Simple tip to remove smudges, oil and rodico marks from a watch dial

[butler182]

I recently removed some hands from one of my reps and in the process left quite a bit of dust on the dial from the dial protector. Unfortunately the dust wouldn't come off no matter how hard I squeezed my little dust blower. So I broke out my rodico to give it a go too....and in short order I managed to make things much worse! The dust was now gone, but large portions of the dial were covered in rodico marks that I couldn't seem to remove either.

I did a little searching for a solution and surprisingly found very little on the topic. So I went into my tool drawer and pulled out a rubber tipped "rubystick" I purchased a while back but never had used (5mm T11 version...most of the online watch stores sell them for around $2-3 per stick). The soft yet sharp-edged shape of the rubber tip proved to be a very precise and very effective tool for removing most of the smudges. However, there were still a few stubborn smudges on the dial I couldn't quite remove with the rubystick alone. So I took a microfiber cloth and sprayed some Residual Oil Remover (ROR) on it. Then dabbed the rubber tip of the rubystick on the microfiber cloth where I just sprayed the ROR to give it a little "charge" of ROR...and BLAMO! That did the trick. Having a tiny bit of ROR on the tip of the rubystick completely obliterated the remaining stubborn smudge marks and left the dial looking absolutely perfect and shiny! Very easy and very satisfying :thumbsup: I've since tried the same technique using a pre-moistened Zeiss Lens cloth (instead of the ROR) as the source of the anti-oil agent and it works very well too. Although I think the ROR works a little better.

Hope this simple tip helps others with the same issue.

 

[dogwood]

Awesome tip. I had this problem (albeit not as serious) a few weeks ago and ended up using a q-tip to rub away the rodico residue. Of course the q-tip left some fibers, but these were easy to blow away with my blower. But going forward I’ll try the ROR and rubber method!

 

[Raddave]

I recently removed some hands from one of my reps and in the process left quite a bit of dust on the dial from the dial protector. Unfortunately the dust wouldn't come off no matter how hard I squeezed my little dust blower. So I broke out my rodico to give it a go too....and in short order I managed to make things much worse! The dust was now gone, but large portions of the dial were covered in rodico marks that I couldn't seem to remove either.

I did a little searching for a solution and surprisingly found very little on the topic. So I went into my tool drawer and pulled out a rubber tipped "rubystick" I purchased a while back but never had used (5mm T11 version...most of the online watch stores sell them for around $2-3 per stick). The soft yet sharp-edged shape of the rubber tip proved to be a very precise and very effective tool for removing most of the smudges. However, there were still a few stubborn smudges on the dial I couldn't quite remove with the rubystick alone. So I took a microfiber cloth and sprayed some Residual Oil Remover (ROR) on it. Then dabbed the rubber tip of the rubystick on the microfiber cloth where I just sprayed the ROR to give it a little "charge" of ROR...and BLAMO! That did the trick. Having a tiny bit of ROR on the tip of the rubystick completely obliterated the remaining stubborn smudge marks and left the dial looking absolutely perfect and shiny! Very easy and very satisfying :thumbsup: I've since tried the same technique using a pre-moistened Zeiss Lens cloth (instead of the ROR) as the source of the anti-oil agent and it works very well too. Although I think the ROR works a little better.

Hope this simple tip helps others with the same issue.

what Rodico was you using ?

 

[butler182]

what Rodico was you using ?

I started with the regular blue (6033) which was a big mistake. I then moved to the "premium" white (7033), which I think was a little better (ie less smudges), but the dial was too far gone by the time I switched to the 7033. In fairness to the rodico, I was way to heavy handed with it to start. Regardless, the rubystick with a little ROR was 10x better than the rodico...and much more forgiving. If you over dab the rubystick, the mark left by the ROR charged rubber tip will immediately evaporate/disappear. Give it a shot. You won't be disappointed!

 

[Raddave]

I started with the regular blue (6033) which was a big mistake. I then moved to the "premium" white (7033), which I think was a little better (ie less smudges), but the dial was too far gone by the time I switched to the 7033. In fairness to the rodico, I was way to heavy handed with it to start. Regardless, the rubystick with a little ROR was 10x better than the rodico...and much more forgiving. If you over dab the rubystick, the mark left by the ROR charged rubber tip will immediately evaporate/disappear. Give it a shot. You won't be disappointed!

oh ok i use the gray , and i dont wipe ,i rolll it , but you got some good tips here !

 

[Dohdoh]

I had the same issues once... I have also tried microfiber cloth but it left micro swirls...they are super tiny but in some light and angle it was visible. Especially on glossy dials. Now I use calf skin leather wipes (for window cleaning) and it works great! The ror method is also nice - I will try it, thanks for that!

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