• Tired of adverts on RWI? - Subscribe by clicking HERE and PMing Trailboss for instructions and they will magically go away!

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

butler182

butler182

Renowned Member
14/12/20
650
688
93
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ap9791, sting, KJ2020 and 3 others
dogwood

dogwood

I'm Pretty Popular
Section Moderator
Patron
Certified
7/9/21
2,543
5,821
113
Canada
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

Raddave

Most Delicious of all Nipples!
Staff member
Global Moderator
Administrator
Certified
24/12/11
67,017
18,794
113
butler182 said:
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.
Click to expand...

what Rodico was you using ?
 
butler182

butler182

Renowned Member
14/12/20
650
688
93
Raddave said:
what Rodico was you using ?
Click to expand...

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!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Michaelh
Raddave

Raddave

Most Delicious of all Nipples!
Staff member
Global Moderator
Administrator
Certified
24/12/11
67,017
18,794
113
butler182 said:
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!
Click to expand...

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

Dohdoh

Renowned Member
30/10/13
616
152
43
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!

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: butler182
Bearmarketrader

Bearmarketrader

Renowned Member
Patron
Certified
2/9/20
834
1,513
93
Never-Neverland
butler182 said:
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!
Click to expand...
@butler182 While searching for "how to clean a dial," I came across your post. I was curious—were your results achieved on a glossy dial by any chance? I ask as I would like to clean up a 116610 dial. Thanks in advance!
 
ap9791

ap9791

.
Supporter
Certified
1/9/23
309
329
63
These silicone tip sticks are excellent for cleaning dirt and dust from dials, they are slightly tacky so they will pick up debris but don't leave any residue at all. You then rinse them under the tap to release all the debris and let them air dry and use over and over. I think I paid about £8 on AliExpress but they work great. I find on high gloss dials especially black, rodico leaves slight smudges in the right light.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bearmarketrader, butler182 and dogwood
butler182

butler182

Renowned Member
14/12/20
650
688
93
ap9791 said:
These silicone tip sticks are excellent for cleaning dirt and dust from dials, they are slightly tacky so they will pick up debris but don't leave any residue at all. You then rinse them under the tap to release all the debris and let them air dry and use over and over. I think I paid about £8 on AliExpress but they work great. I find on high gloss dials especially black, rodico leaves slight smudges in the right light.
Click to expand...
These looks great...would you happen to have a link to the product listing on Aliexpress?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bearmarketrader
dogwood

dogwood

I'm Pretty Popular
Section Moderator
Patron
Certified
7/9/21
2,543
5,821
113
Canada
I can vouch for this little sticks being great. Just roll them back and forth to spot clean the dial. I haven’t tried cleaning my set yet. But I’ll give that a try. Also if a dial is filthy, just wash it with an artist’s paintbrush in warm water and a little dish soap. Then rinse with water and use your air blower to dry it so that water doesn’t sit on it and dry. I learned the water washing method from on of @KJ2020 posts. Search and you’ll find it linked from hos useful threads post.
 
  • Like
Reactions: butler182 and KJ2020
Kerbus

Kerbus

Spring Bar Struggler
16/3/06
1,630
1,063
113
FL
Hey thanks for bringing up this thread! For a minute there, it sounded like something I’d read in my auto detailing forums. Us folks are fanatical about this kind of stuff with our cars! Dish soap and water for glass and windshields and a dedicated leaf blower to dry the car after a wash Helps us win shows. Now I can spread being this way to my watch dials, this if I ever access the inside of my cases. I might as well get those sticks, I already have Rodico
 
  • Like
Reactions: KJ2020
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom