Double Your Ultrasonics Cleaning Power! 💥🔧

In this video, I will show you how I doubles the cleaning power of my ultrasonic machine for cleaning watch parts.

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** TOOLS & SUPPLIES I USE **

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[pakwest]

1. Pre clean as needed w/ 99% IPA.
2. Ultrasonic: - Fill with tap water.
a. 125 degrees F (52c)
b. Degas
c. Fill beaker #1with 400ml/solution (Liquinox solution mix - 2.5tbs/1 gal. Water, or 1:100, or 4 tbs. of Liquinox in 400ml of water)
d. Fill beaker #2 with 400ml of clean distilled water.
3. Parts in beaker #1. Run for 10 min.
4. Rinse parts under tap water
5. Parts in beaker #2. Run for 10 min.
6. Swish parts in 99% IPA to displace water.
7. Place parts in dryer (food dehydrator). Dry at 104 degrees (40C) – 5 min.

[WatchWiseUS]

Criminally underrated channel and videos. I've just started watchmaking, "successfully" restored a Hamilton Perry with a 982 movement in it (although it's running very slow - but it wasn't running at all before). Going to watch everything I can.

[WatchWithMike]

Liquinox sounds perfect for cleaning up crime scenes! Seriously, it's always good to have affordable, environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. I have been buying vintage flea market watches, and the bracelets alone seem to be 98% organic debris. Going to give this stuff a try!

[dekim]

Thank you Alex, I really appreciate your help. I was quite concerned about safety because I've never seen it before, contrast to IPA. I've searched for MSDS sheets of both IPA and hexane.
Sorry for lack of information of the question before I asked you. I was careless of pre-cleaning. And I just let it dry freely.. on the watchmaking paper.
I'm pretty sure that I'm using 99% IPA, I think the reason rust or dirt remain is the lack of the 'cycle' of cleaning process. I was quite complacent, I thought single process can clean up everything.
I watched your other videos as well these days, bought more jars to make the discrete cycle of the cleaning process.. now I am sure I'm learning the right order of watch servicing. Thank you so much.

[machinistmikethetinkerer]

Update: just got my mixer in the mail yesterday and set er up over my ultrasonic. For the price and what I'm going to use it for I think it was a good score. Thanks for the tip.
BTW-there's a dude on the 'Bay who's saying he's got the alternative setup to expensive watch cleaning machines and selling these very machines for 300+ bucks, telling them to "be patient because it takes awhile to build and assemble these" but that "its worth the wait." 😡🤬

[wildernessofzinn]

Thanks, Alex...I'm glad you mentioned the 91% alcohol thing. I was wondering if it made much of a difference. I see 91% available all over the place, but 99%...not so much. So, I spray my parts with CRC Electronics Cleaner which is largely hexane anyway and available at Wal-Mart in the auto dept. It does a good job as far as I can tell. Have had no issues to speak of, it dries really fast, and it is relatively inexpensive and easily obtained by comparison.

[johnrieley]

Thanks for your clear, experimental findings, and experienced knowledge. Your videos are jammed with great info delivered with clear language.

[emmm]

I saw someone using a mixing cup, which is a glass bottle with a rotating small motor on its lid that only needs a slight modification Hang a 3D printed watch washing basket below, the cost is very low, it looks very fun

[Rangerbanger]

I wish I could share photos here with you. I recently inherited my grandparents rolexes from the 70s-80s. Both heavily worn. The bracelets were disgusting. I ordered a bottle of liquinox and tried your full method. Holy cow, they came out incredible. I ran them through the cleaning jar twice, did not use the agitator, just swirled them around a bit with a chopstick. I need to order a case back removal tool, I'm sure these haven't been opened in once in 40+ years, they were terrible about maintaining anything, even cars. I'm used to using Dawn blue in my L&R 90h, but this stuff is a real game changer!

[SkyBlue-lecd]

Many thanks for taking the time to think about this solution and then doing another educational video. Hope that you are well.

