Clean new GMT with DD3285 QC pics and video release [finally]

[NiceGuy79]

Also in the club of waiting for the root beer 126711 DD3285 on an oyster bracelet. Been a couple months now… but I would rather wait another couple months if that’s what it takes to get an improved batch.

I'm waiting too.... Anybody knows how long it'll take?

 

[WatchSmith.US]

Rolex-Style Crystal Gasket, -- RP29-295-2(M): Star Time Supply

www.startimesupply.com

This one?

I believe that’s the one.

 

[Mavriff]

You guys are legends! @derjenigewelcher @KJ2020 @WatchSmith.US . I bookmarked the links. Thanks!

 

[cyprusdaedalus]

Here is my build and notes. Did a CF Pepsi Jubilee DD3285 as a base, Gen Rolex crystal, Clark 2.85mm gasket, and Xing V4 Bezel along with some rehaut polishing and removal of some of the grease on the bezel assembly for a slightly more pronouced "click" to the bezel action. Hope these notes and documentations help someone else on their build.

Documention of different gasket & xtal heights. A genuine Rolex gasket is 2.2mm high and I wouldn't advise using it as it's thicker which can cause issues but the height is too low to allow for proper engagement of the hyrtle gasket on your bezle (ie your bezel will just keep falling off). You really need to keep the crystal at ~2.8-2.9mm high to keep everything happy).



I source my Clark 2.85mm gaskets off ebay. Gen xtal about .1mm thicker than CF.



You can of course reuse your CF gasket w/Gen xtal and it comes out at 3.91. I slightly damaged mine upon removal of the original xtal and was concerned about water intrusion so I just opted to use a clark Gasket instead as I had it on hand for this exact reason.



Xing v4 Bezels are all too tall. It's not crazy out of line if you reinstall w/GS Hypo Cement rather than a 3M Adhesive ring (as the 3M ring pushes the height up about .1mm). The GS also allows you to tweak alignment as you install which the 3M won't so it's just a better solution. It's also more solid, water proof, and just as easy to remove by soaking with isopropal alcohol if you need to remove it. Stop using the shitty 3M adhesive crap.




A little over .2mm difference in thickness from CF vs. Xing. (But again you claw .1mm back by not using 3M to install). So you need to sand down about .05-.1mm. I used 220 grit but you could go more agressive than that (I wish I had). Took about 30 minutes by hand on the 220 to get rid of about .05mm which I felt was good enough.



My semi-brillant solution to hold the insert while sanding.



Baby oil bath for the bracelet. I run the ultrasonic about 30 minutes in total over a 12 hour period. Just let it sit overnight. Rinse it off under water. Take some dish soap in your hand and massage it over the bracelet. Rinse. Dry it off with a microfiber. The oil is still retained in on the screws and hinge points but won't leave your arm covered in baby oil. No more squeaks or creaks and feels much more like gen... almost "buttery smooth".



Final height of sanded gasket w/GS Hypo installed vs. stock CF. I could've removed a bit more but frankly my fingers were dead tired from sanding and depending on the angle it looks slightly recessed. Good enough for me.



Comparison of Xing Bezel + Gen Xtal to CF V2.



I used cape cod polish cloth to lightly rehaut polish while the xtal was uninstalled. Don't overdo it. It shouldn't be super shiny. This took about 30 seconds of polishing with a medium amount of force per 180 degrees of the case (so about 1 minute of polishing in total). Spray with IPA and wipe down w/polishing cloth to get surface nice and clean again w/no residue.



All done!

 

[aHero]

Here is my build and notes. Did a CF Pepsi Jubilee DD3285 as a base, Gen Rolex crystal, Clark 2.85mm gasket, and Xing V4 Bezel along with some rehaut polishing and removal of some of the grease on the bezel assembly for a slightly more pronouced "click" to the bezel action. Hope these notes and documentations help someone else on their build.

Documention of different gasket & xtal heights. A genuine Rolex gasket is 2.2mm high and I wouldn't advise using it as it's thicker which can cause issues but the height is too low to allow for proper engagement of the hyrtle gasket on your bezle (ie your bezel will just keep falling off). You really need to keep the crystal at ~2.8-2.9mm high to keep everything happy).



