As a noob I thought it might be useful to other noobs if I posted a record of a couple of the necessary jobs I have just completed. I am hoping it will help people take the leap to tangle with their reps and give some a sense of what DIY the 'rep thing' can demand.
Both jobs refer to my Noob v2 Explorer II 216570 with 2836-2 GMT adapted asian ETA clone. An absolutely fantastic rep and watch. I have also acquired over the past 5 months a superlume Ex 2 Polar 16570, a noob v3 SubC LN and a noob v2 Smurf - all 4 from 3 different TDs with equally good service and reliability (for those still nervous of ordering) - and all 4 are fantastic reps using the asian 2836-2 clone ( I have a gen GMT Master 2 16710 (pre 2003) to compare general feel) although the polar would benefit from a better dial and crystal to give it that gen clarity.
First a little history of my 216570 to give some flavour of what reps can throw up.
Shortly after receiving it I noticed that the watch was not auto winding and was loosing significant time. Advice from the generous guys on this forum, and a search of guides, lead me to order oils and oilers, crack open the case, remove the autowind module, lube it and while in there tweak the regulating screw. This was the first time I had seen the inside of a watch with the view to tamper - I followed guidelines to the letter. The result, a perfect fairly quiet self-winding movement with -2 secs per 24 hours (OK, some luck involved there I think). By the way, while I was at it I greased the gasket and crown and outer tube (without removing the stem) and gave the bracelet a baby oil bath as I have done with all 4 reps.
Second problem: the clasp was crap and kept coming away from the bracelet and it finally rejected the locking component which was then lost. I ordered one from some non-TD for about $35 US.
While waiting for the clasp, I noticed the paint coming away in one of the bezel numerals. This got worse over the next couple of days and spread to other markers - I had a thought that it was the cold weather but was advised on the forum that that was unlikely. I looked for a guide to repaint the numerals and once satisfied I had all the info required I proceeded as outlined below.
I had a good level of success with the bezel as you will see below. This may have made me a bit complacent because after that job, when removing the stem to grease the crown for waterproofing, I messed up the keyless works - that lead to job number two.
1. REPAINTING BEZEL
This approach was based upon the guide at: http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=192015
Here is the kit I used
Here is the bezel with initial paint flaking
Once I was ready to start, and having received advice not to try removing the bezel for this job due to the risk of damaging it I proceeded to remove all the remaining paint. The guide suggested bathing the bezel in enamel thinners but as I was leaving the bezel on the watch I resorted to picking the paint off. In fact, I discovered that this was very easy - rubbing the paint with a tooth pick/cocktail stick soon caused it to lift, often as a film and in a single piece per numeral (that of corse explains the flaking problem - the cleaning and application process in the factory was clearly dodgy).
Here is the cleaned bezel which I wiped with rubbing alcohol to get paint-ready
I protected the crystal with masking tape and then used a very fine brush and, being in UK, Humbrol Matt Black (equivalent of Testor's Flat Black) enamel paint to fill in all the markers with a very thin amount of paint
After 6-12 hours (the paint is ready for a further coat after 6 hours and needs 48 hours to cure completely) I removed the excess paint leaving only that in the engraved recesses by rubbing the bezel, marker by marker, on a nail varnish dampened micro-fibre cloth wrapped around a foam nail file to give it a flat form and an edge for the crystal to fall over
Once all the excess was gone I reapplied paint and repeated the process. I repeated 5 times (i.e. five layers of paint) to fill the markers to a more gen like look than the original noob factory look
And very happy with the result
The clasp arrived and did not have darkened engravings so I applied the same process (only 2 layers) using a cotton bud to remove the excess
2. KEYLESS WORKS
In my excitement I carelessly removed the stem to grease the crown and tube more thoroughly than before and screwed up the keyless works.
So, judging that the cost to get this fixed v the cost of a new 2836-2 meant I would probably be buying a new movement I took the plunge and opened up the case, removed the hands and, using this guide http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=144733, removed the date wheel (surprisingly easy in fact). Then, using this guide: [PART 1] http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=4295 [AND PART 2] http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=4315 , I dismantled and rebuilt the KW. The manipulation of tiny parts took a bit of getting used to (you can expect screws to shoot out of your tweezers from time to time) and I would not do this without a couple of proper pairs of tweezers, watch smiths screw drivers, a magnifying device of some kind and a clear table/floor. The beauty of this exercise is that once completed you understand exactly how the keyless works works.
Anyway, after a tense afternoon, all working and back together
Needless to say I now have a taste for this and look forward to widening my experience, especially with the movement.
