Clock Cleaning Best Practices

Why Cleanliness Matters Mechanically

Dust settles on oiled pivots and forms an abrasive paste that grinds away hardened steel and soft brass. A clean movement can run for years on a single service; a dusty one cannot.

In practice, most owners in Glendale and across the West Valley encounter this within the first few years of owning a mechanical clock, and it is far more common than genuine mechanical failure.

What Owners Should Clean

Cases, glass, dial glass, hood surfaces and the interior floor of the case are all safe with a dry cloth and soft brush. Everything inside the movement plates is off limits.

If you are unsure at any point, stop and call us. Diagnosing clock cleaning over the phone costs nothing, and we would rather talk you through it than repair the consequences.

Products to Avoid

Household sprays, silicone polishes, penetrating oils, solvents and any aerosol should never be used near a clock movement. They soften finishes, dissolve dial paint and contaminate lubrication.

This is also one of the areas where a documented professional service pays for itself, because a technician sees the pattern immediately.

Professional Cleaning Methods

In the workshop, movements are dismantled and cleaned ultrasonically in solutions selected for brass and steel, then rinsed and dried. Pegging out the pivot holes by hand with sharpened wood is still the best way to finish the job.

Owners who understand this one point tend to keep their clocks running for decades without incident.

Cleaning Dials and Hands

Painted dials should be cleaned only by a specialist, and often not at all. Brass dials can be re-silvered, and blued steel hands can be re-blued, but both are irreversible decisions.

In practice, most owners in Glendale and across the West Valley encounter this within the first few years of owning a mechanical clock, and it is far more common than genuine mechanical failure.

Cleaning Cases Correctly

A barely damp cloth followed by a dry one, then quality paste wax two or three times a year, is all a good case needs. Build the finish slowly rather than applying wax heavily.

If you are unsure at any point, stop and call us. Diagnosing clock cleaning over the phone costs nothing, and we would rather talk you through it than repair the consequences.

Glass, Bezels and Hardware

Clean glass with the cloth rather than spraying, and polish brass hardware only if it is already bright. Polishing aged brass to a shine can reduce the value of an antique.

This is also one of the areas where a documented professional service pays for itself, because a technician sees the pattern immediately.

How Often Is Enough

Quarterly dusting and biannual waxing keeps almost any clock in excellent cosmetic condition. The mechanical clean remains a five to seven year professional job.

Owners who understand this one point tend to keep their clocks running for decades without incident.

Working With Wyattviano Co.

We are a specialist clock repair and restoration workshop in Glendale, Arizona, serving Glendale, Phoenix, Peoria, Surprise, Sun City, El Mirage, Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear and Litchfield Park and the surrounding Maricopa County communities. Our work covers antique, grandfather, wall, mantel, cuckoo and mechanical clocks, along with full restoration and house call service.

Every clock receives a free estimate, a documented record of the work performed and a minimum fourteen-day test run before it goes home. Original parts are always returned to you.

To discuss clock cleaning or any other clock question, call (623) 847-5184, email [email protected], or use the request form below.

Frequently Asked Questions