watch bands and silicone.

   I just want to share something with those who prefer flex watch bands over leather strap watch bands. I've always preferred the flex bands myself. However, I have hairy arms, so flex bands would constantly pull the hairs on my wrist.

    This was very irritating so I consigned to wearing leather bands. Those bands would not last a year. 

   My father had past away in 2008. One day my watch stopped working and I mentioned that I was going to have to get a new one. My mother said she had my father's watch in her desk and asked if I wanted it. I was overjoyed to have another heirloom from my father. It needed a battery and some cleaning up. It also had a flex band.    

Dad's watch.

   I decided to use it anyway. To my surprise, it did very little hair pulling. I was happy with it until recently when the band broke. I wanted to replace it with an identical one. That was a futile effort. It was a Speidel band and I found one similar, so I bought it. Immediately upon wearing it I got that irritating hair pulling. I took the old band to the jeweler to find out why it didn't catch and pull hairs. He said there was nothing special about the band and he didn't have an answer for the hair pulling issue. 

   Last week, I was in the utility room when I spied a can of  "food grade silicone".

 I remembered my father talking about all the things he used it on. Somewhere in the back of my mind I recalled him saying he sprayed his watch band with it. So I tried it. Sure enough it all but eliminated the hair pulling. If you're having the same problem I've had, try this. Be sure  to get silicone and not silicone lubricant, as  the lubricant leaves an oily residue. 

   This silicone is also good for softening leather and some plastics. It will soften the door gasket on your refrigerator to give it longer life. Be careful with some plastics however, as the silicone will actually melt them. A friend of mine ruined a $200.00 car stereo trying to lubricate the slide bars with silicone. Let me know how it works for you and any other uses you might find.