Good evening from Holland, Recently I bought a pocket watch where the crystal was glued by the previous owner. When I tried to replace the crystal, it came loose but there was still some glue residu and small pieces of glass in the edges. I eventually tried to remove it with my small screwdrivers and it came loose, but scratched the case a little. I was wondering what you guys use to remove glue from steel watch cases? I read online that aceton works, but can this damage the case in any way? Jan
And make sure that whatever you use is completely 100% rinsed off, you do not want any residual acetone (or indeed superglue or any other gunk) fumes floating around inside the case and finding the dial or hands.
I use a sharpened brass rod. It does the same job as the screwdriver and it doesn't scratch the case. The only problem is that you have to sharpen it on a lathe or using a drill or even a file.