Hi everyone. Tried the search engine for this one but could not find anything, so I just wanted to ask you all with vintage bracelets out there:

How do you clean your bracelet? I have two metal bracelets, one from Seiko and a vintage Omega bricks bracelet. Summer is coming and I just wanted to clean the Seiko one from the usage of last summer and the Omega one since it got to me and it already had some gunk in it (not visible in the fotos).



I know vintage steel is still steel, but is there a proper way to wash it / clean it without damaging it? Is there anything to look out for? Or any particular products to avoid? How do you guys do it?

Keep on being safe out there, everyone.

Best wishes,

Rudi

 

Have you got a dishwasher?

 

Yes

 

You can buy for 30 EUR or less a small sonicator, usually used for small items like jewels, dentures etc. You take out your bracelet, 10 mins at full using a teaspoon of detergent with water as liquid phase.Then another 10 with just water. Dry and mount back.

Alternatively , just a child type toothbrush (with gentler bristles) and hand soap (not toothpaste), being careful to avoid the watch head.

 

Thanks for the tip, I’ll look for such a cleaner!

 

Just wait until you have an empty dishwasher to yourself.

Put safety pins through bracelet/end links and hang on prongs on the top shelf.

Use normal cycle and standard dishwasher detergent.

Remove from dishwasher before the other significant party gets home.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/latest-buy-does-it-look-ok.10781/#post-125833

 

Do you guys put a little bittle of oil on your links/pins after cleaning to avoid squeaking? My new 1171 bracelet for example is squeaky and therefore I didn't want to clean the bracelet of my new old Speedmaster in the ultrasonic cleaner

 

No!

 

As others have said buy an ultrasonic cleaner ,soft tooth brush and a strap pin tool ( go for a good quality one)

 

Although it may be obvious to most, it may not be to some- remove the bracelet from the watch before cleaning! Do not put the watch head in the dishwasher or in an ultrasonic cleaner. Do not put a vintage watch under a faucet unless you KNOW it has passed a pressure test. Wipe down watch head with a damp cloth and your fingernail (or wood stick like a cuticle stick) in the crevices (do not use a metal tool).
I wash my bracelets with a toothbrush and dawn dish soap in the kitchen sink (after removing it from the watch head). If it’s really nasty (like a new to me vintage watch) I let it soak in a dish of hot water and dawn- then scrub. I rotate each link as I scrub (just roll it over your fingers) on both sides, sometimes you need to remove the pins from the clasp to get the gunk in the corners.

 

Your google-fu is weak, Rudi.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/how-do-i-clean-a-bracelet.104266/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/cleaning-a-flat-link-bracelet-without-an-ultrasonic-device.101095/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/watch-bracelet-cleaning-without-an-ultrasonic-machine.61844/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/cleaning-gold-bracelet.122870/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/wor...c-cleaning-machine-for-omega-bracelets.43895/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/one-of-my-favorite-watch-band-bracelet-cleaning-tools.43115/

 

Dip the bracelet (not the watch) in Mr.Clean or Simple Green. If available, ultrasonics with these solutions is even better.

 

Mr. Clean (diluted) is what I have used for years. Does the job well.

 

Old bracelets initially get an utrasonic clean. I personally use Dawn.

Stainless watches with sufficient water resistance get a washing under the warm tap with Dawn and a soft nylon brush. For whatever reason, the stainless always looks brighter after the Dawn scrub.

I once received a Tessuflex stainless expansion bracelet (look it up) and it was loaded with old, dead skin cells and other miscellaneous dirt. Utterly gross. Took a long time to get it clean.

 

Same goes for old nylon straps. I got a Military issued Hamilton on original brown strap. After about 5 rounds of deep scrub and rinse with Dawn and a toothbrush- I discovered the strap was actually bright olive drab

 

ewwwwww.... that's when you borrow the wife's lingerie bag and run that sucker through the washing machine with OxyClean and hot water!

 

My method is:

1. Boil water in an electric kettle (any would work)
2. Put bracelet, sans head, in a small-ish cooking pan with dishwashing liquid
3. Pour boiled water over
4. Wait until water cools and brush with toothbrush

In my experience, the dirt pretty much falls off and there's very little detail work to be done.

 

Gentlemen, thank you all for posting your suggestions!

I did wash it in the dishwasher today lol, afterwards, did also an extra cleaning with a soft toothbrush.

@Dan S , a friend actually suggested that if one day the moderation decide to bestow me a line next to my avatar (or I can do it myself if I upgrade) that very phrase should be my motto

But jokes apart, I do sometimes have the feeling I do not know how to work with the search engine

But anyway, it worked!

 

Should have used Cascade, I think i see water spots tisk-tisk.

 

I have an ultrasonic cleaner which helps me a lot in cleaning all metal bracelets, but the working cycle is just 3 minutes, so I have to push the ON button every 3 minutes, so after 10-15 cycles the dirtiest bracelet looks just like a new one. After that I do rinse the bracelet under running water and let it dry couple hours. Never used dishwasher, but anyways it's a great lifehack!