I source my Clark 2.85mm gaskets off ebay. Gen xtal about .1mm thicker than CF.



You can of course reuse your CF gasket w/Gen xtal and it comes out at 3.91. I slightly damaged mine upon removal of the original xtal and was concerned about water intrusion so I just opted to use a clark Gasket instead as I had it on hand for this exact reason.



Xing v4 Bezels are all too tall. It's not crazy out of line if you reinstall w/GS Hypo Cement rather than a 3M Adhesive ring (as the 3M ring pushes the height up about .1mm). The GS also allows you to tweak alignment as you install which the 3M won't so it's just a better solution. It's also more solid, water proof, and just as easy to remove by soaking with isopropal alcohol if you need to remove it. Stop using the shitty 3M adhesive crap.




A little over .2mm difference in thickness from CF vs. Xing. (But again you claw .1mm back by not using 3M to install). So you need to sand down about .05-.1mm. I used 220 grit but you could go more agressive than that (I wish I had). Took about 30 minutes by hand on the 220 to get rid of about .05mm which I felt was good enough.



My semi-brillant solution to hold the insert while sanding.



Baby oil bath for the bracelet. I run the ultrasonic about 30 minutes in total over a 12 hour period. Just let it sit overnight. Rinse it off under water. Take some dish soap in your hand and massage it over the bracelet. Rinse. Dry it off with a microfiber. The oil is still retained in on the screws and hinge points but won't leave your arm covered in baby oil. No more squeaks or creaks and feels much more like gen... almost "buttery smooth".



Final height of sanded gasket w/GS Hypo installed vs. stock CF. I could've removed a bit more but frankly my fingers were dead tired from sanding and depending on the angle it looks slightly recessed. Good enough for me.



Comparison of Xing Bezel + Gen Xtal to CF V2.



I used cape cod polish cloth to lightly rehaut polish while the xtal was uninstalled. Don't overdo it. It shouldn't be super shiny. This took about 30 seconds of polishing with a medium amount of force per 180 degrees of the case (so about 1 minute of polishing in total). Spray with IPA and wipe down w/polishing cloth to get surface nice and clean again w/no residue.



All done!

Great build and even better info!!

 

[WatchSmith.US]

Here is my build and notes. Did a CF Pepsi Jubilee DD3285 as a base, Gen Rolex crystal, Clark 2.85mm gasket, and Xing V4 Bezel along with some rehaut polishing and removal of some of the grease on the bezel assembly for a slightly more pronouced "click" to the bezel action. Hope these notes and documentations help someone else on their build.

Documention of different gasket & xtal heights. A genuine Rolex gasket is 2.2mm high and I wouldn't advise using it as it's thicker which can cause issues but the height is too low to allow for proper engagement of the hyrtle gasket on your bezle (ie your bezel will just keep falling off). You really need to keep the crystal at ~2.8-2.9mm high to keep everything happy).



I source my Clark 2.85mm gaskets off ebay. Gen xtal about .1mm thicker than CF.



You can of course reuse your CF gasket w/Gen xtal and it comes out at 3.91. I slightly damaged mine upon removal of the original xtal and was concerned about water intrusion so I just opted to use a clark Gasket instead as I had it on hand for this exact reason.



Xing v4 Bezels are all too tall. It's not crazy out of line if you reinstall w/GS Hypo Cement rather than a 3M Adhesive ring (as the 3M ring pushes the height up about .1mm). The GS also allows you to tweak alignment as you install which the 3M won't so it's just a better solution. It's also more solid, water proof, and just as easy to remove by soaking with isopropal alcohol if you need to remove it. Stop using the shitty 3M adhesive crap.




A little over .2mm difference in thickness from CF vs. Xing. (But again you claw .1mm back by not using 3M to install). So you need to sand down about .05-.1mm. I used 220 grit but you could go more agressive than that (I wish I had). Took about 30 minutes by hand on the 220 to get rid of about .05mm which I felt was good enough.



My semi-brillant solution to hold the insert while sanding.



Baby oil bath for the bracelet. I run the ultrasonic about 30 minutes in total over a 12 hour period. Just let it sit overnight. Rinse it off under water. Take some dish soap in your hand and massage it over the bracelet. Rinse. Dry it off with a microfiber. The oil is still retained in on the screws and hinge points but won't leave your arm covered in baby oil. No more squeaks or creaks and feels much more like gen... almost "buttery smooth".



