hi. i've got my grandfather's white gold-filled illinois railroad pocket watch, whose dial is a dark, dingy gray that looks something like coal soot deposits. is there a safe, slow method to try to remove this unsightly dingyness? it's so dark, it's almost impossible to pick the blued hands from the background. thanks much for any suggestions...
Nothing is really safe in terms of "cleaning up a dial". You can try short burts of cleaning the dial in an ultrasonic machine (dial only). Dry in between attempts. That may work, that may take all the paint off. 50-50.