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A newbie attempt to make a 6263 rep. [step by step]

7-d-7

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5/9/18
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Hi,

After lurking here and RWG, I decided to mod my Daytona !

The idea is to go from a Puretime 6263 to something somewhat approaching the real thing.

What I received:
rlx2016071502-01.jpg


What I target (minus the steel bracelet):
6263-marrone4-1.jpg


What I purchased:
. Daytona 6263 with venus 75 (Puretime)
. Athaya 702 crown
. Yuki dial + hands
. Crystal from Clark (eBay)
. Leather strap from Martha (eBay)
. Bezel from WatchNY (eBay)
. Amazon watchmaking kit
 

7-d-7

You're Saying I Can Sell?
5/9/18
39
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Day 0: Disassembling the rolex

As a total noob, I have zero experience in watchmaking. First off the watch itself is much smaller than on the picture (for anyone having tinkering with your computer before, I don't know if you understand that feeling: the chips & components look smaller than what you expected?).

The first step is to remove the bracelet.

Easy enough:
In the watch making kit one of the "screwdrivers" would have a 5 mm long round tip.
Put that tip in the strap hole at the base of the case.
Press firmly and wiggle the bracelet up and down until you feel the strap holder pin being dislodged from its case hole. (You have to press it relatively firmly)
Then maintaining the bracelet in position press the other end of the pin with your pin-tool-thingy
The bracelet would detach !

The second step is to remove the back of the case.

Ok this one was a little bit harder for me:
First off the caseback is screwed on the case (imagine the caseback as being the screw itself)
I used this thing to do that:
s-l1000.jpg

Actually because I am retarded I didn't use the case holder (in black) like on the pic to do so (because I just realised I can do that by googling for the image)
You need to screw the little pointy black screws on the tool then put them on the dented part of the case back.
Then you firmly press down and turn them like you are trying to open a jam jar.

The third step is to remove the movement:

This one stressed me out.
The reason being I removed the two super tiny screws (actually dropping one in the working movement in the process so it was stuck) and then noticing the movement would still be held in the case by the crown and the pusher.... so don't do that.
Wait for the movement to be stopped. Unscrew your crown and pushers
Then remove the crown. I watched a youtube video to figure this out. You have a tiny hole on the movement to disengage the crown (see pic below where my pin is pointing)
E243-FF86-9182-4-FDE-9254-9534-E5-B2-EAEE.jpg

Press it then simply pull the crown (it is supposed to be effortless if it does not come out you are not pressing hard enough)
Then you can remove the screw holding the movement (you have two of them)
86-D4-C520-6-F77-4-B33-881-E-DB88919658-CF.jpg

Then pull the case upside down with some protective clothing below and the movement will drop (pushers might block it but you can just wiggle the movement out at an angle)

Yeah !
2-E916-E7-B-7-BEA-4280-B4-CB-8-B629-EA582-A3.jpg


More to come !
 
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kilowattore

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Very clear and detailed, thank you.
I would have never thought of a Daytona as my first project, maybe that's just me. Eager to see your next steps :)
 

7-d-7

You're Saying I Can Sell?
5/9/18
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Step 4: Remove the bezel

Simple use the bezel knife and pop the bezel out. Except is doesn't work
s-l300.jpg

This is the sort of knife I had in my 29 GBP amazon watchmaking kit. It doesn't work.
I followed the advice of tripdog and used a scalpel: much better. The bezel went off almost immediately !!!

Step 5: Put the crystal in the new bezel

I have bought 5 crystals as I was unsure I would be able to succeed the first time. I was right: I cracked 3 of them.

3693-D0-EA-E34-A-4-D89-8639-4-FAB71-CF0-B45.jpg


The way I did it is as follow: I put the crystal on the "30" bit of the crystal press, I place the bezel on top, and I push using the "38" bit so that the bezel is pushed on the crystal and not the opposite.
Oh and this is a a crystal press (10-20GBP on amazon):

watchmaker-tool-watch-press-set-back-case-closer-crystal-glass-fitting-18-50mm.jpg


Now here is the problem. The new bezel is a tad loss with the case. To be fair so is the old one... looking at the base of the old crystal I can see some semi-transparent marks... Maybe the previous bezel was held in place with a little bit of glue, that would explain the strange marks:
9-DB6912-B-8-B3-E-4818-B974-4-E0476-EC71-CD-1.jpg
 
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charlesblack

You're Saying I Can Sell?
3/7/18
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Thanks for everything so far. I am very interested in getting into this. Can't wait to keep learning.
 

7-d-7

You're Saying I Can Sell?
5/9/18
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Step 5: Work the case

I used this pic as reference
BS-W-31-Rolex-6263-SIG-0214-12.jpg

Although not perfect my so-called 1-1 rep is pretty close in terms of size: Maybe the lugs could be a tiny bit wider and maybe the case should be slightly wider at the crown...
In both cases it is wider though... So I can't add material. What I can do however is work on that shine.
Most cases of 6263 are not pristine and all shiny, they exhibit some moderate signs of ages.
To replicate the same I did the same thing I used on my guitar when I need to change one tuner or one saddle: I take a metallic sponge and gently rub the case, I put the part in a can with a few coins/keys and just shake it a little bit. No need to over do it (after all you would take some extra care for your rolex ?)
 
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7-d-7

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Step 6: Removing the dial and the hands

I used this video to understand the hand removal and dial removal technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehiMmlpWb-A

I don't have a specific "watch hand puller" tool so I did use the plastic film + double strap tool remover trick.
The pulling part is not easy: The faux 6 o'clock subdial hand was very low so I had to try multiple time to get it.... Everything is freaking tiny !!!

