WATCH with Mike chronographs my learning journey into the world of watch repair and horology, the art of watchmaking. I'll be sharing everything from basic quartz watch maintenance to tearing down, cleaning, diagnostics and restoring of vintage mechanical watches. I look forward to having you join me on my journey so we can learn together!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve trusted a screw up into a something that works and learned a lesson at the same time! In this case I like it better without the red!
I watched this again. I have the tools that you have but didn’t know where to start. You have helped me big time, because I don’t get the answers from the other very experienced watchmaker videos. Thank you so much.
As soon as I saw the TAPE ACTION, I was like NOOOOO, E\WTH is he doing, you can get that red cellophane pretty easy and cheap. But the logo I knew was a goner, never to return.
What a load of crap Swiss Tome Services UK, I.e. authorized Omega service centre, refinished my exact same watch to perfect condition. Sending to Switzerland is completely overrated!
I find that it takes me at least one failure at something to ever be successful at it. I work over in my mind every conceivable failure that could occur and create ways of avoiding it before i start a project. But there is inevitably SOMETHING that comes up that you never developed a contingency for and you improvise. Thats typically where the failure point is. I did this last night on a set of cheap casio compass watches, i wanted to lume the back of the lcd white paper, which means separating the lcd module and putting it back together. it "Almost" worked. I put too much pressure on the lcd trying to fit it back over the white screened portion and cracked the edge of the lcd. ruined it. I examined what i did, and did wrong and found that if i would have waited to slip in the two "foam" slips that make contact with the screen and the board, it would have been fine. I went ahead and tried that idea, and its what should have been done to prevent the failure. Now I learned something. Thats just the nature of doing this stuff, a lot of regret, but you cant go back in time to change anything, just learn from it, and put a mental note in your back pocket and live with the humanity of it all and not get mad at yourself for not being omniscient.
Now that is something extraordinary! Look at the amount of articulation on that 50 year old bracelet! The batteries seems clean too! The plot thickens... Longines history too! I think that it came out looking decent! Classic retro digital stunner! Hope you are doing well Mike!
1) CONGRATS to the find! 2) If you want to paint that face plate, try Vallejo Model Paint! NO spray gun needed, it lays down smooth with a brush, and shrink-stretches the surface when drying, so you see no brush-strokes! It is really made to do just that! Personally, I think that thin red paint layer was doomed no matter what, because old plastic layers simply get brittle with age, and light is guaranteed to damage them over time. Add a clear coat, done! 3) Have you tried electronic switch cleaner, like CRC Switch cleaner? It works well on model trains! Being into vintage stereos (after over 30 years, not sinking money into that pit anymore!), DIY electronics, model trains (NO more vintage toys after many years either), photography, and once again watches (I keep cycling between them all) I have found that switch cleaner has surprising applications, and it cleans a lot of things very gently, but effectively!
Thank you for sharing this most entertaining video on RU-vid: 👌👍👏! I would not have thought that the history of a digital watch could be so fascinating. It also shows that marketing departments were already going really bananas when describing "their" products back in the old days. While I like the outcome of your work, I would, if I were you, buy a spray can of translucent red (if you have air-brush, so much the better) and return the dial to its original color. You would have to tape the chrome window, though. Also, once painted, you could put on a cool decal where the original "Marcel" used to be ...
Hey Mike, do you use water based cleaning fluids for your ultrasonic cleaner? I had a very nasty rust gaining experience with that two weeks ago and I am still at removing all the unnecessary rust from each and every part. That is an old EB 8800 Swiss movement. Yeah. Starting issues for beginners. Hehe 🕐⚙️🍸
I'm using good old hot tap water and detergent for cases and bracelets in my small ultrasonic. For watch movement parts I use ammonia based cleaner and rinse in individual jars inside a larger ultrasonic, followed by a warm air dryer. No rust problems that way. But I've had rust with other methods and it's a pain. I'm sure your project will come out fine...rust is usually manageable. 😄
Excellent job and an interesting watch. In the late 70s, early 80s, I had a watch by a company called Beltime that used a module by the Hughes Aircraft Corporation and which had a chronograph. That was a really nice watch, and I wish I still had it. The follies of youth... I keep looking on eBay for one, but they're quite expensive now.
