Cleaning watch parts and cases properly.

[slever]

General question.
Have any of you bought an ultrasonic cleaning machine? Is it possible to clean by hand using the appropriate fluids to an high standard? It seems a lot of expense for occasional use, but I'm considering getting one.

[.olli.]

It is definitely possible to clean movement parts by hand to a high standard, Donald De Carle dedicated a whole chapter to this activity in his book "Practical Watch Repairing".
He describes the procedure using mainly Benzine, sharpened pegwoods, pith wood and brushes. There are several specialist fluids which can be used as an alternative to Benzine nowadays.
I think there is actually a great deal that can be learnt from manually cleaning the parts of a movement.

Having said that, it is time consuming, and with the low cost of the machines from China, ultrasonic cleaning is very much a viable option for the enthusiast/ hobbyist. It certainly saves a bit of time, but it is not the horological panacea: dry oil in pivot holes, mainspring barrel or pinion leaves can be very stubborn. I personally always peg some parts to be on the safe side.

[walkerwek1958]

I use a £40 ultrasonic bath from Maplins with L&R cleaning solution. I keep the cleaning solutions in small jars to be immersed in the bath, the ultrasonics goes straight through the glass and produces the desired effect. I use two rinse solutions and go to great lengths to minimise cross-contamination. This is a bit time-consuming but I can clean a full movement in around 1 hr. My parts drier is adapted from a desl lamp complete with 60 watt filamant bulb, a bit basis but it works.

I agree with Olli about pegging the jewel holes first to get any dried up residue moving. I'm perfectly happy with the results I achieve but the key is to leave the parts in the cleaner long enough and to change the rinse solutions frequently........ which costs money! The final rinse must be clean otherwise traces of residual dirt/old oil could be left behind. I place parts in the wirse baskets that came with an ancient cleaning machine I bought but decided against trying to use, but similar baskets can be purchased on Cousins website.

None of this is rocket science, it's all about removing dirt and oil/grease residues from metal parts and jewels, I don't see any great mystique involved.

Paul