Could we get a HOW-TO specific to waterproofing?

[ToxicManChowder]

I’m mechanically inclined, so would be willing to venture into some modest type of work related to my REPs. My hands are shaky at my age, so I wouldn’t say I could do a ton of enthusiast type stuff…

I’ve been looking through these tutorials, and just wow! great stuff here. Very impressive.

I’m in the process of acquiring some basics in the watchmakers tooling kit, and while I’m starting down that path, my objective is simple. Start with doing work on my REPs that are meaningful to me, and most important to me, as I start this journey, is to learn how to waterproof. I’m in the water all the time, and want to swim confidently without having to remove my watch(es).

I think there may be some pretty common methodology for waterproofing, and yet a lot of variables depending on the rep of course. Complete noob here, and would be so grateful if a pro could assemble a tutorial on waterproofing, starting with perhaps something in the Rolex rep line, single crown, maybe GMT or Sub, or DJ type cases. Being as naive as I am, I’m thinking a lot of similarity to the potential weak points would be common, from the crown, to the crystal, or the case back.

I found some good stuff already related to the o-rings and silicone grease, etc. What a journey.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and linking is appreciated to stuff you folks recommend I check out…

Cheers.

 

[dax007]

Great question and it has been lurking with me for years as well... .. I am not mech inclined and I have been around the BLOCK when it comes to reps for many years.. I have had many franken reps built.. Over paid for things left and right.lol.. etc...
From my experience this has never been a great subject that the REP watch makers would discuss....

I have tried to get my USA rep watchsmith's to water proof my " vietnam FRANKEN subs "and they wont guarantee anything.. I am usually told "its a rep".. They will do a lite pressure test to a few bars and always say "its only good for hand washing" .

When i buy a HIEND rep from a trusted rep sales source they usually say " for 50$ more we will do the water treatment"

I have paid for the "so called treatment" 2x and both times the watch failed!! I am not talkig about diving, just in the pool with kids.. So at this point i just gave up! I have worn many franken reps in the pool or spa but never plan on submersing the watch.. It has happen and rarely had issues.. but at same time have had issues as well
I think you got it just about right as for the weak points of a watch from the crown, to the crystal, or the case back.
my issues usually are the retention ring around the crystal!! But a good grease with a well seated gasket on the case back is a easy check..

I believe the PRESSURE testers for a few bars are not that pricey but only good for a few bars

 

[Jackster]

https://forum.replica-watch.info/threads/water-pressure-tester.10979841/

 

[Rx4Time]

1. silicone grease on the o-rings only prevents binding when screwing shut, ie caseback, crown. In and of itself it adds noting to increase waterproofness.
2. How many ATM/BAR are they testing to? For pool if it passes 3 ATM it should survive fine. The stated value for pool is 6 ATM, however I've yet to have a rep fail at 6 that passed at 3, and I swim all the time with my watches, gen and rep.
3. an inexpensive 6 ATM pressure tester is more then needed for your purpose. Here is mine...

 

[Bez625]

1. silicone grease on the o-rings only prevents binding when screwing shut, ie caseback, crown. In and of itself it adds noting to increase waterproofness.
2. How many ATM/BAR are they testing to? For pool if it passes 3 ATM it should survive fine. The stated value for pool is 6 ATM, however I've yet to have a rep fail at 6 that passed at 3, and I swim all the time with my watches, gen and rep.
3. an inexpensive 6 ATM pressure tester is more then needed for your purpose. Here is mine...

I have the same pressure tester. Tested my reps to 4 bar and been fine in pools, shower etc.

I guess the overall point is you want confidence that your watches can handle the environment you will put them in. That's where the pressure tester comes in.

If you're watch fails the pressure test then you need to fix that specific watch. This would mean finding where the leak is and patching it. You almost certainly want to remove the movement and start testing with the case alone.

I'm not sure you will find a guide to waterproofing a watch. Anything that can be done to waterproof it should have been done already. If it's not water resistant to your desired depth then you need to fix that specific problem.

I've read posts from people that say they grease up the caseback and crown when they get a new watch just out of routine. Maybe that's enough for you if you want to get more in to working with the watches etc. In that case it sounds like you've already found guides that show you how to do this and the only tools I would think you need are caseback removers for your specific watches and the grease.

Hope this helps.

 

[ToxicManChowder]

I have the same pressure tester. Tested my reps to 4 bar and been fine in pools, shower etc.

I guess the overall point is you want confidence that your watches can handle the environment you will put them in. That's where the pressure tester comes in.

If you're watch fails the pressure test then you need to fix that specific watch. This would mean finding where the leak is and patching it. You almost certainly want to remove the movement and start testing with the case alone.

I'm not sure you will find a guide to waterproofing a watch. Anything that can be done to waterproof it should have been done already. If it's not water resistant to your desired depth then you need to fix that specific problem.

I've read posts from people that say they grease up the caseback and crown when they get a new watch just out of routine. Maybe that's enough for you if you want to get more in to working with the watches etc. In that case it sounds like you've already found guides that show you how to do this and the only tools I would think you need are caseback removers for your specific watches and the grease.

Hope this helps.

I have a tester. Here is a recent rep failing at four bar. Took it down to two bar. Also failed. I wouldn’t even wash my hands with this on.

