Here is my first attempt at cleaning a South Bend watch dial.

Not bad. Can you tell us how it was done? Thanks for sharing. It's really an attractive looking dial.

Hi Duke:

I used a good dish soap with an old soft tooth brush and scrubbed it. Then I used a small amount of bleach on the stains being careful so that it didn't stay on the numbers too long.

Lindell:

I read the thread and I agree Comet Cleanser does a great job. My Dad used to brush his false teeth with it. However, I didn't have any and thought I would try using Dawn. It was all I had at the time.

When I go to the store I am going to look for the Comet Bathroom Cleaner.

Yep, my dad actually used comet Cleanser on his false teeth. He claimed it worked better than anything else. He claimed it was the only cleaner he found that took the coffee stains out. He was a good Norwegian and drank at least three pots of coffee daily so I suppose his teeth got pretty stained from the coffee. He said that once he got used to the taste he started liking it.

Ernie

The type of Tile cleaner Comet makes that cleans dials without stripping the numbers, etc, (pictured below) is totally non-abrasive. My Grocery chain (VONS) does not sell this label, but Wal-Mart always has it. Also you see my lifetime supply of hand, watch screw and tool rust remover. This is perfect for the job as it ONLY STRIPS RUST and oxodized metals! I bought it at handyman and the SKU# is on the bottle. It is used "normally" for stripping concrete driveways before they are re-coated.

These two wonderful products "hard at work"

Thanks David. I have some of that rust stuff. I bought it years ago to brighten the base metal on the dash of my 1942 Studebaker. It did a great job.

I purchased some of the Comet Bathroom Cleaner and redid the dial.

Here is a photo after the Comet treatment.