Another student was told by him to use so.e water with a bit of dawn soap.  Unfortunately, he was developing dementia and I am unsure what I should do.I

 

[MikeJohannesen]

Hi Joseph,

I have done this a few times when the movement looked pretty clean with only a couple of pivot holes with buildup. I flood the oil sink with 859 oil and use a hooked probe to remove the build up. Then I flood it again and use an artist brush to remove the dirt from the oil sink. You just have to be really careful not to drive the sludge down into the pivot hole. Then I oil everything else and reinstall into the case. This can be done onsite, but beware, this is a quick fix and will only buy the owner some time before it fails. The units I have done this to in the field, usually end up failing within a couple of months as this is a band-aid and I end up bringing them back here to be properly cleaned, polished, and inspected for wear. It is really difficult to tell if  a movement needs repair until it is properly cleaned, pegged, and polished.

As far as using Dawn and water, I would be hesitant to use anything that cannot be totally removed with your tools. I have seen folks use a bucket and soak the movement in clock cleaner. But again, it shines it up and cleans the surfaces but does not fix any wear surface.

I would strongly recommend that a proper disassembly and cleaning/polishing be done. Even if it appears to be like new, there is an underlying issue that you may not see. The movement is not running properly for a reason right? You have to find it. I use the mixture Bob shows in the course video and it works pretty darn good. Thanks Bob! Some mechanical scrubbing is needed with a nylon brush on some of the really bad plates and pinions, but this is my go to recipe for clock cleaning. I do need to warn you though.. this stuff strips the lacquer pretty fast. for Hermle and Kieninger movements, I only put the plates into solution for 60 secs before rinsing.

Good luck and know that you are one of a select group of people that care enough to keep these beautiful devices running.

Mike

 

 

[KeithDoster]

I agree with Mike, I think. But I hesitate to do much more than a superficial cleaning in the customer’s home. If there is enough build up in the pivot holes to warrant flooding it and cleaning it with a brush, I would prefer taking the movement to the shop for a tear-down, cleanup, inspection, repair and reassembly. I believe that saves the customer money in the long run because he isn’t paying for an inevitable second service call. It also saves me time and gives both me and the customer greater assurance that they will not have any more problems with their clock any time soon. But I suppose we have to approach this on a case to case basis.

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