Commercial Cleaning Solution

[hank7421]

I saw a product on Timesavers website that seems to have a lot of advantages. It is called “Historic Timekeepers Concentrated Solution.” It comes in gallon and pint sizes and it is designed to be cut 7 parts water to 1 part cleaning solution. It says is not a hazardous material and it is claimed to have no unpleasant odor and It rinses with water. This might be a good product for those of us who work from home and hand clean our watch parts. I was wondering if anyone has tested this product to see if all the claims are genuine and if it does the job?

[bernie weishapl]

I used it for many years. It worked well and had a low odor.

[oldmantime]

Hello Hank and Bernie
I have always thought of Dewey Clarks Historic Timekeepers Solution as a clock cleaner only. Not to say it will not work on watches I just did not know it crossed over for both.
I use Stoddards solvent for a cleaning solution and Naptha ***Lighter Fluid or Coleman Lantern Fuel*** for rinse. They work very well for me. I am not recommending that you use these as they are flammable ***my disclaimer*** but mentioning it here because you may find it interesting. I am not certain where Stoddards is sold now because I buy it from a small hardware store near me but homedepot use to carry it. I have heard that it might be sold under a different name now but maybe some google digging will reveal that.
The best to you,,
Peter

[willofiam]

Hey Peter, I think your right about the historic timekeepers solution, good catch, I didn’t even think of whether or not Hank was working on clocks or watches. I use it for clocks and would be afraid of it softening the shellac but have not experimented with it yet (it will take off lacquer)…I will add that experiment to my list and try it out on some old watch parts. For watches I use the L & R solutions (because I’m boring). Have a nice evening. William

[bernie weishapl]

I didn’t catch that either. When I did use it on watches I didn’t clean anything that had shellac on it.

[hank7421]

Hello Bernie,

I just received the Historic Timekeepers Cleaning Concentrate. It says to mix it 7-1 which I did and it said to us an Isopropyl alcohol rinse before drying, but it did not say anything about how long the parts should be kept in the cleaner. Since you have used this product before, what is your recommendation?

[bernie weishapl]

With watches I generally didn’t leave them in more than 10 minutes in my ultrasonic. When i cleaned them by hand I just let the parts sit in the cleaning solution till I got to them. Normally not more than 5 or 6 minutes. I also use denatured alcohol before drying to displace any water but again you have to be careful not to put anything with shellac in either alcohols.

[stevefitzwater]

It has been mentioned above, but I thought I should say this, do not clean your pallet or balance in that solution, they both have shellac on them and it will adversely effect the shellac.

You will need some One Dip for cleaning the hairspring, balance and pallet, I would get a baby food jar, I have an essence jar, but it evaporates out of it over time.

[hank7421]

Thanks for the tips guys. Your suggestions were greatly appreciated. I will order some one dip.

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