Seiko Sportsmatic

[Davey57]

This arrived the other day. At first glance it is a sorry sight, at second glance also to be honest. However what a surprise when I removed the back, the movement is remarkably clean. The second hand was off and jammed under the minute hand, when I tapped the watch to dislodge it the hand came free and the watch started running. I couldn't believe it.

Such a pity that the dial and minute track are in such a bad way. They actually don't look so bad in the flesh, the pictures make them look much worse. I am going to clean and service the movement and remove the years of crud from the case. I was more than surprised to find that Cousins have a genuine crystal for it so that's good.

I really like this watch, it is a nice size. Maybe one day a decent dial might turn up somewhere, but in the meantime I think I will be happy to wear it as it is.

What do you all think?

 

[WileyDave]

At least the dial wasn't glued on!

[bobm12]

I think you have a great watch there and that, for now, you may want to try the "fairy" method of dial cleaning. Too bad about the chapter ring but if you measure it chances are you can get one -- even aftermarket, or I should say definitely aftermarket -- for a reasonable price somewhere...as for the dial, eventually you might want to replace it depending on the "fairy" clean outcome...but that shouldn't be too hard.

The movement will last forever if cared properly...and so will the case!

Cheers,

Bob

[frenchie]

The movement looks nice. Is it heat damage ?

[Davey57]

7 hours ago, WileyDave said:

At least the dial wasn't glued on!

I hope not. Haven't tried to get it off yet. But you can see it has been well looked after so I am sure that won't have happened.

4 hours ago, bobm12 said:

I think you have a great watch there and that, for now, you may want to try the "fairy" method of dial cleaning. Too bad about the chapter ring but if you measure it chances are you can get one -- even aftermarket, or I should say definitely aftermarket -- for a reasonable price somewhere...as for the dial, eventually you might want to replace it depending on the "fairy" clean outcome...but that shouldn't be too hard.

The movement will last forever if cared properly...and so will the case!

Cheers,

Bob

Do you mean fairy liquid Bob?  Maybe with a nice soft artists paintbrush?

3 hours ago, frenchie said:

The movement looks nice. Is it heat damage ?

Could well be heat, although up close it does look greenish, like corrosion. Might have a better idea when I get the dial off.

[frenchie]

13 minutes ago, Davey57 said:

Could well be heat, although up close it does look greenish, like corrosion. Might have a better idea when I get the dial off.

When you turn the date, does the date wheel show any damage? It will be interesting to see what's under there... I look forward to the pictures!

Just a thought: Could it be a re-dial? Someone bought it for the original dial, put this one in there and sold it back?

If it turns out it's just surface corrosion on the dial, try a bit of ammonia based window cleaner (on a small spot first, with a q-tip), you might get lucky...

[bobm12]

1 hour ago, Davey57 said:

Do you mean fairy liquid Bob?  Maybe with a nice soft artists paintbrush?

Yes, I usually use Palmolive well dissolved and a q-tip but have to watch out for filaments of the cotton not to catch on the markers...I suppose a paintbrush would do better. I might have to get one...but then again, I seldom tinker with dials. Just remember to rinse and dry the dial well. Some say filtered water by the way. I use whatever with good results...our water is pretty good I guess.

[Blacklab]

Davey, can you let me know the model number. Seiko in their wisdom print on top of the varnish & heavy corrosion like this would possibly be unrecoverable. You could try reprinting if you have a decent printer etc. For further info on dial restoration & printing try here: http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/3671-smiths-astral-sub-seconds-2/#comment-36518

 

[bobm12]

Hi BL,

That was quite and article but also too brief. Is it possible to kind of walk us through the process using the waterslide paper...a how to recreate it in Photoshop or something. Preferably some something like gimp or other free stuff since I would have to set up for it. I have the paper and a color laser I could use....All the help on this would be greatly appreciated...maybe starting another post and/or walkthrough!

Cheers,

Bob

[Davey57]

Blacklab, it's a 7625-8041.

I'll get some pics up when I get the dial off and strip it down. Just had another look through the loupe and it looks like someone may have already had a go at removing some of the staining. There are some signs of scratching and I'm sure I can see the bare surface of the dial showing through.

[Blacklab]

Long day, should have known that as I have the black one & the gold one:

 

The gold one has the chapter ring disease, the black one was replaced with a black chapter ring (normally silver) about 3 years ago, obtained from fleabay.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Blacklab
extra info

[Blacklab]

1 hour ago, bobm12 said:

Hi BL,

That was quite and article but also too brief. Is it possible to kind of walk us through the process using the waterslide paper...a how to recreate it in Photoshop or something. Preferably some something like gimp or other free stuff since I would have to set up for it. I have the paper and a color laser I could use....All the help on this would be greatly appreciated...maybe starting another post and/or walkthrough!

Cheers,

Bob

Will do eventually Bob, but you will need something that can do vector graphics - like Adobe Indesign or Adobe Illustator (warning expensive!) or similar - the photo programmes don't give clean lines. I have a few more to do, but they are on the back burner at the moment, due to silly season (warmish weather) being upon us again - grass to cut, walls to build, houses to paint etc. etc. so it may be some time. The joys of being a Handyman..........

[Davey57]

They look lovely. Think mine has the same sort of finish to the dial as your gold one, minus the grot of course.

I know it is just hit or miss but in general do the chapter rings come up as separate items or complete with watch?

[bobm12]

Davey I think the chapter rings are separate...

[Davey57]

Got the watch stripped down so I thought you might like to see some pictures. Luckily there was no more damage beneath the dial.