Tutorial: How to fix the Bezel on a CLEAN GMT Master 2

[TonyMonatana44]

That product looks like it's from the UK and cannot be purchased in the US. You can order it from Amazon but shipping comes out to more than the bottle and a 2-3 wait time period.

I've used dielectric grease in the past and it worked wonders (the same grease you put on spark plug boots in your car). I know it's not a "lubricant grease" but i've found it to work wonders with water and stays greased for a long time, even when swimming with the watch in the Adriatic sea water.

If you don't want to go that route, you can always use metal specific lubricating grease such as: https://www.esslinger.com/molykote-...Q-1FCoOzyG-O7WfVPTQsOhoIBT3fOoPEaAkLyEALw_wcB

That stuff works great too.

 

[derjenigewelcher]

What kind of grease should be use to put onto the teeth of the crystal retaining ring?
Should those for the bicycle chains be OK?

Nope. That shit sticks. Silicone grease for watchmakers on aliexpress is what i used

 

[Artyfowl]

Pretty sure any silicone grease will do.

 

[derjenigewelcher]

Pretty sure any silicone grease will do.

Ich habe das hier gerade auf AliExpress gefunden: CHF1.38 | Silikonfett-Schmiermittel, Heimwerker-Hardware, wasserdicht, Lebensmittelqualität, Super-O-Lube, O-Ring, Kaffeemaschine, Schmierung, Weiß

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJunc1B

 

[bertieng]

Thanks for all the advices. I have on hand the Moebius 9415 grease, should it be good enough for the job?

 

[derjenigewelcher]

Thanks for all the advices. I have on hand the Moebius 9415 grease, should it be good enough for the job?

FAFO

 

[bertieng]

BTW, how to remove the crystal retaining ring on the GMT? Use the razor blade as that for the Subs, or just press out the crystal will work?

 

[TonyMonatana44]

BTW, how to remove the crystal retaining ring on the GMT? Use the razor blade as that for the Subs, or just press out the crystal will work?

Sometimes everything (retaining ring, crystal gasket, and crystal) will all come out at the same time when removing the bezel. Sometimes it'll all come off at the same time when removing the retaining ring.

If it doesn't come off, use a utility knife or razor blade with a hammer to wedge it under the retaining ring and gently and evenly pry up 4/5 sides working it up. You will want to tape up the watch case with tape or sticky notes or something to protect it from getting scratched up.

Just keep in mind that the retaining rings are sometimes super tight and they require a lot of force and or time to get lose.

 

[Artyfowl]

Im going to use the razor blade and hammer technique to get a gap and then one of those 4 jaw bezel removers to lift it evenly. Taping the case up first

6 fresh crystals have arrived from Prof. Still awaiting the bezel remover

 

[TonyMonatana44]

Im going to use the razor blade and hammer technique to get a gap and then one of those 4 jaw bezel removers to lift it evenly. Taping the case up first

6 fresh crystals have arrived from Prof. Still awaiting the bezel remover

You can do it without the bezel remover. I just removed my old GMT Master II Pepsi retaining ring last night with a razor blade. It was super tight but if you evenly lift it up on 4/5 sides of the case it should pop out after 2 minutes.

 

[deaded]

Freaking AWESOME post! Thank you SO much for sharing all this and explaining the steps so well.

One question though, if it's not too late. Is there an alternative to mayonnaise? I'm trying to lose some weight! I hear Diddy is using something different. But seriously, I'm not into that. Do you know how many babies had to die for him to have that much baby oil!?

 

[derjenigewelcher]

Freaking AWESOME post! Thank you SO much for sharing all this and explaining the steps so well.

One question though, if it's not too late. Is there an alternative to mayonnaise? I'm trying to lose some weight! I hear Diddy is using something different. But seriously, I'm not into that. Do you know how many babies had to die for him to have that much baby oil!?

Its all about the silicone

 

[ragnar16]

Thanks for all the info and tips on this thread.

A buddy bought a Clean V3 Pepsi and his bezel wasn’t moving.