[StephanJPPL]

Excellent video. Thanks. It is almost impossible to get hold of Hexane in Norway. I have been using CRC Electronic Cleaner for a year now for hair springs, jewels and many other things. I spray the liquid into a small jar. Works very well as a One Dip replacement. CRC Electronic Cleaner does not effect shellac. My hunt for Liquinox has just started

[aaronbanta]

Really look forward to your vids, best on YouTubein my opinion. I'm still very much a beginner so I find myself watching and rewatching all your videos, learning more every time. Thanks so much.

[amandagelien]

Thanks for the advice I find a through pre clean makes a world of difference take care😄

[DanD-ypni]

Thank you much for sharing your skill and knowledge. I have learned quite a bit from your content and really appreciate that it's out there.

So, I'm relatively new to watchmaking and repair, but I'm not at all new to chemistry and just want to provide a little context here.


1. You can in fact buy things that are labeled as "99% Isopropyl Alcohol", however I'm not sure that believe that labeling. No, the manufacturer is not trying to cheat anyone. It's just that 99% isopropyl alcohol is so widely hygroscopic that it essentially instantaneously absorbs water from the atmosphere, and effectively self-dilutes. Truly anhydrous alcohols are hard to make and keep dry (actually making them is easy, it's keeping them that's the issue as they absorb water so easily.) I don't know exact rate of absorption, but it wouldn't surprise me if a bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol that had been open for just a few minutes was closer to 90% than 99%. It's all going to depend on temperature, humidity, surface areas etc. What strikes me as more important than the dryness of the alcohol is the use of heat to dry the parts.

2. "n-hexane" isn't a grade, it's a type of hexane. Simple hydrocarbons are named as a combination of the a prefix specifying the number of carbon atoms in the molecule and a suffix that indicates the level of "saturation" (presence of carbon-carbon multiple bonds.) In the case of hexane, hex indicates there are six carbon atoms, and "ane" indicates that the molecule is fully saturated (no carbon-carbon multiple bonds). Further prefixes like the "n-" come into play when the molecule gets more than three carbon atoms in it (at that point you have options on how the carbon atoms are arranged.) In this case the "n-" stands for "normal" meaning that the atoms are all lined up in a row. I'd be surprised if this was too restricted as it's a common lab solvent but there are reagent/technical grades available all over Amazon.

[davidvandusen]

Fantastic content! I was trying to rig up something like this myself, as I cant convince myself to get a full watch cleaning machine (yet). this looks great!

[danhealy]

I just got the same mixer you use and I'm having trouble getting the original pin holding the mixing blade out of the mixing rod, how did you get yours out?

[jabber]

Great content. It’s not really clear to me if whether you have a fluid in the ultrasonic cleaner itself in wich the glasses are submerged. It looks like it’s empty but it’s my understanding that the u-cleaner should never run empty. Can somebody maybe clarify? Thanks.

[Anne]

i really want to buy one of those vintage L&R watch cleaning machines simply because they are the bee knees in cool but they are a Kings Ransom, been thinking of all kinds of ways to build one but your solution with the lab mixer is brilliant and dirt cheap allowing me to now spend the extra savings for a good trinocular microscope, i remember back in the 1980's going to used machine dealers and seeing watch cleaning machines for 25 and 50 dollars and it shocks me those vintage machines are 1000 dollars plus, love your TV Show btw Mr Tutorials

[jimwingard]

Hey Alex, thanx for the good advice. Do you think there would be any value in utilizing the Sweep mode in addition to everything else you did in your experiment?

[boydsargeant]

Thanks again Alex! A great vid! The links don’t all work in the UK, but it gives us lots of info to search ourselves. How important is heating the water in the ultrasonic cleaner to 50c? Does it ever negatively effect metals like removing plating (zinc etc)? Also, when you dry, do you turn the parts over half way through? Ta, B.