449 Plexi Replacement

[paulvillo]

Hey bro,
We are all in it together,We are all constantly learning & NOBODY knows it all....ahem...there maybe a few exceptions to that,
You know who you are[emoji6]
Anyway the vast majority of members do genuinely help each other out,You should never be afraid to ask bro


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Fully agree with your words bro.
And believe me, I do try and search a bunch including our sister Forums before starting a thread.
Self-learning is key to our hobby, and I try to be a bit more careful before flooding the boards with all my tinkering issues :lol:

 

[paulvillo]

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I cannot find my spare plexi right now so measured mine and it's 40.97mm I am guessing 41.00 once inside the bezel as it's compressed then simply pushed in gently


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Thanks a million @shoes !!
That's VERY precious info mate, truly appreciated.
Will see what I can find and source and update this.

 

[paulvillo]

My 424 does have a little spot where it can be poked to take off the bezel, just as my 449.
I guess a good and carefull watchsmith is able to take your watch bezel, as you can see in your watch there's a gap between the case and bezel to try that. You start with one point and keep going through the entire circunference.

If I were you, I would try to remove this way, then really broke the plexy to take it off the bezel and ask for another plexy/sapphyre to your dealer.

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Obrigado mate!
Can't find a specific spot to start, but a sharp exacto may do the trick and lift it just as well.
May use some electronics plastic priers I have back home, that could help too.

 

[shoes]

When prising off the bezel I use an old rather blunt but smooth polished pen knife blade then use the plexi compression tool I bought from eBay to squeeze the plexi and drop it into the slot. Word of advise be very careful and don't be tempted to clean the internal surface of the plexi just soft brush n blower to remove any dust. It's very easy to scratch [emoji17]


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[paulvillo]

When prising off the bezel I use an old rather blunt but smooth polished pen knife blade then use the plexi compression tool I bought from eBay to squeeze the plexi and drop it into the slot. Word of advise be very careful and don't be tempted to clean the internal surface of the plexi just soft brush n blower to remove any dust. It's very easy to scratch [emoji17]
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After the short fall when the plexi popped out, without much thinking (and inspecting) I immediately popped it back in.
Even though it stayed open for less than a minute, you can see from my pics that the plexi's inside is full of lint/dust, so what you're saying makes perfect sense.
May reach for my good ol' and almost blind Victorinox can opener instead of the x-acto

 

[paulvillo]

Ok, thanks to @shoes measurements I was able to find a couple NOS plexis that I plan on ordering and giving a try once I'm back:

With the outer diameter of the crystal being at 40.97mm I'm torn between the 41.2mm or the 41.5mm models.

Different brands, but to my untrained eye they look very much alike.

Let me know what you think gentlemen.

The 41.5mm:

And the 41.2mm:

 

[shoes]

If they are cheap I would buy a couple of each size that way you have spares. I re measured mine it's 41mm at the base of the plexi where it meets the bezel I am thinking the 41.5 should do it if you have the tool to compress it. If not then the smaller one may be better??


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[nitocx]

And how it ended....?
I´m interested too to look for a plexi replacement for 449....mine has a crack over de xtal...
OP, didi this worked for you or did you asked for a TD to sourcr a plexi replacement?

 

[paulvillo]

And how it ended....?
I´m interested too to look for a plexi replacement for 449....mine has a crack over de xtal...
OP, didi this worked for you or did you asked for a TD to sourcr a plexi replacement?

Hi mate, sorry been quite busy.
Tried the new 41.5 plexi just today and it did not work.
Let me update this with some more info and pics.

 

[nitocx]

It seems the only way to get a propper xtal for Rads ZF case is from ZF factory through TD's...there is another thread about it in forum from a user with a missing plexi out of a ZF 448 and it was solved this way....from TD...

 

[paulvillo]

Ok so this is the one I've ordered from the Bay:

As some may notice, it's way thinner (shorter?) than the ZF 449.
Unfortunately I don't have a precision caliper, so I had to improvise to measure the plexi.

It was advertised as 41.5mm and since I'm using a 0.9mm lead it might as well be.

Then I used a big chunk of the exacto blade to pry out the bezel all at once @9. See the small holes on both the bezel and the case, this is where they meet when you pop them back.
Notice the small dent inside the bezel.

Then I was able to measure them and compare to have a better idea on what to look for:

Considering these very rough measurements I just took, I'll email vintagewatchparts.co.uk to see if they have something close to 43mm by 4mm high.
Tried my TD who said it's hard to source parts from ZF right now...

 

[paulvillo]

It seems the only way to get a propper xtal for Rads ZF case is from ZF factory through TD's...there is another thread about it in forum from a user with a missing plexi out of a ZF 448 and it was solved this way....from TD...

Did he say from which TD?
Can you please share the link here?
--- (link from the thread I mean) ---

 

[nitocx]

Torobravo

 

[nitocx]

https://forum.replica-watch.info/index.php?threads/316444/

 

[paulvillo]

https://forum.replica-watch.info/index.php?threads/316444/

Thanks mate, but it's been more than a year since Toro managed to get the plexi. Will give it a shot anyways.

A week ago my TD told me that "right now parts are super hard, as ZF is totally closed for the plexi and they will be closed for at least 2 weeks..."

 

[RepIseek]

Thanks mate, but it's been more than a year since Toro managed to get the plexi. Will give it a shot anyways.

A week ago my TD told me that "right now parts are super hard, as ZF is totally closed for the plexi and they will be closed for at least 2 weeks..."

Old thread revival. paulvillo, did you ever get the right plexi in your 449? If so, where?!

 

[RepIseek]

So was it determined that 43mm was the correct size instead of 41.5mm?

 

[RepIseek]

Anybody, Beuller....Beuller?

I have a line out to Torobravo, but haven’t heard back yet.

 

[mysterio]

Just send a PM to paulvillo. Holy necropost.