# Clock movement cleaners whats best



## lenny123

Hi all i would like to have a go at cleaning some of my clock movements what would be the best stuff to use thanks for your advise


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## John MS

I use L&R cleaning and rinse solutions. I've seen several home brew amonia and soap mixes on the nawcc board too. Don't forget to clean those bushings with pegwood after. Once you have all the crud and dry oil out you will find some bushing holes have seemingly grown much larger and egg shaped.


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## rationaltime

John MS said:


> I use L&R cleaning and rinse solutions. I've seen several home brew amonia and soap mixes on the nawcc board too. Don't forget to clean those bushings with pegwood after. Once you have all the crud and dry oil out you will find some bushing holes have seemingly grown much larger and egg shaped.


I suppose the goal is to clean the clock movement rather than polish it.
We might expect mechanical clock movements to contain many brass
parts. Especially on older clocks it could be difficult to know about the
material and part fabrication processes. Ammonia will etch the metal,
and that could create a problem. Ammonia might penetrate along grain
boundaries and react. That would reduce the metal to metal binding
and reduce the strength of the part. Ammonia that penetrated could
not be rinsed off, and would be available to continue reacting over time.
I would not recommend using ammonia to clean brass movement parts.

Cleaning should mean to remove material that contaminates the surface.
I think it would be a better choice to use a surfactant/detergent solution
that does not contain ammonia.

Lenny, can you post some "before cleaning" photos for us?

Thanks,
rationaltime


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## 440saw

Alcohol in a spray bottle for easy basic cleaning. If you are tearing down then you would want to purchase specific solutions; I agree with consulting the nawcc board on these.


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## Trigger Happy

I guess this is one of those questions where the more people you ask the more different answers you get. Personally I dip in methylated spirits for a few mins and then clean down with soft brush and pegwood for the 'holes'. Then in to the ultrasonic cleaner where I have a mix of water and household washing liquid. Then rinse in clean water, examine all parts to ensure they are clean and dry them out.


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