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hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

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OmegaMan77

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hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post21 Nov 2016, 22:42

Hi folks

Who (if anyone) restores HP-01 watches to their former glory on here?

I am talking about restoring the case and crystal (if possible)

Also I know module restoration is possible thanks to a thread I saw on here.

I dont have a HP-01 yet, but this is just for future reference. :grin1:
Only the most simple can accomodate the most complex.
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Kasper

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post04 Dec 2016, 15:07

You are here to learn my friend. It takes time to restore a case and glass. You have to do it yourself cause its way to expensive to let others do it for you.
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OmegaMan77

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post04 Dec 2016, 22:22

Kasper wrote:You are here to learn my friend. It takes time to restore a case and glass. You have to do it yourself cause its way to expensive to let others do it for you.



Teach me then, O Master.....
Only the most simple can accomodate the most complex.
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767Geoff

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

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OmegaMan77

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post04 Dec 2016, 23:28

Only the most simple can accomodate the most complex.
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coconutman351

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post10 Jun 2019, 21:23

Any recommendations on restoring a gold filled bezel? The bezel does have some scratches but no gold has been been scratched off. Am I better off just doing a polish vs. light sanding to obtain a smooth surface like how you restore a SS model. The Pulsar GF appear to be resilient to obtain that brushed restoration work. Any feedback would be appreciated.

thank you,
Robert
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gjlelec

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post13 Jun 2019, 00:02

Take my advice, if you want to experiment restoring, don't do it on an expensive watch like a HP 01. Bite the bullet, take the money and pay someone. I've sent loads to the LED graveyard with my "repairs" Dont know if he'd want to do it but 767 geoff knows these watches inside out. but there are plenty of people on here skilled at case refurbing. The gold plate on these watches is couple of microns pissy thin, it doesnt easily forgive "i'll have a go'ers"- Good luck
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bruce wegmann

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post13 Jun 2019, 01:27

There is a world of difference between "gold plated" and "gold filled". To put all this in perspective, consider that the average thickness of gold plating is 2-5 microns. A micron is a thousandth of a millimeter, or .00003937 inches (so, on the high side, a typical plating is .0001968 inches thick, or about two ten-thousandths of an inch). As tiny a thickness as this is, it is still 20-50 times thicker than gold leaf (which is usually about 0.1 micron).
Gold fill, in contrast, is usually 40-80 microns thick (Pulsar used the industry standard of 80 microns; about .00315 inch; roughly the thickness of a sheet of printer paper, on the cases...the bracelets were 20 microns). So, gold fill is, on average, 16-40 times thicker than plating.
I would consider plated watches unrestorable, except by re-plating. Even goldfilled watches are marginal, at best; there is still no real amount of metal to work with...anything beyond gentle abrasions or light scratches, is essentially the end of the story.
I can work magic on stainless or solid gold, but, in 15 years, I doubt I have restored as many as a dozen goldfilled cases.
Last edited by bruce wegmann on 13 Jun 2019, 06:20, edited 1 time in total.
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coconutman351

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post13 Jun 2019, 05:23

Thanks all. Advice taken. This is why I ask experienced members on this forum important questions before attempting any restoration work on vintage timepieces. I truly appreciate your inputs.
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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post08 Aug 2020, 19:38

Another HP restoration work. Recently won an eBay auction and really lucked out. HP-01 was listed as non-working and for parts and because it was not listed properly it didn't reach the main category of the HP-01 listings. So bidding competition was just between two wholesalers. I manged to win against both of them for $331.00. Watch had a missing clasp but I did have a spare alligator band from an earlier purchase. Completely opened up the watch and did major cleaning work on the keypad exterior as it was caked with tons of crud collected over the years and was literally frozen. I thought of removing the waterproofing keypad barrier but decided to leave it intact. Did some minor buffing of the case and repainted the keys. Lucked out with a case in relatively great condition with an almost pristine crystal and logo.This is #2 in the collection! Sometimes you can get lucky.
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767Geoff

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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post09 Aug 2020, 19:52

Excellent on many fronts. Perfect keyboard bezel, a hard plastic (Bakelite characteristics) with solid colour so scratches and chips don’t show up as much as the painted metal bezels.

Also, glad you did not remove the rubber pad. It is glued in place and heat or solvent strong enough to remove the glue will destroy the rubber pad.

Also, don’t know if you did but once the module is removed make sure to keep the keys in place by backing (inserting) a pad inside the case. This allows you to scrub the bezel without jostling the keys out of their individual square recesses in the rubber pad.

Also, now that you have confirmed a working LED display, in the future, if required you can replace the defective module with a Panamatik one.

Good job, Geoff
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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post09 Aug 2020, 20:32

Thanks Geoff, a TON of credit goes to you and this community in providing guidance in these restoration efforts. I knew the watch was logically functioning as the eBay posting showed a working display upon power up (i'm assuming when the batteries were inserted) but the seller stated that none of the buttons functioned or they didn't know how to work the watch. The decision to not remove the the keypad cover came from the recommendations from this forum, (might have been your previous postings I read) and that was great advice. The back cover had this rubber like elastic cover and I felt if I broke that seal it would compromise the keypad ability to resist water and I did insert a backing behind the seal to prevent the keys from falling out of place or rotating. I'm posting a couple of "before" photos that were taken directly from the listing. I also restored the colors of the buttons by using a hobby acrylic paint by simple filling the buttons with a dab of paint, letting it dry a bit then slowing scraping off the excess with a sharp wooden point. I does the trick and can always be reapplied if needed. Since the buttons and, surprisingly the yellow function indicators in the middle of the keypad, were engraved it made resolving the finished product easier. My other HP had more of a silkscreen yellow function indicators on the keypad so I had to be really careful not to rub it off. Also great to know that we have access to the Panamatik module replacement. I did read about the history of this module development and the amazing level of work did to reverse engineer the code.

I did run a quick functional test after cleaning the keypad and all functions are operational.
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Re: hewlett packard HP-01 restoration

Post27 Apr 2021, 00:42

Another restoration project on the way. This one will be a lot harder than the previous HPs. Based on the initial photos by the seller thinking of this approach however comments are welcome too!

Crystal, since the logo is gone and it is heavily scratched I plan to do the remove and flip crystal strategy. Will see if some polishing work is needed on the impacted side if the scratches are bad enough to distort the LEDs.

Keys, not sure how the restore the original black anodized finish as it appears to be all rubbed off due to use. I do not plan on removing the rubber backing as I've read many recommendations NOT to remove it. However I will need to keep the keys in place while working on the bezel.

For that bezel, there is heavy wear on the edges and I've read some have tried the "Sharpie" fix but would like some thoughts around that. Edges appear rough so I may need to do some light fine sanding to smooth out the impacted edges. Was also thinking about possibly repainting the bezel. However before I consider that I'll need to find out if the yellow function icons are recessed or silk screen on the surface. Suggestions would be helpful if there are other options.

Case and band appear to be in really good condition so some minimal clean up should be fine.
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