I was able to get his watch fixed up in about 15 minutes start to finish as a first timer with no experience working on these.

One thing to watch for with the Clean click springs…his click spring had a small burr on the bottom that I didn’t have time to smooth out and his washer had a very, very slight bend that I didn’t straighten out so even though his bezel rotates and clicks as it should, it binds a tiny bit when the burr rotates across the slight bend in the washer.

 

[derjenigewelcher]

One thing to watch for with the Clean click springs…his click spring had a small burr on the bottom that I didn’t have time to smooth out and his washer had a very, very slight bend that I didn’t straighten out so even though his bezel rotates and clicks as it should, it binds a tiny bit when the burr rotates across the slight bend in the washer.

Sadly the washer (i think) is bendt because the diameter inside is to small for the case. when it does not lay flat on the case and bezel is pressed on it may bend.

 

[Nycrom]

Hello everyone and congratulations for this very interesting discussion,
I received a GMT2 Pepsi latest CF version a few days ago, it is very nice but I would like to improve the functioning of the bezel and center the triangle at 12 o'clock because it is slightly offset to the left. To do this I have to remove the bezel with a cutter, I've read but I don't want to ruin it or even break it; Can you tell me how to do this?
Thanks for your help and congratulations to everyone for your passion.

 

[derjenigewelcher]

Hello everyone and congratulations for this very interesting discussion,
I received a GMT2 Pepsi latest CF version a few days ago, it is very nice but I would like to improve the functioning of the bezel and center the triangle at 12 o'clock because it is slightly offset to the left. To do this I have to remove the bezel with a cutter, I've read but I don't want to ruin it or even break it; Can you tell me how to do this?
Thanks for your help and congratulations to everyone for your passion.

Yes you have to remove the bezel. Let a watchmaker do it if your unsecure, its not a big job for him.

 

[TheDavidoff3]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to share my experience with the bezel improvements…

First of all a big thanks to @derjenigewelcher for the guide (love the community finally the insights).

I removed the grease and improved the spring tension on 4 different Cleans from various friends.

I would suggest to remove 80% of the grease first, see how it goes before pulling on the bezel spring. One of the watches gave me a hard time, because it wouldn’t spin after I got a bit exited and maybe pulled to much on the spring and removed to much grease.

Luckily I could swap a bit between the watches and make it happen.


To make a direct comparison between the here mentioned method and a gen spring I bought one of the marketplace.

My thoughts on this:

The sound the bezel makes is the same, the only improvement I could make out was that the transitions between the „clicks“ was a bit smoother and always felt the same.
I still got a bit of backplay, but I guess my hytrel ring is not in the best condition anymore. Will try to find a gen one and see how that goes. Or are there any other suggestions regarding this @derjenigewelcher?

[/url]

Herr the Gen Spring:


https://clickpix.org/image/IMG-4980.2jIjKF

 

[derjenigewelcher]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to share my experience with the bezel improvements…

First of all a big thanks to @derjenigewelcher for the guide (love the community finally the insights).

I removed the grease and improved the spring tension on 4 different Cleans from various friends.

I would suggest to remove 80% of the grease first, see how it goes before pulling on the bezel spring. One of the watches gave me a hard time, because it wouldn’t spin after I got a bit exited and maybe pulled to much on the spring and removed to much grease.

Luckily I could swap a bit between the watches and make it happen.


To make a direct comparison between the here mentioned method and a gen spring I bought one of the marketplace.

My thoughts on this:

The sound the bezel makes is the same, the only improvement I could make out was that the transitions between the „clicks“ was a bit smoother and always felt the same.
I still got a bit of backplay, but I guess my hytrel ring is not in the best condition anymore. Will try to find a gen one and see how that goes. Or are there any other suggestions regarding this @derjenigewelcher?

[/url]

Herr the Gen Spring:


https://clickpix.org/image/IMG-4980.2jIjKF

Modt of the times the hyrtel ring is fucked up. @KJ2020 always takes monophile fishibg line. IMO better and cheaper solution than a genuine hyrtel ring.

 

[KJ2020]

Using fishline as a hytrel ring