My (Novel?) Bracelet Lubrication Method

[TonyMonatana44]

I’m surprised you don’t start with an ultrasonic bath- I thought that was the gold standard of cleaning.
Also
‘ I like to swoosh the dry lube around in the container every hour or so, so it works its way into all the places it needs to go into.’ All I hear is Chris Rock’s voice saying ‘let that tussin work into that bone’ lol

I used to use Ultra Sonic Cleaners but to be honest with you it's better if you wash the parts directly under warm water with dish soap and move them around it you get everything out. With an USC I feel like it just doesn't do the best job unless you have a super expensive one that is more powerful. To each their own, but I quit using the USC over a year ago.

 

[bechtolb]

This is excellent! Another point for the dry lube! I'm definitely going to give this a try. I completely agree with you @TonyMonatana44 about the root cause for why rep bracelets don't feel as nice as gen. There's no denying that this is simply a remedy that improves the feel of a rep bracelet, but certainly doesn't replace gen quality.
As long as the dry lube is thin enough to penetrate into all the tiny voids between the pins and pin holes, remains in place for a long period of time, and provides the same lubrication quality of the grease, I would imagine it would be just as effective. I'll probably still use the vacuum setup to ensure 100% penetration of the lube, mostly just because I have it already. But if this is another way to achieve the same results without a vacuum pump, that's awesome!! Anyone that cares/obsesses as much as we do about the experience of a quality bracelet deserves to enjoy it as much as we have haha! Thanks again for sharing your tips everyone.

 

[CTbeforeLP]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I will have to give that a shot and compare the results to the grease. Did you find that it made an appreciable difference in the feel of the bracelet?

Definitely. Try it out! It's great. There's many types of dry lubes. Some that stay damp, some that dry completely leaving a wax. And that's the one you want.


This is what I like to use.

 

[bechtolb]

Definitely. Try it out! It's great. There's many types of dry lubes. Some that stay damp, some that dry completely leaving a wax. And that's the one you want.


This is what I like to use.

Thanks! I'll order this one along with some of the others that have been mentioned. The biggest problem I have now is that all of my bracelets are already lubricated, and no reps on my wish list right now haha!

 

[CTbeforeLP]

Thanks! I'll order this one along with some of the others that have been mentioned. The biggest problem I have now is that all of my bracelets are already lubricated, and no reps on my wish list right now haha!

You know what that means...

 

[Michaelh]

You know what that means...

It means I’ll be donating up bracelets to ‘practice’ on and send back

 

[bechtolb]

It means I’ll be donating up bracelets to ‘practice’ on and send back

Shoot me a message if you're serious! I'd love to do a side by side comparison and would be happy to share results with everyone Only thing is it would be up to you to tell us how they compare after wear and tear.

 

[TonyMonatana44]

This is excellent! Another point for the dry lube! I'm definitely going to give this a try. I completely agree with you @TonyMonatana44 about the root cause for why rep bracelets don't feel as nice as gen. There's no denying that this is simply a remedy that improves the feel of a rep bracelet, but certainly doesn't replace gen quality.
As long as the dry lube is thin enough to penetrate into all the tiny voids between the pins and pin holes, remains in place for a long period of time, and provides the same lubrication quality of the grease, I would imagine it would be just as effective. I'll probably still use the vacuum setup to ensure 100% penetration of the lube, mostly just because I have it already. But if this is another way to achieve the same results without a vacuum pump, that's awesome!! Anyone that cares/obsesses as much as we do about the experience of a quality bracelet deserves to enjoy it as much as we have haha! Thanks again for sharing your tips everyone.

I might try out the dry lube with the vacuum pump to see if I can get results faster. I’m sure it does push the lube in for quicker results. But to answer anyone’s questions the Muc Off dry lube is like milk, it’s very thin so I believe it does penetrate all the areas.

 

[Michaelh]

I might try out the dry lube with the vacuum pump to see if I can get results faster. I’m sure it does push the lube in for quicker results. But to answer anyone’s questions the Muc Off dry lube is like milk, it’s very thin so I believe it does penetrate all the areas.

Minor point here but are you thinking that your system is faster/easier and comparable, or that the dry lube may be the superior system because it attracts less dust and debris over time?

 

[Michaelh]

Shoot me a message if you're serious! I'd love to do a side by side comparison and would be happy to share results with everyone Only thing is it would be up to you to tell us how they compare after wear and tear.

Messaged! lol it’s like a sales thread now.

 

[Sparkie]

Silicone is a better choice compared to white lithium (which is what the "dry" lube is, pretty sure), as it insulates from water better. Theoretically lithium is better suited to metal-metal lubrication, but I can't see any way to improve upon the results I've had with silicone in that department, so I'd take improved water-resistance any day.

BTW, just to drive home the point that bulky equipment is not necessary for this (and rather silly imho), this is what I used in terms of pumping/creating the vacuum: https://amzn.eu/d/0cqkVSh
Costs £13 on amazon and probably half that on AliExpress.

Silicone grease is about 10 quid for 100g and you can use it as a general lubricant in DIY, not to mention weatherproof your caseback and crown gaskets.

 

[TonyMonatana44]

Silicone is a better choice compared to white lithium (which is what the "dry" lube is, pretty sure), as it insulates from water better. Theoretically lithium is better suited to metal-metal lubrication, but I can't see any way to improve upon the results I've had with silicone in that department, so I'd take improved water-resistance any day.

