Spot on 382 - how to remove.

[COLDI]

I've got a black stain right on the dot between the t m. I've tried hot water and taking a took pick to it as well as ketchup. It still won't remove the stain or whatever it is. At first I thought it was just dirt but it can't be picked out and it's not patina bc the ketchup didn't take it out. Any ideas?

 

[trailboss99]

Superfine steel wool? I assume you have tried thinners.

 

[COLDI]

A paint thinner. No I haven't. I didn't know how it would react to the bronze and steel wool would complete mess us the brush pattern.

 

[Raddave]

I would try a toothpick, with an itsy bitsy teeny weeny dab of comet stuck to the tip (or some other abraisive substance)

 

[ALE7575]

Paint thinner on the tip of a toothpick
If not possible try with a pin

ALE

 

[nielsen]

Tooth pick is unlikely to be hard enough or sufficiently pointy. I'd go with a pin. The other option is to add black to all the writing on the CG hwell:

 

[trailboss99]

Actually I don't think ultra fine steel wool would harm the brush pattern at all. I'm talking 00000 fine, not your usual household grade stuff. I think you will find a solvent will remove it however.

 

[COLDI]

I will try a solvent tonight. Any recommendations or just paint thinner on a safety pin and dab it.

 

[trailboss99]

Try paint thinner, acetone and anything else you have at hand. I'd use a cotton bud.

 

[ALE7575]

The paint thinner in a toothpick should remove the paint safely. If not try the cotton (but after the toothpick). If not, then try the pin

This is to prevent a different patina in the zone that was in contact with the solvent.

Anyway, I would remove the CG before cleaning and, I would clean deeply the CG after the process, we don't know the real composition of the case material

ALE

 

[DraggNation]

Solution = Sell it:drool:

 

[memstar]

Maybe a toothbrush can help to bring - whatever may help - in the dot floor.

But I believe its only dirt. Tryed to blow it out with airpressure?

 

[COLDI]

Ya I tried some compressed air earlier

 

[cwazy1]

I would take the CG off and put it in a solvent for a minute, and then take a pin and scrape it out.

 

[Jake48]

COLDI

I have the exact same spot on my CG. I also had a much larger spot appear on the side of my CG that, initially, led me to believe my CG was plated (it was not). I soaked the CG in a mixture of ketchup and lemon juice several times and it would not remove the spots. I tried polishing the CG and it did not remove the spot. I then very aggressively re brushed the entire CG with a Scotch Bright pad and it completely removed the large spot on the side of my CG, but because the dot in TM is recessed, it was very difficult to remove it entirely without destroying the brushed finish. I decided to leave well enough alone and left the darkened dot in place.

The best I can tell is that, although I believe the 382 is in fact 'Bronze" the quality of the bronze is not that good. The surface spots we are seeing are some form of contaminant in the metal that can appear randomly on the surface as the parts are machined. The contaminant in the bronze is not something you will be able to remove with a solution, but something you have to remove with force. You could use a loupe and the metal tip of something sharp to scrape the dark spot out of the recess, but in the case of the surface contaminant on my CG, it was pretty thick and required me to actually brush away some metal along the entire outer edge of the CG to remove the contaminant completely.

It really is a crap shoot. You will have to decide if you want to take the chance that you may have to go deep to remove the dark spot, it may pop off with a little work, or leave it the way it is. In my case I had no choice as the the dark spot on the CG made my watch look like the bronze had worn completely off. If the contaminant on your watch in the hole is as thick as the surface contaminant was on the side of my CG and you scrape away until you have it removed, you may end up with a pretty deep looking hole or at the very least, a deeper hole than the other dot that does not match.

I think I would live with it or try and procure another CG and once I knew one was on the way, give the old CG he!! to see what happens...

Good luck!

 

[COLDI]

Tried some thinners with no luck. Any other ideas?

 

[SUMIKITO]

Since it is a recessed 'DOT' with a black stain in it, I would use the smallest drill bit in a drill bit set, as in 1/16 size. Not mount it in a drill, but actually hold it between your thumb and middle finger and twirl it back and forth with those fingers. Just like you clean your ears with Q-tips. Manually rotate the bit, rolling it with your two fingers................a spanking brand new bit would work best, easy and slowly, with precision and a bit of downward pressure should do it. .................... good luck.

 

[COLDI]

Since it is a recessed 'DOT' with a black stain in it, I would use the smallest drill bit in a drill bit set, as in 1/16 size. Not mount it in a drill, but actually hold it between your thumb and middle finger and twirl it back and forth with those fingers. Just like you clean your ears with Q-tips. Manually rotate the bit, rolling it with your two fingers................a spanking brand new bit would work best, easy and slowly, with precision and a bit of downward pressure should do it. .................... good luck.

Genius!! I walked outside and found the finest point I could find drill bit wise. Took the watch off and twirled the bit a few times in my hand and it worked!! Thanks again gents!!

 

[Shooboo]

just saw this..i had a similar dot on the underside of my CG
at first i tried to ignore it but i kept flipping my wrist around to look at the dot....so i eventually just brushed it away with some sandpaper since its solid bronze
its weird that its just a small dot but it bothers people so much

 

[trailboss99]

Good thinking SUMIKITO! Take a gold star from petty cash. What the hell, take two!