Hey all,

Put one of my favorite watches in a travel case I haven’t used in a while, weather got a little hot and now there is some kind of mysterious gunk all over it. Well, mostly the bracelet. It’s clear, can’t see it at all, but it feels like a waxy buildup. Scrubbed it with soap, water, multiple times. No luck. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

Try a cloth dampened with eucalyptus oil or citrus oil (gum remover).

 

Goo-gle Goo Gone

 

Thanks. I know you goo gone well, always have some lying around. And thought about citrus oil, but would both of those be safe on vintage Rolex steel?

 

No problems.
Heck, I was going to say acetone (nail polish remover) on a Qtip.

This IS on the bracelet only, correct?

 

Yes, stainless steel will tolerate all of the above.

 

Thanks all! Hope she’s back to normal tomorrow.

 

I use Naltha (zippo lighter fluid). Art conservators use it in fine art to remove gunk, tobacco residue, sticky crap- always work on anything I use it on and doesn’t damage it-including acrylic.
Also work a charm getting sticker residue off new stuff like glassware etc.

 

Almost entirely on the bracelet although seems to be a bit on one side of the watch head and a bit on the back. It’s minor, just annoying. Needless to say that watch case is getting tossed!

 

Just wondering where this gunk came from. Does it affect the other watches in the case. Just seems strange for gunk to appear from nowhere. Good luck cleaning.

 

It’s from a one watch travel case. Very odd, have used it many times while traveling for other watches, just never put my “good watches” in there. It’s lined with that egg crate style foam, so my only thought is this watch was heavier and compressed the foam more, then combined with the heat it released some oil/plastic/something.

 

Pic of case so we know what case to avoid?

 

Quick phone shot of the offender!

 

UPDATE: Rubbing alcohol was the closest to the suggestions I had around last night. Helped a tiny bit, but I’ll be picking up some essential lemon oil today. Gonna start mild and work my way up (although hopefully gentle will do it.) Thanks again all!

 

I'd rinse under running hot water (**only bracelet**)

 

Combo of that and lemon oil in soap scrub with a toothbrush seems to have done it.

 

The sticky back used on most egg crate foam will melt under high heat. High end cases like Pelikan use hard adhesive to avoid the problem.

 

Yeah, think that’s exactly what happened. And (although my wife thinks I’m insane) there feels like there’s still some on the bracelet... goo gone is next.