2-A205029-E0-F5-43-E2-9-EDB-9-CE327-A4-DBCF.jpg



Then to remove the dial on the Venus 75 movement the screws are on the side of the movement at 1 and 7 o'clock positions

8-ADBFC9-B-2-F58-4-B30-8167-E563-ED2-E2-DA8-1.jpg


Yes. So far so good. I plan to test the "oven" tropical technique on this trial dial, the yuki (and anatomically correct) dial will arrive later this week....


 
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kilowattore

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You're doing great so far, well done. Luckily you did not damage the dial,. A proper tool is rather cheap, well worth it imho.
 

Danster

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This is a great read...really informative. Thanks for taking the time to post this...
 

369mafia

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good job so far for your first attempt. look fwd to seeing the dial treatment
 

7-d-7

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Step 7: The dial

Ok I did receive my yuki dial. Good news is the sub dial placements are correct and quality is better than the old one.
Problems are many:
a. The rolex crown was way too high, the base of the crown should be aligned with the bottom of the 11 and 1 o clock markers
b. The dial feet are for a V72 movement so I will have to find a way

5-BDB93-EB-C65-C-4-AFA-8-F33-DDEE703-DC6-A0.jpg


I did manage to remove the crown without damaging the dial, but there will be a tiny hole where the original hole was....

So plan for the week-end (depending on how long my kids birthday party would be!) is:
a. Testing the baking on the test dial (I ll post picture)
b. Cutting the dial feet and moving them to fit the Venus 75 position
c. Deciding on whether pinching the rolex crown in or using a tiny bit of super glue

Thanks for your support. Should I fail, at least it would be documented !
 

7-d-7

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Step 8: The dial (continued)

Spoiler: I mucked up. So will see why soon.

So far so good. I will remove the feet of the Yuki dial (V72 fitted) to make it compliant with my Venus 75 movement.

I noted the feet positioning on the pic below. Got my Dremel tool and then it was a matter of keeping my hand steady (wear protective glasses!)

IMG-0879.jpg

IMG-0880.jpg

Job done !
IMG-0881.jpg


I was planning originally to keep the feet but my Dremel bit was too big.
Good news is that an electric guitar D string is a perfect replacement:
IMG-0882.jpg
 

7-d-7

You're Saying I Can Sell?
5/9/18
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Step 9: The Dial (continued) The baking experiment

So I did try the baking your dial trick. 250c with fan on. It simply failed.
The plan was to take a pic every 5 mins.

IMG-0883.jpg


and to save some time here is a dial shot after 5 mins x 4 + 40 mins straight session:

IMG-0893.jpg

As you can see the Puretime clone are using a paint that resist well at high temp.

So baking your dial won't make it tropical.
 

7-d-7

You're Saying I Can Sell?
5/9/18
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Step 10: The Dial (continued) - The Crown Drama

So as you probably noted my yuki dial had one big flaw: the crown logo was too high (basically tip of the crown touching the outer marking).

My first try was to mark small holes using the tip of a stinger to then slot the crown in. It was a failure.

IMG-0884.jpg


The dial material is way too hard.

So then I considered the Dremel option:

IMG-0895.jpg


Well I told you I messed up ? well guess what the hardness of the dial metal is higher than my Dremel bit.
It did not shatter however. Instead it made two small hole in the paint. Would it be enough to slot the crown back in ???

Well no.

Which brings me to my mistake. Hoping the holes would be large enough I used a tiny bit of superglue and a DIY crown placement tool:

IMG-0892.jpg


You got to admit the placement tool was smart.
What was less smart is ignoring the capillarity effect at that scale.
This lead to the superglue leaking out of the two tiny holes and leave a nasty mark on the dial (on the bright side the crown is now held in place correctly)..

The solution?
Well a desperate move. Since the dial is damaged and the tropical baking doesn't work let's do a fun experiment: boiling the dial with a solution of water + salt + sugar.

It is still boiling once it is done I shall post the result (I promise regardless on how embarrassing it is)
 

pompompurin

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i admire your perseverance, patience, and research skills! Starting off with a chronograph movement as your first project takes guts too

Also, thank you for the wonderful diary with pics and write-up. I am following your project closely and good luck!
 

7-d-7

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Step 10: Dial (continued) - The walk of shame

Ok. After attempting a bath in Bioethanol here is the result:

IMG-0898.jpg


Note: the bioethanol does wear the black paint off, generating a nice fading effect with some accent near the hour marks
However the superglue does give the impressing a slug orgy took place on the rolex crown.

"Never surrender, never give up"

I ordered some rust powder from amazon. If this watch won't be tropical, at least I will try to make it a damaged good (awkward for an oyster though...)
 

Tolle65

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1/11/17
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Fantastic thread!
The combo of gung ho and self deprecation makes for compulsive reading. Also very instructive, me being even more novice than yourself. A great read!
 

7-d-7

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5/9/18
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Step 11: The Dial (continued) - Planning Ahead

Since I need to wait for the materials to arrive.
Let me expose the plan to make my dial great again.

Rolex_Datejust_dial_Repair.jpg

This is effect I am going for, making the rust bleeding to the logo (actually on the pic above it looks suspiciously pristine)

This would be overkill:
Rust3035G.JPG

But it would be a balancing act between the two.

I thought about the various option to simulate the rust effect, from baking the dial with some soy sauce on it to using some of the left over wood sunburst dye pigment I had to refinish my guitar.
I want also to test that rust powder from amazon, it could help for the texture.

In the meantime, if anyone has experience with rust effect, I am listening!