Thursday, July 28, 2011

Seiko 6105-8000 restoration pictorial

My last flea market find, a 1970 Seiko classic diver, reminded me how much I learned about watches , and it's an opportunity to give a little back. I don't pretend to be a pro on this so all my actions are based on my limited knowledge and common sense. In other words - try this at home at your own risk happy.gif height=14
Another remark - English is not my language, so please excuse my mistakes. 

This 6105 proof/proof was found in a bad shape, but all original
(as far as I can tell)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
I knew I'm keeping it as original as I can, but it has to be wearable,
which means cleaning, reluming and a pressure test.
   
First, case parts cleaning, a lot of gunk accumulated over the years.
Down-left corner, you can see the case back gasket. gone.
   
   
   
  A great tool my wife bought me for my little hobby - a brass pencil brush
   
   
   
Then, reluming. C3 happy.gif height=14
   
This is the "patient", dial is in good shape, besides the lume. The hands are baaaad.
   
   
   
   
   
Middle of the process, some of the lume has been removed.  
I've used a screwdriver and toothpicks, plus some ear buds with
medical alcohol.
   
   
   
Dial with old lume removed
   
   
   
Cleaning the hands. The trick is not to harm the chrome plating, so this must be done  slowly and carefully.
   
   
   

Now, for the fun part - the reluming. I use a C3 material, a kit I bought in a
watchmaker's supply store. The 6105 dial is easy compared to other dials I did,
thanks to the raised little frames.
   
   
   
Here it is, drying
   
   
   
The hands are done facing down, so the upper side of them stays clean.
   
   
   

 
I remembered to relume the insert's pip, which still has (!) the lens on the front.
   
   
   
  The relumed parts are resting in the sun
   
   
   
  While I assemble the beautiful case together (only cleaned, I don't want to refinish it.
  All gasket are lubricated, the case back's gasket and crown will be replaced.
   
   
   
   
   
The crown's gasket is now out, and it's dead. Feels like hard plastic.
I hope that the gaskets I have will do, and it will pass the pressure test.
I'll order a new crown just in case. The reassembly of the crown's washer is hard to do.
   
   
   
Here is the finished dial after installing the hands, using a hand setting tool
   
   
   
And... Taddam!
   
   
   
   
   
 A few wrist shots
   
   
   
   
   
And a lume shot
   
   
   

 
I've decided to keep the original bezel insert on, it's nice.
   
  I hope you enjoyed this "little" story.
  Have a great day,
  Galpo. 

7 comments:

  1. Nice job, congrats!
    Regards
    Jedrzej

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gives me the courage to do the same job on my own leaky 6105.
    Nice job,
    Thanks

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  3. Hi there, I love the final product. I have my fathers 6105-8000 and just had the restoration cost estimated at $600+! I think the internal mechanism is not in a good state. My question is, how much value should I place on sentiment for this old watch to return to working order. I really like how yours looks and want the same for mine! Also, out of interest i noticed that you lumed the second dot on the second hand, but have seen some with a bright orange paint. Aside from that I think your watch looks perfect!

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  4. Good question... :) I believe the sentimental value is as high as what you feel. I had my father's old Renis diver restored years ago and went into a lot of trouble doing it. I told myself that it will pass on to my son too so the expense is not wasted. In your case, a restoration and movement service for the 6105 will be good for 20 years and more so I think it's a good investment. I get a lot of comments on that watch, all admiring it and it is great in design and quality. On another note - a 600$ for service is on the expensive side, unless it's Jack at IWW who is a master and can bring your watch to like new condition, movement and water resistance.
    The red dot on the seconds hand was applied later by me after I got the right color which I did not have when I relumed it, it's red now like the original

    Best,
    Gal

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Gal, I'll start saving and come back with an update when I get it done

      Regards

      Tim

      Delete
  5. Nice work you did there. I am also thinking to relume some of the watches I am collecting, but am still afraid to do it wrong.

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  6. It's a little scary, but practicing on some old and cheap watches will give you some courage :)

    ReplyDelete