Expert: Martin Meyer - 9/3/2008

Question
ear Friend
I have an old English Mantel clock. I need to clean the
mechanism but I am not sure what to use for it. I have a
small bottle of "extra fine clock oil". I will use the oil
to lubricate, but I am planning to use WD-40 to clean the
parts and dissolve the old oil. Is this OK?
Thank you for your time. Best regards

Answer
Hi Ralph,

I cannot stress strongly enough that WD-40, although an excellent product for other uses, is absolute poison for clocks. WD-40 is a "penetrating oil". Thus, it is a solvent, but is NOT a cleaner. Also, it is an oil and, as such, leaves an oily film which attracts dust and dirt like a magnet.

Regarding cleaning, most clock repair professionals consider full disassembly before cleaning to be the only proper and workmanlike way to clean a clock movement. This involves separating the two main plates and removing all the gears and other parts, and is not a job for the non-professional clock owner.

However, it is possible to clean a movement without disassembly and provide some degree of protection against further wear, with the prior warning that doing this may still leave some abrasive dirt between the pivots and the bearing holes, which may accelerate bearing wear.

First, blow out as much dust and dirt as possible with compressed air. Next, choose a fine, highly volatile solvent such as lacquer thinner or acetone. You must be careful with these solvents because they are flammable and toxic; keep them away from any open flame, wear breathing protection, and provide good ventilation. For important safety reasons, do NOT use ether or benzine. Purchase an inexpensive assortment of different size brushes from a craft store. Use the solvent and brushes to clean away as much dirt, oil and grime as possible, trying to brush away from the bearing holes, not toward them.

When you have cleaned the movement thoroughly, use compressed air to blow away and evaporate any remaining solvent. Then allow the movement to sit for a while to let any remaining solvent evaporate from the bearing holes. A small fan will help this. (NOT a heated hair dryer.)

When you are sure that no solvent remains in the bearings, you can oil the movement. Apply a small drop of good quality clock oil to each bearing hole. The oil should remain in the "oil sink", the chamfered circle around each bearing hole, and should not drip down the plates. There are a number of other locations where oil or light grease should be applied, but this is beyond the scope of this forum. You can web-search for more detailed information on clock lubrication.

The oil that you describe may be acceptable; I don't have enough information to know for sure. At any rate, make sure that you use synthetic clock oil, and oil that is not years old.  http://www.clockmasteronline.com