I hope this was vaguely interesting or useful to some.
I apologise for the crappy iPhone nature of my photos but that is all I have.
Both jobs refer to my Noob v2 Explorer II 216570 with 2836-2 GMT adapted asian ETA clone. An absolutely fantastic rep and watch. I have also acquired over the past 5 months a superlume Ex 2 Polar 16570, a noob v3 SubC LN and a noob v2 Smurf - all 4 from 3 different TDs with equally good service and reliability (for those still nervous of ordering) - and all 4 are fantastic reps using the asian 2836-2 clone ( I have a gen GMT Master 2 16710 (pre 2003) to compare general feel) although the polar would benefit from a better dial and crystal to give it that gen clarity.
First a little history of my 216570 to give some flavour of what reps can throw up.
Shortly after receiving it I noticed that the watch was not auto winding and was loosing significant time. Advice from the generous guys on this forum, and a search of guides, lead me to order oils and oilers, crack open the case, remove the autowind module, lube it and while in there tweak the regulating screw. This was the first time I had seen the inside of a watch with the view to tamper - I followed guidelines to the letter. The result, a perfect fairly quiet self-winding movement with -2 secs per 24 hours (OK, some luck involved there I think). By the way, while I was at it I greased the gasket and crown and outer tube (without removing the stem) and gave the bracelet a baby oil bath as I have done with all 4 reps.
Second problem: the clasp was crap and kept coming away from the bracelet and it finally rejected the locking component which was then lost. I ordered one from some non-TD for about $35 US.
While waiting for the clasp, I noticed the paint coming away in one of the bezel numerals. This got worse over the next couple of days and spread to other markers - I had a thought that it was the cold weather but was advised on the forum that that was unlikely. I looked for a guide to repaint the numerals and once satisfied I had all the info required I proceeded as outlined below.
I had a good level of success with the bezel as you will see below. This may have made me a bit complacent because after that job, when removing the stem to grease the crown for waterproofing, I messed up the keyless works - that lead to job number two.
1. REPAINTING BEZEL
This approach was based upon the guide at: http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=192015
Here is the kit I used
Here is the bezel with initial paint flaking
Once I was ready to start, and having received advice not to try removing the bezel for this job due to the risk of damaging it I proceeded to remove all the remaining paint. The guide suggested bathing the bezel in enamel thinners but as I was leaving the bezel on the watch I resorted to picking the paint off. In fact, I discovered that this was very easy - rubbing the paint with a tooth pick/cocktail stick soon caused it to lift, often as a film and in a single piece per numeral (that of corse explains the flaking problem - the cleaning and application process in the factory was clearly dodgy).
Here is the cleaned bezel which I wiped with rubbing alcohol to get paint-ready
I protected the crystal with masking tape and then used a very fine brush and, being in UK, Humbrol Matt Black (equivalent of Testor's Flat Black) enamel paint to fill in all the markers with a very thin amount of paint
After 6-12 hours (the paint is ready for a further coat after 6 hours and needs 48 hours to cure completely) I removed the excess paint leaving only that in the engraved recesses by rubbing the bezel, marker by marker, on a nail varnish dampened micro-fibre cloth wrapped around a foam nail file to give it a flat form and an edge for the crystal to fall over
Once all the excess was gone I reapplied paint and repeated the process. I repeated 5 times (i.e. five layers of paint) to fill the markers to a more gen like look than the original noob factory look
And very happy with the result
The clasp arrived and did not have darkened engravings so I applied the same process (only 2 layers) using a cotton bud to remove the excess
2. KEYLESS WORKS
In my excitement I carelessly removed the stem to grease the crown and tube more thoroughly than before and screwed up the keyless works.
So, judging that the cost to get this fixed v the cost of a new 2836-2 meant I would probably be buying a new movement I took the plunge and opened up the case, removed the hands and, using this guide http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=144733, removed the date wheel (surprisingly easy in fact). Then, using this guide: [PART 1] http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=4295 [AND PART 2] http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=4315 , I dismantled and rebuilt the KW. The manipulation of tiny parts took a bit of getting used to (you can expect screws to shoot out of your tweezers from time to time) and I would not do this without a couple of proper pairs of tweezers, watch smiths screw drivers, a magnifying device of some kind and a clear table/floor. The beauty of this exercise is that once completed you understand exactly how the keyless works works.
Anyway, after a tense afternoon, all working and back together
Needless to say I now have a taste for this and look forward to widening my experience, especially with the movement.
I hope this was vaguely interesting or useful to some.
I apologise for the crappy iPhone nature of my photos but that is all I have.
