I picked up a nice vintage Omega hand wind yesterday with a steel case with a snap down back and bezel. The movement was serviced by a watchmaker I'm familiar with and I trust his work.

The issue is the owner wore the watch before selling and the case has some schmootz on it, especially between the lugs.

So how do I clean the case without having to remove the movement?

 

You don't, at least not effectively...

 

Q-tips and rubbing alcohol?

 

That's what I recommend as well, unless Archer believes alcohol wouldn't be the best choice and can recommend a different cleaning agent.

 

toothbrush sprayed with Windex with a rag behind it have not had a problem yet

 

Thank you everyone for your tips and ideas

I used some pegwood and removed the larger pieces of filth and then used eyeglass cleaner sprayed on a lint free cloth so the cloth was moist but not wet, then cleaned up the case and followed that with a dry cloth to remove any moisture.

Case looks great. I'll have to post some pics when we have a sunny day.

 

This is what I use. Steal it from under the wife's sink. It shines up the case with out any buffing and facet loss. Wipe down with a damp cloth then a dry cloth. Works great on BoR bracelets as well. Those, I rinse with water then pass a hairdryer over on the low setting.

 

I always thought that the case would be cleaned while the movement was out for servicing.

 

Typically the case is disassembled and cleaned ultrasonically, just like the movement after disassembly.

 

Yep - you can do some superficial cleaning with the watch assembled, but a proper clean is done with the movement out of the case and the case disassembled.

 

Normally that's what I would do, but the movement was serviced and I don't want to remove it for fear that I'll mess something up.