Hi👋,i really feel sorry for you at 17:37..🫣...i thought you gonna be succesfull with your "smart trick"with polywatch...i personally have experimented many ways for cleaning some parts of watch,and the results were(sometimes)...a disaster..😓...in this case you are angry against yourself feel like a dumb and you want to stop definitely this hobby...however the blue style respect the"vintage spirit"of the watch...good videos..👌...merci for sharing...👍
You're welcome! This was a fun project because I had a minimal investment and no expectations. When I tore the logo off the face I was bummed out for about 15 seconds, and then I realized the show must go on. I'm glad you like the final results, I do too! 😀
Excellent video Mike, thanks for making it. Your channel reminds me of My Retro Watches here in the UK hosted by another Mike. Please keep the videos coming.
Note to self: Never mask a logo on a dial with artist's tape! 😂😂😂(I actually prefer the no-logo look - but what's up with those three glue spots or whatever they are? Can you buff those out?)
Hi Dayton, I've never had light-tack masking tape pull off a finish like that. And that was the surface exposed to the elements! Well I guess 45 years is a pretty good run. The glue blobs are between the front thin acetate and the blue foil. Those layers are too thin to try separating so it stays as-is. Character!
@@WatchWithMike Yeah, that's crazy that they didn't have a layer of acrylic over the paint layer! I do think that's an amazing piece because of the combo display!
Hi, I have a list with links in my follow up video, which you can view here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MgNhwunEG0M.htmlsi=73FAychGSj9yZMpk
Hi Mike. I'm a retired military guy who's always had a passion for watches and now taking on watch repair/restoration as a hobby. My grandfather was a watchmaker, so the family says it's in my DNA. Anyway, I am working on a Bulova Watertite with 10BUC movement, and your video has been SO helpful! The mainspring in this watch is dead. My questions is where did you get the replacement GR4503 mainspring used in the video? I got a #53 10BCC Bulova replacement, and it did not come in a press in holder, nor did it fit to press it in with the way it was packaged. I ended up trying to do it by hand and the end broke off! Grrrr. Very frustrating. Any help you could provide on where you got that mainspring with push on holder (as in the video) would be so appreciated. Keep up the great work. Love the videos and I'm learning a lot.
Hi Richard, thanks for dropping by! I also had troubles getting the correct main spring. I bought one from Cousins UK and it came pre-wound in a washer that was too big for me to transfer into the mainspring barrel. I tried to hand wind it but ended up bending it. I originally bought an inexpensive Chinese main spring winding set, but had very little luck. I don't remember the timeline, but I ended up splurging on a set of Bergeon winders. What a difference! (I have a video that introduces that tool when I opened it.) If I remember correctly, I ended up ordering the main spring by measuring the width, length and thickness of the old one, and finding the nearest match that had the correct tab at the end that anchors it to the inside of the barrel. I believe I bought that at Cousins as well. I hope that helps!
@@WatchWithMike Mike--Thanks for taking the time to reply! Sounds like our experiences are almost exactly the same. I bought one that I thought would fit (10BCC) and it was too big to press in. Then I broke it trying to do it by hand. I also bought a cheap set of mainspring winders, and they just aren't working. I can't get the tab to grab on any mainsprings. Maybe I need to invest in Bergeron. Anyway, I have a 10BUC mainspring coming and fingers crossed it will press in like in your video. Keep up the great work. Really fun to watch your stuff and keeps me motivated when I get frustrated and think I made a bad decision taking up this hobby!
i recently got my hands on this beauty. thankyou for this lovely introduction to this watch. just stumbled upon this question of it being JDM or not. could you help me knowing this watch better on that topic ?
Congrats on your new watch! I believe this Recraft line was intended for the American market in addition to other global markets. It is not a design released exclusively for the Japanese market.
I have several videos that show this tool in action. Here's a good one to start with: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-z-HtXPD2Ze4.htmlsi=S_z-jVbcesmfYEbG
Hi Mike , What a great resource your videos are ! keep up the great work ! . I am looking for some information and thought you might be able to point me in the right direction . I recently bought a well used C. & E. Marshall set and it looks like somebody tried to "restore" it by soaking in rust remover and now a number of the smaller holes on the anvil are plugged. I'm looking for original spec's for the holes diameters so I can limit the size of the cleaning effort to prevent damage - Also looking for recommendations for lubrication on the inner workings ( cam ,etc) for reassembly . Any help would be much appreciated - Thanks, Matt
Hi Matt, thanks for the kind words! I don't know the hole diameter sizes. For the inner works I used a 3-in-1 type household oil. For the holes that are plugged, I might try soaking the part again in Evaporust, and then blowing out the holes with compressed air. It might be enough to dislodge any oxidation, and you wouldn't have to worry about re-machining the holes. Good luck!
No, I couldn't intuit a way to set two separate times. I think the LED is there so you can read it at night, since there is no nightlight on the LCD screen. Strange, isn't it?
