I picked up this 1955 Watertite?? at a local auction with a bunch of others, nice case, great running, but had a real ugly dial and well worn crystal.
I tried glass cleaner, soapy water and could not get the gunk off. The better half suggested I add a little white vinegar to hot soapy water, so I did and like magic it lifted it right off!
The solution recipe is half a shot glass of hot water, 3 drops of dawn liquid soap, and 2 cap fulls of White vinegar, mix it up and use a q-tip to apply, keeping it wet and gently scrubbing it with a microbrush www.microbrush.com (don't drink the leftover!) ; )
Now to oil it, reassemble, and post it!
In reply to WOW, that is a great job!. by geezer_D
Good luck Tom,
It seemed to work well with this one, maybe because the clearcoat was still in good shape? I don't know what was on this dial, but it was not dissolved by plain soap and water or glass cleaner. I plan on trying it on some older ( 40's) dials that are a bit dirty.
I would recommend using those microbrushes, ( $1.99 for a pack of 10 at your local hobby store) it seems that they work better than a q-tip and they don't catch on the applied markers.
In reply to Good luck Tom, It seemed to by OldTicker
Greg,
I tried it on an old face similar to yours, not painted but appeared to be anodized. Worked OK, and took off a yellowish haze. I will try on on older painted face and see how well it works. I am using dials that I don't need so no big loss if I botch it.
Edit: Tried on a dial and though it cleaned the background surface, it took the numbers right off. They must have used a water soluble ink.
In reply to You have large kahoonas' Greg by FifthAvenueRes…
In reply to Any chance you can post a pic by shooter144
In reply to Chris, The bottom photo has by OldTicker
Old Ticker
Would that solution work on the hands as well? I notice that this style of hands have a tendancy to corrode on the gilded edges & collect dirt on the inner lum. Any tips like this are greatly appreciated by collectors that don't really get into dissasembly. Thanks.
In reply to Old Ticker Would that by Wayne Hanley
Wayne, I have had good luck on the gilded hands with a tarnx dip and wipe with a makeup sponge. Have to be carefull not to smash the pipe on the hands, I put them on a double folded microfiber cloth and then sponge them clean.
I would bet that OT's solution would work as well. White vinegar is a long known mild but good working cleaner, never thought to try it on a dial tho lol.
In reply to Old Ticker Would that by Wayne Hanley
Wayne,
It seemed to brighten up the lume on the hands, I didn't work on them too much in fear of damaging them,
I tried this mixture on a couple other dials, one it worked farily well (1940's White with applied numbers), but it took the printing off of a copper printed number dial, so on those I would not use it on.
Greg
You folks may know this but...
...thats because the vinegar (being diluted acetic acid) reacts with the copper. It might be fine for the other dials but keep it diluted in water and rinse it off quickly. I restore antique firearms and the old formulas for finishes and removing old finishes use a number of different diluted acids...acetic acid is one of many.
...don't use the vinegar on any blued steel or plumed brass...it will strip the finish off.
