Clock Lubricant?

[josh]

Does anyone know what a suitable lubricant might be for the clock. Mine only worked consistently in the summertime. I thought spraying it with wd40 would be ok but now it's stopping sometimes again.

[TimGud]

You could use 3 in 1 oil but I wouldn't, the new clock oil's are synthetic and can be bought at clock parts suppliers. The grease used for mainsprings is clock specific as well,and it is used for the ratchet pawl on a car clock. Spraying a clock movement is not a very good idea as the clock needs to be lubricated in very specific places and not all over. I have also seen corrosion on the brass parts when they have been sprayed with wd40 and let sit for years. Dissimular metal and a liquid coating is bad news.
What should happen before oiling a clock is it should be cleaned first. The pivots on a clock have oil put on them, which attracts dust over the years and soaks up all the oil and makes them stop running. Now if you just put more oil on that oil and dust it turns that into a grinding paste which in the next couple of years pretty much destroys the movement. But most people don't think that is the case cause it's running now, right. The reason yours will no longer will run is that the hairspring is probably gummed up with wd now and will not let the balance wheel move freely. If it were my clock I would send it to a qualified repairman while it is still salvagable.

[TimGud]

Or find another in the classifieds. They are still inexpensive.

[EverettB]

I believe there is a "clock oil" available, although I have never tried to locate some.

Perhaps you could purchase a tiny amount from a local clock repair place?
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[TimGud]

I get mine online at Timesavers. They are located in Pheonix.

[TimGud]

They are in scottsdale. Here's a link.
http://www.timesavers.com/

[josh]

Thanks everybody. I will call a clock shop and try to get the appropriate lubricant. I would rather fix my current clock than buy another one, especially since it works most of the time. Any other replacement I might find would be 30+ years old anyways and probably soon to need service itself.

[akokarski]

Hi Josh,

Did this work work for you? Which parts did you end up lubricating in the clock?

I have a similar problem, fuse was blown, but once I got it fixed it will not consistently tick and just plain stops at some points and can never return to the end of cycle to get rewind.

Thanks,
Anton

[raygreenwood]

DO NOT use WD-40. WD 40 is not an oil. It is a cleaning solvent with a dispersion of dilicone. It is made for cleaning and displacing moisture. It is horrible for anything with rubber or vinyl in it.
i.e....its bad for the wires and the coil of the clock.

The clock oil sounds cool....but there is next to nothing that should be lubricated in these clocks. They have jeweled main bearings. If you must use a clock oil....Make sure its for the correct weight of movement. Most of these clocks are more akin to "watches". Cleaning with fast evaporating circuit cleaner and then quickly warming the clock with a blow dryer (warm not hot)...will evaporate the cleaner and make sure that the chilling action doess not condense water vapor into it.
Thast generally all these clocks need. Ray

[Tram]

Wurth makes a product called "Contakt- Oel" that is what you need.
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[akokarski]

Thanks guys, I wasn't going to use wd-40 just wanted to know what oil and where to lube.

I will try cleaning with circuit cleaner first and see if that get's it working again.

Thanks,
Anton

[josh]

I ended up cleaning it with contact cleaner and lubing the mechanism. That was a long time ago and I don't remember which specific lubricant I used.

The clock does work year round now. It's slightly slower in the winter so I adjust it once or twice a year.
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[raygreenwood]

I think TRAM is onto something. Long ago when I was in high school I found out that most very light oils were too tacky for the delicate and lightweight mehcanism. I found out the hard way about WD-40...I tried everything from gun-oil to synthetics. The closet I found was a very clean sewing machine oil made by Bernina. But...that too became "gummy" with age (about 6 months)....and I later found out that was because it absorbs moisture and breaks down.
Something that is delicate enough to lube contact pivot points in small relays and such would be excellent.
I eventually found a very small flask of what they call "instrument oil"...used for speedometers, clocks etc...on airplanes. It was when I was in college. I have never had to touch that clock again.....and I have no idea where I got it.
In generally...a good cleaning with a non residue contact cleaner is usually enough because of the jeweleed bearings on the balance wheel. Ray