BTW, just to drive home the point that bulky equipment is not necessary for this (and rather silly imho), this is what I used in terms of pumping/creating the vacuum: https://amzn.eu/d/0cqkVSh
Costs £13 on amazon and probably half that on AliExpress.

Silicone grease is about 10 quid for 100g and you can use it as a general lubricant in DIY, not to mention weatherproof your caseback and crown gaskets.

Never had a problem with dry lube and I’ve worn my CF Sprite in the Adriatic Sea last summer for 3 months, every day. Salt water, tap water, general cleaning with dish soap + tooth brush…. Still had the same gen feeling like it did after I did the dry lube treatment.

 

[bechtolb]

Update: I found a decent quality bracelet that I hadn't lubed yet! I did half of the bracelet using silicone and the other half using the Muc Off dry lube. I did both using the vacuum chamber to ensure it was apples-to-apples. Here are my initial takeaways:

• The Muc Off was far easier. I didn't need to mix it with anything, and it washed off far easier simply because most of it drips off by itself, and a few wipes were enough to remove the rest from the outer surfaces. Whole process took maybe 10 minutes start to finish, which is incredible! So even if the Muc Off wears out twice as fast, it took less than half the time to apply, so it would still be a win in my book.
• The Muc Off feels ever so slightly smoother. Keep in mind, I had to pay insanely close attention to how each one felt, and the difference is almost imperceivable. But given how much easier it is to use, I'd prefer the Muc Off any day.
• The Muc Off says "avoid contact with skin", which is slightly concerning lol. However, the goal is to wipe off the majority of the lube from the skin-contacting surfaces, and @TonyMonatana44 hasn't reported his hand falling off or anything, so I'm willing to give it a go.
• The true test will now be how each one survives over time. I've put both halves of the bracelet onto a single watch that I will try to put through more rough conditions than I normally do to see how each one endures.

@Sparkie good find with the hand pump! Looks essentially like a manual version of the electric setup I'm using. Sort of like using a normal bike pump vs. using a compressor. As long as you're ok with pumping down the chamber by hand, looks like a great low-cost alternative! I've done so many bracelets now that the ~$100 setup has been well worth it just for time savings alone.

 

[Michaelh]

As a guy with sensitive skin I’ll probably keep to the silicone but it’s really cool to see the process getting streamlined options so quickly

 

[Michaelh]

So shoutout to @TonyMonatana44 for the muc off rec

 

[TonyMonatana44]

I say use whatever works best and what won’t cause you irritation of the skin. The bracelet I did two days ago I didn’t even wash off with water after taking the bracelet out of the lube. I just used paper towels and wiped the outsides off, and reporting that I don’t have any irritation but your mileage may vary so proceed with caution.

I also want to say I’m not arguing what’s the best method. I respect everyone’s thought process. But I want to say that the muc off dry lube has worked for me even after drowning my watches in the ocean/sea for long periods of time.

 

[Frankieboy]

Silicone is a better choice compared to white lithium (which is what the "dry" lube is, pretty sure), as it insulates from water better. Theoretically lithium is better suited to metal-metal lubrication, but I can't see any way to improve upon the results I've had with silicone in that department, so I'd take improved water-resistance any day.

BTW, just to drive home the point that bulky equipment is not necessary for this (and rather silly imho), this is what I used in terms of pumping/creating the vacuum: https://amzn.eu/d/0cqkVSh
Costs £13 on amazon and probably half that on AliExpress.

Silicone grease is about 10 quid for 100g and you can use it as a general lubricant in DIY, not to mention weatherproof your caseback and crown gaskets.

Hi, Do you have a photo of your setup or can you describe what you used as a chamber, how did you connect the hand pump to to the chamber, I’m interested in giving this method a go before I splash out on a vac pump set-up. thanks

 

[Caril]

I've tried other solvents with my silicone grease:
Acetone and synthetic paint thinner ( whatever that is)
none really works well, even after mixing for some minutes.

Even without proper mixing, I've went ahead with my simple food box with manual pump, cycling pressure about 5 times (its really easy and fast to do it).
I've lubed my pelages 39 bracelet (one with a particularly nasty feel) and it worked.
The bracelet now feels smooth and ´damped´..

 

[Caril]

For my next bracelet, I want to try a method some people use for bicycle chains:
Molten candle wax.

The hot liquid tax penetrates all nooks, and when it solidifies it should work wonders for the bracelet feel.
And it should be very safe, as paraffin is what makes supermarkes apples shiny..

There's also liquid paraffin easily available at my local hardware store.
I'll try it to lower the viscosity, but I feel a solid mixture at wrist temperature would give the the best results on the wrist.

 

[Caril]

Liquid candle wax + food box vacuum = perfect

Great feel - the bracelet noise is completely gone ( only a faint rotor noise is left when jingling the watch around) and the wax is 100% safe to eat.
I have the impression the watch stays put on the wrist better without moving around.. but maybe that's just my impression.

Cycling vacuum with the food box is very simple and fast.
To melt the wax, the best is to put the food box with solid wax inside a larger pan with slowly boiling water.






After dipping, the bracelet comes out almost clean.
While it's warm, it's very easy to wipe out the liquid wax with some paper tissue.
That's it.