Final height of sanded gasket w/GS Hypo installed vs. stock CF. I could've removed a bit more but frankly my fingers were dead tired from sanding and depending on the angle it looks slightly recessed. Good enough for me.



Comparison of Xing Bezel + Gen Xtal to CF V2.



I used cape cod polish cloth to lightly rehaut polish while the xtal was uninstalled. Don't overdo it. It shouldn't be super shiny. This took about 30 seconds of polishing with a medium amount of force per 180 degrees of the case (so about 1 minute of polishing in total). Spray with IPA and wipe down w/polishing cloth to get surface nice and clean again w/no residue.



All done!

Very informative post, thanks! It looks great.
Did you do a pressure test?

 

[rockdaytona]

Here is my build and notes. Did a CF Pepsi Jubilee DD3285 as a base, Gen Rolex crystal, Clark 2.85mm gasket, and Xing V4 Bezel along with some rehaut polishing and removal of some of the grease on the bezel assembly for a slightly more pronouced "click" to the bezel action. Hope these notes and documentations help someone else on their build.

Documention of different gasket & xtal heights. A genuine Rolex gasket is 2.2mm high and I wouldn't advise using it as it's thicker which can cause issues but the height is too low to allow for proper engagement of the hyrtle gasket on your bezle (ie your bezel will just keep falling off). You really need to keep the crystal at ~2.8-2.9mm high to keep everything happy).



I source my Clark 2.85mm gaskets off ebay. Gen xtal about .1mm thicker than CF.



You can of course reuse your CF gasket w/Gen xtal and it comes out at 3.91. I slightly damaged mine upon removal of the original xtal and was concerned about water intrusion so I just opted to use a clark Gasket instead as I had it on hand for this exact reason.



Xing v4 Bezels are all too tall. It's not crazy out of line if you reinstall w/GS Hypo Cement rather than a 3M Adhesive ring (as the 3M ring pushes the height up about .1mm). The GS also allows you to tweak alignment as you install which the 3M won't so it's just a better solution. It's also more solid, water proof, and just as easy to remove by soaking with isopropal alcohol if you need to remove it. Stop using the shitty 3M adhesive crap.




A little over .2mm difference in thickness from CF vs. Xing. (But again you claw .1mm back by not using 3M to install). So you need to sand down about .05-.1mm. I used 220 grit but you could go more agressive than that (I wish I had). Took about 30 minutes by hand on the 220 to get rid of about .05mm which I felt was good enough.



My semi-brillant solution to hold the insert while sanding.



Baby oil bath for the bracelet. I run the ultrasonic about 30 minutes in total over a 12 hour period. Just let it sit overnight. Rinse it off under water. Take some dish soap in your hand and massage it over the bracelet. Rinse. Dry it off with a microfiber. The oil is still retained in on the screws and hinge points but won't leave your arm covered in baby oil. No more squeaks or creaks and feels much more like gen... almost "buttery smooth".



Final height of sanded gasket w/GS Hypo installed vs. stock CF. I could've removed a bit more but frankly my fingers were dead tired from sanding and depending on the angle it looks slightly recessed. Good enough for me.



Comparison of Xing Bezel + Gen Xtal to CF V2.



I used cape cod polish cloth to lightly rehaut polish while the xtal was uninstalled. Don't overdo it. It shouldn't be super shiny. This took about 30 seconds of polishing with a medium amount of force per 180 degrees of the case (so about 1 minute of polishing in total). Spray with IPA and wipe down w/polishing cloth to get surface nice and clean again w/no residue.



All done!

My gen crystal comes with gen gasket in blister, better to use that gasket?

 

[butler182]

Here is my build and notes. Did a CF Pepsi Jubilee DD3285 as a base, Gen Rolex crystal, Clark 2.85mm gasket, and Xing V4 Bezel along with some rehaut polishing and removal of some of the grease on the bezel assembly for a slightly more pronouced "click" to the bezel action. Hope these notes and documentations help someone else on their build.

