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Pro tip: my grandpa's watch repair advice saved me $80
My grandpa saw me struggling with an old pocket watch I found at a flea market in Portland. He told me to just use a toothpick and lighter fluid to clean the gears instead of buying some expensive ultrasonic cleaner. I figured he was just being cheap so I ignored him and bought a $90 cleaning kit off Amazon. Well that kit did nothing and I ended up stripping a tiny screw on the mainspring. After that mess I finally tried his way with a toothpick and Ronsonol and the watch has been ticking perfectly for three months now. Has anyone else had an old timer give them some weird advice that actually worked better than modern stuff?
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jamesf416mo ago
Man, I've been there. Old school fixes usually beat the fancy stuff because they've been tested for like 50 years. Lighter fluid is basically a degreaser and it works great.
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miles_roberts6mo ago
Does 50 years of testing not count for anything these days? People love to overthink simple problems and grab the newest bottle of something from the auto parts store that costs $20 and does the same thing. Meanwhile, I've cleaned more greasy parts with a can of Zippo fluid than I care to admit. It evaporates fast, leaves no residue, and actually works better than half the fancy spray cans on the shelf. But sure, go ahead and pay for the "professional grade" stuff that's just repackaged lighter fluid with a fancier label.
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