Hey gang,

I'm considering a ultrasonic to clean bracelets and other odds and ends and thought it might be good to give some of my cases a bath.

I found this thread on WUS which seems pretty straight forward. Is there more to it?

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/re...-movement-case-crown-stem-removal-707335.html

Is it basically the same for other models? 751, 1045, etc?

Is it safe to drop the case, crystal, bezel into an ultrasonic?

Thanks for the info!

 

Only thing I can add is the crystal might be an issue. If there is any minor crack in it a good UC will probably make it worse. Not sure thou.

 

As long as there is some verified water resistance, I would recommend just using Dawn dish soap and a weapons cleaning brush once a week. I've been doing this for years and have had my watchmakers verify that it doesn't hurt anything.

Tom

 

Thanks guys.

What about the actual removal of the movement.. is it as straightforward as described on that thread I posted?

 

Yes and no. Many movements, you need to count the revolutions on the screw that holds in the stem, because it's a mess if you go to far... and the more you screw around with it, the greater the chance that you break something.

One thing I've learned over the years, the less I've messed with something, the less I've paid when the professional watchmaker got his hands on it.

Tom

 

If you have never done it, I would recommend practice on a lesser watch. Very delicate parts inside. Set screw on the stem lever can be tricky to a rookie. God forbid you unscrew it too far or not far enough.......... Or if it is a push release, it can hang up inside...... This would require more disassembly than you might want. My $.02

 

If you have to ask..................

I'm not being an arse but even with my experience, it's something I would do VERY carefully only after I knew exactly what to do.

And items for ultrasonic cleaning are best fully disassembled, maybe with the exception of bracelets.

As Tom said, as long as the case is water resistant, a soft brush and lukewarm water/detergent is enough to de-crud the case.

 

Assume the case isn't water resistant. Use a sharp toothpick and a soft brush

 

Applies to much more than watches....

 

I would say do not contemplate removing the movement unless you have a lot of experience and correct tools, there are so many ways to screw everything up. One small scratch and you will kick yourself for ever having tried to remove the movement.

I started writing a list of possible places for disaster, but there are actually so many points where you can easily mess everything up that I stopped and deleted it all