Documention of different gasket & xtal heights. A genuine Rolex gasket is 2.2mm high and I wouldn't advise using it as it's thicker which can cause issues but the height is too low to allow for proper engagement of the hyrtle gasket on your bezle (ie your bezel will just keep falling off). You really need to keep the crystal at ~2.8-2.9mm high to keep everything happy).



I source my Clark 2.85mm gaskets off ebay. Gen xtal about .1mm thicker than CF.



You can of course reuse your CF gasket w/Gen xtal and it comes out at 3.91. I slightly damaged mine upon removal of the original xtal and was concerned about water intrusion so I just opted to use a clark Gasket instead as I had it on hand for this exact reason.



Xing v4 Bezels are all too tall. It's not crazy out of line if you reinstall w/GS Hypo Cement rather than a 3M Adhesive ring (as the 3M ring pushes the height up about .1mm). The GS also allows you to tweak alignment as you install which the 3M won't so it's just a better solution. It's also more solid, water proof, and just as easy to remove by soaking with isopropal alcohol if you need to remove it. Stop using the shitty 3M adhesive crap.




A little over .2mm difference in thickness from CF vs. Xing. (But again you claw .1mm back by not using 3M to install). So you need to sand down about .05-.1mm. I used 220 grit but you could go more agressive than that (I wish I had). Took about 30 minutes by hand on the 220 to get rid of about .05mm which I felt was good enough.



My semi-brillant solution to hold the insert while sanding.



Baby oil bath for the bracelet. I run the ultrasonic about 30 minutes in total over a 12 hour period. Just let it sit overnight. Rinse it off under water. Take some dish soap in your hand and massage it over the bracelet. Rinse. Dry it off with a microfiber. The oil is still retained in on the screws and hinge points but won't leave your arm covered in baby oil. No more squeaks or creaks and feels much more like gen... almost "buttery smooth".



Final height of sanded gasket w/GS Hypo installed vs. stock CF. I could've removed a bit more but frankly my fingers were dead tired from sanding and depending on the angle it looks slightly recessed. Good enough for me.



Comparison of Xing Bezel + Gen Xtal to CF V2.



I used cape cod polish cloth to lightly rehaut polish while the xtal was uninstalled. Don't overdo it. It shouldn't be super shiny. This took about 30 seconds of polishing with a medium amount of force per 180 degrees of the case (so about 1 minute of polishing in total). Spray with IPA and wipe down w/polishing cloth to get surface nice and clean again w/no residue.



All done!

Did you use regular 220 wet/dry sandpaper? Sanded wet or dry?

 

[KJ2020]

Excellent work and beautiful result. The battles we fight make the reward so much sweeter.

 

[cyprusdaedalus]

Very informative post, thanks! It looks great.
Did you do a pressure test?

I did not as I don't currently have a pressure tester. I also don't swim with anything other than a GShock on so not a huge priority for me.

My gen crystal comes with gen gasket in blister, better to use that gasket?

IMO no. I did on my last build and it was a disaster because your bezel will just keep falling off because the crystal will be too "low" to properly secure into the hyrtel gasket on the bezel. It also will have the crystal too close to the date causing the magnification to be off. @KJ2020 has some info in another thread recommending the 2.85 gasket as the best height to use to keep magnification the same (and allow the bezel to hold on properly).

Did you use regular 220 wet/dry sandpaper? Sanded wet or dry?

Used regualar dry sandpaper (little sheets made for tool sanders). Sanded dry.

 

[KJ2020]

@KJ2020 has some info in another thread recommending the 2.85 gasket as the best height to use to keep magnification the same (and allow the bezel to hold on properly).

I like to take pics and do side by side collages when choosing a gasket height but yes 2.85 gasket with a gen crystal gives a great result for the CLEAN GMTs.

CF Pepsi ‐ gen crystal, which gasket?

 

[KJ2020]

For those who do want to use 3M adhesive rings, there is an easy way to avoid mis-sticking them. Place an object like a toothpick or a strip of a dial protector under the bottom of the insert and stick/unstick the triangle lightly as much as necessary to get it perfect. Here again I take pics when it looks good by eye because I'm heavily left eye dominant so what I see isn't always what the camera sees dead center. At times I've made 6 or 8 tweaks before a final full stick.

