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What is the Blue Liquid Cleaning this Vintage Watch Dial??

  1. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Ok its not an Omega but a vintage Rolex having its dial cleaned in this video by a Master Watch Maker at 5:21.



    The blue liquid is applied by a brush and completely covers the dial before it is evaporated using a blower.

    Any idea what it is?

    100.jpg 200.jpg 300.jpg 400.jpg
     
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  2. JimInOz Melbourne Australia Sep 7, 2020

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  3. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Someone asked on the YouTube thread, and he replied that it was "a little trade secret." hopefully someone here might have a better idea.
     
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  4. SpeedyPhill Founder Of Aussie Cricket Blog Mark Waugh Universe Sep 7, 2020

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    It surely looks a bit like Joseph Lister's invention... Antiseptic mouthwash :unsure:
     
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  5. spinnaker11 Sep 7, 2020

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    Or perhaps a thin coating of self smoothing resin to fill any small scratches?
     
  6. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Listerine has had a bunch of uses, not sure if watch dial repair is one of them.
     
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  7. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Definitely not a resin.
     
  8. Canuck Sep 7, 2020

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    Windex?
     
  9. Deafboy His Holiness Puer Surdus Sep 7, 2020

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    There are products for optical component cleaning that one applies, let dry and then peel off to remove debris, etc. For instance...

     
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  10. M'Bob Sep 7, 2020

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    If in the USA, maybe this. Used in many an ultrasonic cleaner:

    0B547A7D-4F2A-4E05-89BC-8B91379AC58D.jpeg
     
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  11. DON Sep 7, 2020

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    If blown dry. It has to be a diluted form of alcohol.

    Diluted to avoid eating right through the lacquer finish of the dial, but just enough to remove some aging.

    DON
     
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  12. connieseamaster Sep 7, 2020

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    Could also be some kind of petroleum based solvent. My first thought was naptha, but wrong color.
     
  13. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 7, 2020

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    A common bench solvent used by watchmakers is known as "Solvent H", which is n-Heptane. It is generally colourless, and getting more difficult to obtain from what I hear, so this may be some sort of substitute for that.

    MSDS here:

    https://shop.ottobock.us/media/pdf/083A2_en-US.pdf

    Personally, this is something I would never do. Putting a solvent on a dial can cause a lot of damage, as this example that a customer of mine sent me of a watch that someone else serviced for him, and he cleaned the dial using Solvent H, and the printing (that was fully intact) came off in many places.

    Solvent H damage.jpg

    To make matters worse, the watchmaker didn't tell the customer - he opened the box after getting the watch shipped back to find this...this was a CW21 certified watchmaker in the US, so when people throw around titles, that often means nothing...

    Cheers, Al
     
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  14. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Don't think so because it's drying quickly with a blower.
     
  15. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Would that evaporative without residue?
     
  16. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Thanks for the input.
     
  17. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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    Now I'm reading about Windex. Turns out it can be a fairly strong cleaner. I wonder if it's too aggressive. Also the product being used evaporates quickly.
     
  18. DaveK Yoda of Yodelers Sep 7, 2020

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  19. IMeasure Sep 7, 2020

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  20. AAAKK First listing in the ΩF B2B phone book Sep 7, 2020

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    I believe he's using a bottle of Rolling The Dice
     
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