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I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

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coconutman351

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post31 May 2013, 11:01

Thanks Phasar for the pictures and sharing your techniques, I really appreciate it. To my surprise my 0634-5019 Seiko arrived today. Initial inspection showed a watch in far better condition than how the ebay photos indicated. The crystal face will need definitely need polishing. I'll be posting pictures tomorrow! So exciting.

Attached are some photos of my watch. Seems like some restoration attempt was being made to spice it up for sale on ebay. Watch crystal appeared to be sanded down but not enough to hide all the crystal scratches. There also appears to be dust in the watch. Key is all functions are working good. The rest is just cosmetics. For the small dings on the case I may just let it be instead of sanding down side of the case. Also, are the top buttons ALL metal? I didn't want to attempt to sand it and then find out it's metalized plastic. I got into trouble with my Casio calculator watch, thought the keys were metal, noooooo, it was plastic with metal coating. Cheap...

added another photo of the original crystal.
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Last edited by coconutman351 on 15 Jun 2013, 02:15, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post01 Jun 2013, 14:06

Hi,
The buttons on these are definitely not made of plastic with chrome plating.
They are made of metal, i believe they are all stainless steel. I don't think they are brass with silver plate either.
But just to be sure, if you start refinishing, do it carefully, and start on the bottom to find out if it's base metal or not before you start on the top side of the buttons.
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azimuth_pl

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post01 Jun 2013, 22:00

All vintage Seiko's are top quality so when marked stainless it is all solid steel over and out. Where golplated they arte usually brass electroplate. Some cap models will be steel with thick goldfill. I wish watches where made like in the old days. Now even expensive watches show savings on materials used.
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Seiko Kid

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post01 Jun 2013, 23:05

Phaser - lovely watch !

you won't be able to remove the crystal from the brass mount. the bonding is too strong.


BTW - that's a lovely picture of the 0624 don't you think ? ;)
Last edited by Seiko Kid on 01 Jun 2013, 23:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post01 Jun 2013, 23:09

Thinking now, there might be a small chance you could soak the glass in some acid to soften or corrode away the bonding glue ?
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coconutman351

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post02 Jun 2013, 10:58

As Phasar stated earlier in the thread, it's not really necessary to remove the glass from its mount. In fact using the mount as a "handle" made it easier to sand down all the surface scratches and pits. Here are my initial post restoration of the crystal. The stainless steel case was in pretty good shape so I left most of it alone. The buttons, I only slightly sanded it with a fine 2000 sandpaper partly being afraid if I might expose any other material such as brass..etc. as I'm not sure if the chrome finish was electroplated or of it's like this throughout the material. I still have to follow through with the cerium oxide polish to remove the final sanding marks. on the crystal. Phasar thanks for the dissembler tips had I not known about the four clips I might have just had a frustrated day on figuring out how to open the case. Of course I would never force something open if it doesn't "feel" right. Thanks much! btw sorry for the super large sized attachment, I'll try to repost with smaller original photo shots of my watch.

Yes, they don't make watches like this anymore, all stainless steel construction. Reminds me of the old days of when audio equipment used solid anodized aluminum face panels vs. today's cheap metalized plastic!
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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post02 Jun 2013, 12:38

Wow, that came out very nicely.
Congrats with this beauty of a watch :mega:
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coconutman351

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post02 Jun 2013, 12:48

Thanks, but really, I owe it to this forum and members that share their experiences with me and have educated me on the best practices of watch restoration through all their experiences. There are no special manuals or guides, so collectively in forums such as this, pulling together knowledge from the highly experienced to newbies, results in a mass of valuable information and resources that can't be matched anywhere else.
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Phasar66

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post03 Jun 2013, 07:30

The Watch looks amazing, I bet you it looks even better in the shade, you were brave to take a picture on the open with the sun shining, it brings out every imperfection You did a good job. I'm glad I could help a little. Be ready for the next project, this will not be the last :Prost:
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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post05 Jun 2013, 19:31

Thanks Phasar, again without your help as with others in the community I wouldn't be able to achieve the level of results that was done. I'm still waiting for my order of Cerium Oxide to polish off the micro scratches on the crystal. This time when I take apart the watch I'll take a photo and post it. We typically get so engrossed in our restoration that we tend to forget to document it via photos. Much Mahalos from Hawaii.

- Robert
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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post07 Jun 2017, 09:33

Well, I'm posting a follow-up post 4 yrs and 1 day after I did my original restoration posts. About 6 months ago I failed to remove my watch battery after the display went dead and when I finally got to replacing it my worst fears were realized, battery leak! I noticed some surface corrosion and took the module apart and soaked it in alcohol. I also removed the LCD display and cleaned all the contacts. After leaving it out to dry I attempted to reassemble it. As I assembled it with a new battery the module did not turn on. I tried numerous times to clean and inspect the logic to see if there were any solder cracks. When I reconnected the new battery again the module started to come alive but also started behaving strangely. The display would "light" up momentarily then dissolve away. I tried several times to reassemble the display and double check the module connections. Unsuccessful I put all the parts in my project box and kept it there for another 6 months. This evening, 4 years and 1 day from my last post, for some reason I decided to revisit the watch project. I made one more attempt to apply power to the module and to my surprise it "lit" up and the time separator started flashing, dang! For some reason, the module became fully operational on its own! All I can say from this experience is, don't give up! If you get tired of the project, put it away and wait for another day when you are truly in a focused state of mind, and again, don't give up!
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azimuth_pl

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Re: I can't believe I just fix my new Seiko 0634

Post07 Jun 2017, 09:47

So true! :mega: They seem to have a mind of their own and on a sunny day might decide to wake up from hibernation :mrgreen:
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