[ Mark Kinsler wrote 190719 MMD --

> Greetings from the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors
> (NAWCC) clock repair forum, where it is well known that the mere
> mention of clock oil will trigger two weeks of debate.

Comments on WD-40.  God, how I hate the smelly stuff <lol>!  Have you
ever gotten a clock or music box in for repair that has been doused
in WD-40 because the owner thought it would 'free it up and make it
run'?  The odor sinks into the wood and stays there.

WD-40, in my opinion, is useless as an 'oil'.  It _is_ useful to creep
into small crevices and soften up (the purpose of the solvent part),
thus freeing some 'stuck' part to try to freely move again.

But, thinking logically, how can you have an oil and a solvent working
together?  The residue left after the part(s) are now 'freely' working
still have particles in them that the WD-40 partially dissolved; thus
any residue (oil?) left is not free of contaminants (and can cause more
wear).

WD-40 also has the consistency of water, so you know it's not going to
remain where you put it very long; it will migrate or dry up, leaving
whatever it dissolved behind (again).

As a 'first step' it's fine.  Free up something that's stuck with it,
but then rinse it off and put pure oil on.

The main reason WD-40 is used so much is not because of the long-lasting
effect, but of the instant gratification effect of freeing up a stuck
part.  It's been around forever and the name is handed down from father
to son because there wasn't another product out there that did what it
did.  I prefer KROIL myself....it doesn't smell as much and, in my
experience, works much better.  It's not as well known, but should be!

I've always carried NYE clock (Fulcrum) oil as my 'music box oil of
choice.'  It has a good medium weight and will stay where you put it.
NYE, like most oil manufacturers, has changed its focus and turned to
making mostly synthetic oil.  I bought some quarts of the Fulcrum oil
a few years ago and then went to re-order it.  I was told that they're
phasing out of it and the price on what was available just about
quadrupled!  Yikes!

Synthetics:

I tried Mobil 1 (I used 10W30).  I found that, when exposed to air,
it gets tacky and dries out.  I put a few drops (which is much more
than you'd ever put in one place on a clock or music box) on a piece
of plate glass and just left it on my bench.  Within 10 days it was
tacky to the touch.  I'm not a chemist, but I'm going to go out on
a limb and say that it's probably the enclosed car engine heat that
keeps it flowing in your engine.

I've tried NYE synthetic oils and they're fine, but you shouldn't mix
'real' oil with synthetics.  According to a chemist friend of mine,
sometimes they'll start to get tacky (it depends on the formulas
they're made with).

After restoring a box, I can't know what the next person is going to
use to oil their music box, so I stay away from the synthetics and put
a small bottle of oil in with each repair, for future use.

Some of the synthetic oil is crazy expensive, too!  I used to sell
NYE Stem Grease -- great stuff for heavier governors like in the disc
boxes -- but they stopped making that, too.  They now make an equivalent
in synthetic but it cost me $32 wholesale for a small tube the size of
a travelling/trial size of tooth paste!

Nancy Fratti - Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
Canastota, New York
http://www.nancyfrattimusicboxes.com/