mojo
Can't Tell Time
Posts: 2
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Post by mojo on Sept 19, 2019 4:44:21 GMT -8
Hi,
I’m new to vintage watches and to trying to restore/tidying them up.I bought a Seijo 5 Actus as a project which was cheap.I thought it would make a good practice project.It is a 1970 blackfaced vintage. The crystal is quite scratched and I’ve been working through grades of wet and dry to try and polish them out.It is looking better but not quite clear. If I wanted to replace the crystal, is it possible to do this without special equipment? Also would this watch be easy to strip down? The movement works fine And I’m not really brave enough to mess with it anyway.I would like to polish the case and see if I can get rid of some of the age marks.Any advice would be much appreciated.Especially on how to strip down this particular model.
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Sept 19, 2019 5:11:20 GMT -8
You'll need a crystal press to work with the crystal as usually the bezel will need to be pressed down flat with a bit of force. They aren't absurdly expensive.
As for working on the movement, if it's a really nice watch and you don't want to break it, I'd recommend not starting to do that with a nice watch. Get a crappy one and mess around with that.
The first time you do it, you're going to mangle the hairspring most likely and maybe break some pivots.
We've done a tonne of guides here on the minimum tools you can get away and there's a zillion work guides for the SEIKO 70 series movement. There is the SEIKO technical manual for the movement around somewhere, which is good, but the oils they recommend are obsolete (because it was written over 40 years ago).
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cobrajet25
Needs a Life!
"Underweared curmudgeon!"
Posts: 3,357
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Post by cobrajet25 on Sept 19, 2019 5:19:28 GMT -8
Looks like that model has a mineral crystal. You will need to replace it unless you have the equipment to do this properly.
Crystal part number is 310W11GN. New ones can be had on the 'Bay for about $40.
Adrian is right...you will need a crystal press to install the new one, and some kind of case knife to remove the bezel and pop the old one out. Also, you will need a case back wrench to push the crystal out from the back.
It is not difficult, but will require an investment in basic tools.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2019 7:25:03 GMT -8
Hi, I’m new to vintage watches and to trying to restore/tidying them up.I bought a Seijo 5 Actus as a project which was cheap.I thought it would make a good practice project.It is a 1970 blackfaced vintage. The crystal is quite scratched and I’ve been working through grades of wet and dry to try and polish them out.It is looking better but not quite clear. If I wanted to replace the crystal, is it possible to do this without special equipment? Also would this watch be easy to strip down? The movement works fine And I’m not really brave enough to mess with it anyway.I would like to polish the case and see if I can get rid of some of the age marks.Any advice would be much appreciated.Especially on how to strip down this particular model. Once to get above 600 grit sand paper, you can then polish it clear with Polywatch, AutoSol or even a coarse tooth paste. As for the movement; follow the advice of the others.
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mojo
Can't Tell Time
Posts: 2
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Post by mojo on Sept 19, 2019 22:20:44 GMT -8
Hi all,
Thanks for all the advice.The crystal appears to be acrylic (warm to the touch etc),and is slowly improving with wet and dry paper.I think as a total newbie, your advice to leave the movement well alone is good. Hopefully, once I get the crystal polished, I’ll have a go at polishing the case, put new bars and strap on and just enjoy it.Next, I’ll start looking for something to do more advanced practice on.
Thanks again guys!
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small
WS Benefactor
Posts: 2,438
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Post by small on Sept 20, 2019 13:09:44 GMT -8
Hey Mojo, I'm a super fan of the 7XXX series Seiko's. I bought some fine polishing paste off eBay from China to polish the crystals, and think IMO have had great success. Trick I use; is to work the grit (coarse to fine) in a single direction. Say 3 to 9, back and forth, until the crystal is completely scratched to that grit and removes all the scratches your trying to get rid of. Using a luope helps to see "under" the new scratches and make sure they are all going the same way. Then move to the next finer (don't skip grits!) and go in straight lines in another direction say 5-11 until all the lines you made from 3-9 are gone. Easier to tell because the lines should all be going in a new direction...Then only then do you move to the next finer, again straight lines, 2-8 and so on and so on. I polish all the way down to 7 micron (40,28,20,14,10,7) If the crystal's real bad I may start with a 600 grit wet sand paper then 1000, next 2000 before I go to the paste's...but it needs to be really bad to start that coarse, and the 7 microns just for showing off. I also use some type of "cloth/padding material" that came with a package I bought once. I had used paper towels and w/o any paste I found them to leave slight scratches! This wonder ?? materiel doesn't seem to leave any...not sure what I'll do when that runs out...
Hope this helped.
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Post by Jake O on Feb 12, 2020 8:52:06 GMT -8
Can I ask how long this takes for a hardlex crystal?
Also, are these flat crystals, or the slightly domed crystals found on most Seikos, particularly 70**.
Jake
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