The 3M rings are especially useful if you need to build up height in the bezel well, even more so if there is a need for a lot of height. I just did one where it took 3 layers of rings to get the insert flush. You can also add a bezel tension ring (5 or 6 digit, the big washer) as a spacer under the insert. Make a washer sandwich in a 3M ring - washer - 3M ring arrangement. Don't plan on swimming or showering with an insert adhered by an adhesive ring though. It would last a while for sure but it's an unnecessary risk.

 

[rockdaytona]

I did not as I don't currently have a pressure tester. I also don't swim with anything other than a GShock on so not a huge priority for me.

IMO no. I did on my last build and it was a disaster because your bezel will just keep falling off because the crystal will be too "low" to properly secure into the hyrtel gasket on the bezel. It also will have the crystal too close to the date causing the magnification to be off. @KJ2020 has some info in another thread recommending the 2.85 gasket as the best height to use to keep magnification the same (and allow the bezel to hold on properly).

Used regualar dry sandpaper (little sheets made for tool sanders). Sanded dry.

Tallest one I see is 2.7mm in his eBay store, I’ll ask

 

[cyprusdaedalus]

Tallest one I see is 2.7mm in his eBay store, I’ll ask

Yea... I may or may not have bought his entire stock of 3 gaskets off of his store this morning.... sorry! But he should be able to get more (or i'm sure they will post more up to refill the inventory list on eBay in a day or two).

 

[rockdaytona]

Yea... I may or may not have bought his entire stock of 3 gaskets off of his store this morning.... sorry! But he should be able to get more (or i'm sure they will post more up to refill the inventory list on eBay in a day or two).

Ah I see bro. I have spare essinger Daytona gasket if you want to swap

 

[Mark1937]

I like to take pics and do side by side collages when choosing a gasket height but yes 2.85 gasket with a gen crystal gives a great result for the CLEAN GMTs.

CF Pepsi ‐ gen crystal, which gasket?

Hi my friend i hope you are well ;-)
I am putting all my gen pepsi parts (including the gen dial) on the new cf, the case would appear to have changed slightly from the cf v2, I will be using the new gen glass reference. In the past we had examined with you that perfection, with the old car crystal, on a CF V1 case would have been a cross between the Clark 2.85 and the Clark 2.70, I used the latter and the result was excellent. I will update the result on the new case this week and share it with you as always. Have a nice day

 

[KJ2020]

Hi my friend i hope you are well ;-)
I am putting all my gen pepsi parts (including the gen dial) on the new cf, the case would appear to have changed slightly from the cf v2, I will be using the new gen glass reference. In the past we had examined with you that perfection, with the old car crystal, on a CF V1 case would have been a cross between the Clark 2.85 and the Clark 2.70, I used the latter and the result was excellent. I will update the result on the new case this week and share it with you as always. Have a nice day

Bro I remember those discussions and your collages were always useful. That's why I recommend that approach, it helps give you the exact result you are after. It's a very delicate balance to get the right level of date mag and crystal protrusion above the insert. A 2.70mm gasket is definitely a contender in this hunt for perfection and I always have some on hand as well. I know you will reach that goal again!

 

[big_polarbear]

Bro I remember those discussions and your collages were always useful. That's why I recommend that approach, it helps give you the exact result you are after. It's a very delicate balance to get the right level of date mag and crystal protrusion above the insert. A 2.70mm gasket is definitely a contender in this hunt for perfection and I always have some on hand as well. I know you will reach that goal again!

I remember you made a thread detailing the installation, with pictures and reference to the ebay seller. Do you have that somewhere ?

 

[Mark1937]

This is the result obtained with gen car V1 crystal and Clark 2.70 gasket on CF V1 case. As you can see both the protrusion of the crystal (from the full gen bezel with gen assembly parts) and the magnification of the cyclops lens are perfect. Now we'll see if the Clark 2.70 gasket will be so perfect on the new CF case with the gen GMT glass, the new double A/R reference, in the meantime I'll measure the gen gasket in the blister to see how tall it is...

 

[KJ2020]

I remember you made a thread detailing the installation, with pictures and reference to the ebay seller. Do you have that somewhere ?

You might be thinking of this thread - it's for Subs but the second thread by @derjenigewelcher discusses the CF bezel in great detail.

6-digit Sub crystal and bezel swap

Tutorial: How to fix the Bezel on a CLEAN GMT