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Rado Diastar ETA 2836-2

Wesley881

By Wesley881
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Wesley881 Watch Enthusiast

Wesley881

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Hi all,

I was presented with this yesterday by a co-worker who says it's been sleeping for a few years and would love to get fixed up.  Looks like it certainly was no small investment.  I've not dealt with too many automatics, but the exploratory surgery went well last night.  It was pretty apparent that it took a direct hit to the crown as there is a good-sized flat in it and a crack in the bezel to boot.  The dial pins were sheared right off and the top balance jewel and cap were knocked clean out...ouch!  I found the jewels floating around under the date wheel (they look good) and the keeper was unfortunately eaten by the calendar gear train.  I got it reassembled and it's going to run fine so I am trying to locate the keeper.  I see an entire balance assembly on eBay for <$20 so I may just pull parts or replace altogether when I clean it.  I think the keyless works may have sustained some serious damage as the stem can come out when advancing to position 3 for time setting.  Nice 25j movement, and quite a dial!  

20170511_083554.jpg

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Wesley881 Watch Enthusiast

Wesley881

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CORRECTION:  By 'keeper' I think I mean shockproof spring.  Is the assortment for Chinese watches on Cousins likely to have a compatible one?  I imagine if they fit ETA clones then they could be interchangeable?

 

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Wesley881 Watch Enthusiast

Wesley881

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Thanks for the tips, I also found a wide range of parts from Otto Frei for this movement, so I think I'm covered for parts. As for the case, I may try some high temperature epoxy. It's a lot like JB Weld, only more fluid and it comes in a disposable syringe. I think at best I can fill the crack and polish it down flush with the case and from there hit it with a gold paint pen to blend.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

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  • 1 year later...
AndyHull Distinguished Member

AndyHull

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Fixing the casting looks like it might be a little tricky, simply because getting the epoxy in to that crack could be problematic. A slow setting and relatively watery epoxy, like JB weld is probably a good bet. Apparently epoxy can be thinned with acetone or denatures alchohol, to some degree but I've never tried, so I can't verify this. Try this experiment with some scrap before you commit to doing it where failure is not an option, and don't breath the fumes.

Also take a little time to think how you intend to clamp the crack shut without marring the rest of the case. A good firm clamping should shrink up the gap till it is almost invisible I suspect. Be careful not to over do the pressure too, you don't want to cause further damage.

Remove any "glue squeeze" while it is still unset, as it can be tricky stuff to remove once cured.

Leave the epoxy to set for at least as long as the time stated on the instructions, better still, twice as long. Also I would suggest that you avoid "5 minute epoxy". I've yet to find any that actually comes close to curing to a usable state in five minutes, and the five minute stuff isn't generally as robust as the slow curing types.

Edited by AndyHull
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AndyHull Distinguished Member

AndyHull

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If the grey colour is likely to be an issue, then you can add pigments to epoxy (including "gold" pigment), which might help disguise the crack.

Search ebay/ali/amazon for something like "Gold Mica Powder Pearl Pigment" and you will see there are quite a number of options.

The pigments will slightly lower the bond strength, but given that this is a casting that is not normally subject to loading or shock, this is probably not a major concern.

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    • Klassiker
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Klassiker · Posted

      No idea Rich, but for your own sake please avoid inhaling the fumes.
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      I would try the vapour treatment very simple just a simmering pot of the stuff and jewels bluetacked ( not whitetacked this time, you still haven't said if I'm forgiven yet 🙂 ) to the underside of the lid. You're now gonna tell me that stearic acid can be highly explosive above 90° C 🤣
    • HectorLooi
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By HectorLooi · Posted

      I guess it also depends on the precision and quality of the watch. He works on vintage watches mainly and surface treatments on 50 - 60 year old watches probably isn't going to make much difference. I read about nano coatings for car finishes. The article claims that nano coatings can reduced the coefficient of drag by 5%. Is that number significant? I don't know. Maybe if you were trying to break the land speed record. But applying that on a 50 year old clunker isn't going to make it go any faster, accelerate better or save on petrol. 🤣
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      😅 yep certainly overdid it , i wasn't sure if i had enough heat so i went out and left it cooking. You can see the thick frosting, bit like my cherry buns.
    • HectorLooi
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By HectorLooi · Posted

      5 hours! You have slow cooked it! It must be really tender by now. @nickelsilver posted about his Greiner machine a while back. It had a heated chamber of stearic acid to epilame jewels and it only took 60 seconds. I've tried stearic acid dissolved in ethanol with a flake of shellac. I'm not really convinced by my test results. I conducted a side by side test by coating a mirror with a stripe of stearic acid and putting several drops of 9010 on the treated surface and untreated surface and observed it for several days. The 9010 spread out about the same for both the treated and untreated surfaces. I spoke with my mentor recently regarding epilame and lubricating pallet jewels. He has stopped doing both because he finds no significant improvements to the end result.
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