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Couple Of Newbie Questions

DrRock

By DrRock
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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DrRock Watch Enthusiast

DrRock

Posted
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Hi from a new member and beginner :)

 

I've just started to teach myself the rudimentary basics, eg battery changing, cleaning, etc, and have the basic tools needed.  However, I have a couple of questions, if I may:

 

1. A lot of the videos relate to watches with classical mechanical movements, and I have several that have those. But I also have several watches that are quartz driven, digital read-outs etc. Apart from battery changing, if I need to do anything else in one of those quartz watches, such as removing a crown and stem to remove the movement, do I need to take any particular precautions? Grounding? Or do I just need to stay right out of there?

 

2. In particular, I have a Breitling that has digital read-out panes plus analog hands - but they're synchronised. Should I just stay the hell out of that one? Or can I safely remove the crown to get the movement out?

 

3. I have a big, black Diesel DZ-4207 watch, that is essentially ALL black (apart from some very hard-to-see grey bits). I am considering painting the hands in dayglo orange - would look great if well done. But (1) I need to be able to get the movement out to get to the hands - see question above about removing crown etc, and (2) when painting the hands, do I need to apply the paint very thinly so that the hands can pass over/under each other without catching, or can I apply a decent amount of enamel paint similar to that seen in a couple of the re-luming videos?

 

Any advice gratefully received, and if that advice is to stay the heck out of the more modern, electronic, quartz watches, then so be it. :)

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anilv Distinguished Member

anilv

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Posted

Hi doc,

 

Welcome to the forum..!

 

1. quartz watches.. while not as hobbyist friendly as a mechanical one, can be serviced but its very fiddly and hard to diagnose the faults if you don't have the correct electronic testing eqpt. Since you mention grounding I take it you're familiar with computers/electronics and it may be you're better than us in this respect.! All the problems wth quartz watch can be broken into 2 categories, mechanical faults (dirty pivots on the gear train) or electronic faults (bad coil, bad chip, bad circuit board).

 

2.Brietlings are a bit high end and while not too bad to remove.. why do you want to do it? If you're like me and can't resist fiddling with something until you have it apart then go ahead. Note that water-resist may suffer if you dont change the case back gasket. I have seen some non stainless Breitling cases crack so that something to think about.

 

3.Diesel.. now that's a good starting point. Since you say it big you shouldn't have problems with hand clearance. Get the caseback off, get the stem and the movement out and yank the hands off. If you have a friend who's into air-brushing, rope him in, otherwise rattle can dayglo is the way to go! Make sure you fix the hands to something with a pin so that the spray blast doesn't blow them away!

 

Anil

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DrRock Watch Enthusiast

DrRock

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Posted

Anil - thank you so much. What a quick response, and great advice :)

 

1. Yes, I'm very familiar with electronics, computers, etc - have built several. And I do have various testers, including multimeters, and also one of those little watch testers that will detect the ECB pulse, do a Free Spin of the hands, as well as battery testing.

 

2. The Breitling was very expensive (wedding anniversary gift from my lovely wife many years ago), so if in doubt, then I'd take that one to a professional, I think. Thanks for the reality check - I have to be careful not to let my enthusiasm carry me away! ;)

 

3. The Diesel and the Dayglo (sounds like a good title for a country song...) - good idea re the rattle-can paint. I was going to use Humbrol model enamel, in those tiny tins, applied with a pin a tiny bit at a time. But i was afraid it may build up into a meniscus-shape bulge, and cause the hands to catch each other. Excellent suggestion re the spray job. I'd pin the hands to a piece of wood and spray them outside. Will give that a try after Christmas once work settles down a bit - thank you for the suggestion.

 

--
Pete, Brisbane
============
 

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Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

Posted
Posted

I have painted a few hands and have always used a spray can, in my case usually black.

Prepare the hands first, make sure they are very lightly abraded using 800 grit wet or dry paper to key the surface, especially if they have a chromed or highly polished finish. If you don't do this there is a good chance that the paint will flake off at a later date, I've seen this happen. Next de-grease them an fit them to a piece of pegwood or cocktail sticks. This allows you to manipulate them if required when painting and prevents a build up of paint inside the aperture. Spray the absolute minimum that you can get away with, it will prevent any chance of the hands catching and also lessen the chances of chipping the paint during the fitting process.

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