 

[Rx4Time]

I have a tester. Here is a recent rep failing at four bar. Took it down to two bar. Also failed. I wouldn’t even wash my hands with this on.

It's difficult for me to tell from the video, but is the bubbles coming from under the bezel? If you repeat the test immediately afterwards, do you get the same bubbling? Sometimes on watches of mine that have more dead space under the bezel like submariners, I see a few bubbles coming out which is not a fail because it's not repeatable on a second run. Here is one example that I tested for a friend. A couple of bubbles come out by the crystal under the bezel, but this is not a fail as is, the second run did not produce any bubbles.

 

[ToxicManChowder]

It's difficult for me to tell from the video, but is the bubbles coming from under the bezel? If you repeat the test immediately afterwards, do you get the same bubbling? Sometimes on watches of mine that have more dead space under the bezel like submariners, I see a few bubbles coming out which is not a fail because it's not repeatable on a second run. Here is one example that I tested for a friend. A couple of bubbles come out by the crystal under the bezel, but this is not a fail as is, the second run did not produce any bubbles.

Thanks for the video link. It was leaking from the crown (100%). The test I uploaded was at 4bar. I redid the test at 2bar and same thing, leaking from the crown. I don’t think CF does much if anything to waterproof their watches, unless perhaps in a submariner. I don’t know honestly. So my thought was to learn to do waterproofing work myself. Don’t need to mess with the movement at all, its just case work I think.

This is a whole new hobby for me, so I expect to trash a few first. Was going to be some ”low” quality rep editions and figure it out as I go I suspect, but it would be great to have a better guide here to get me started.

I wanna go to watch school.

 

[Rx4Time]

From the factory you should be good under most circumstances (my CF GMT passed without issue). The exception would be if you have machining irregularities (the quality control isn't as strong) or defective gasket. I'd swap the crown gasket and retest. You can get a 704 crown gasket for under $5.

 

[Got20Mate]

This is all immensely fascinating, I didn't even realise some of the reps straight from factory are waterproof to an extent. Wouldn't dream of washing up with mine on!

 

[Rx4Time]

This is all immensely fascinating, I didn't even realise some of the reps straight from factory are waterproof to an extent. Wouldn't dream of washing up with mine on!

H Factory rep I just tested for a friend. Passed without issues 3 ATM. Just regulated, greased the caseback gasket to prevent binding and tested. I'm sure pass 6, but it's late and I'm going to bed now so I may test it tomorrow.

 

[ToxicManChowder]

I’m waiting for case back dye set so I can open mine up. Looks like they’re out of stock at Esslinger at the moment. I found a great post here related to the basics of tools needed, so I’m running down the list to acquire some basics. I love to tinker, so this will be an interesting journey.

 

[mclarendude]

Happy to see I'm not the only one who tests the watches with the movements in.

 

[ToxicManChowder]

Happy to see I'm not the only one who tests the watches with the movements in.

. Yup, I’m with ya… right, it’s science.

I do take a precaution first though…once I pressurize, I also depressurize before ever getting it wet. I want to make sure the crystal doesn’t blow out!

 

[mclarendude]

I do the same.

 

[easy_beaching]

. Yup, I’m with ya… right, it’s science.

I do take a precaution first though…once I pressurize, I also depressurize before ever getting it wet. I want to make sure the crystal doesn’t blow out!

Interesting, this has always been my fear for trying this on my own, and I didn't want to invest the effort in removing the movement every time. So you release the pressure before you submerge and it still works fine?

 

[mclarendude]

What I do is:

- Pressurize the chamber
- wait 3 minutes
- depressurize without submerging
- Take the watch out and listen, you can sometimes hear air leaks, I have.

Wait a few minutes.

If I see no issues or crystal getting unseated:

- Pressurize again
- wait 3 minutes
- submerge
- depressurize

If it passes the first test, it should pass the second.

 

[Jackster]

Happy to see I'm not the only one who tests the watches with the movements in.

I do everytime.... but maybe i've been lucky?

 

[ToxicManChowder]

What I do is:

- Pressurize the chamber
- wait 3 minutes
- depressurize without submerging
- Take the watch out and listen, you can sometimes hear air leaks, I have.

Wait a few minutes.

If I see no issues or crystal getting unseated:

- Pressurize again
- wait 3 minutes
- submerge
- depressurize

If it passes the first test, it should pass the second.

Same procedure! Sometimes, I get distracted, and it sits longer than that in the pressurized air. But that’s more a statement on my ADHD, then thinking about following a test methodology.

 

[mrsullivan]

Don't know where to ask so posting here.

I tested water resistance on my freshly received VSF DJ (gorgeous watch by the way) in a wet tank, following my usual protocol :

- grease caseback and crown seals
- test in a water tank in 5 steps : 3 ATM - 6 ATM - 3 ATM - 6 ATM - 3 ATM, with 3 minutes of pressure charge between each dip.

Not a single bubble, every test passed with success. But something odd happened : the cyclop got foggy wearing the watch hours after the tests, and only by wearing it. I then took shower without any problem, did the test in water tank again, nothing. It's as if the ambient moist was the reason for it.

Is it possible the cyclop has a problem where it's fixed to the crystal ?
@KJ2020 ? @dogwood ?