Finepics

Not sure if you have already seen them but not expensive and PVD buckles supplied - very nice range especially the Pre-V's. http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c388/pam2pam/

Such is the dedication of our members!! (The phrase lost marbles springs to mind!!)

Just to bore you all with more technical details: PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition and this covers many different types of coating. The coatings typically deposited are TiN, AlTiN, TiAlN, CrN, CrCN, TiCN and ZrN.. ADLC (Amorphous Diamond Like Carbon) is a PACVD (Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition) and is harder than TiAIN and is processed at a higher temperature. PACVD process is able to deposit a range of ADLC coatings designed for specific application environments including variants for high precision applications, a low-stress version and a version for ceramics. I have a UK company here that can do both Ti and DLC coats and I am in the process of negotiating a price. I have already had a sample case done in TiAIN and although at first I found the colour a little strange i am told it is as dark as TiAIN can be so that is what I am sticking with!! I will notify the board as soon as I get the prices sorted out. It will be somewhere in the 80UK range I hope.

I have seen a pic (here somewhere?) of new prototypes that are coated with DLC (which is much blacker than TiAIN - not grey) and a black ceramic material. But the reps that should be PVD are older models particularly the Pre-A and Pre-V's which would be in TiAIN, and Panerai has not yet made a production model in DLC as far as I am aware (not sure about the 195).

For anyone wanting clarification of the type of coating that Panerai use on their PVD watches I have found an obscure reference to it in the book by Campo Negretti that says the coat is an anti scratch and anti reflection coat obtained after micro bead blasting and coating with Titanuim Nitride and is an Anthracite colour. So this has to be TiAIN (Titanium Aluminium Nitride) as opposed to TiN (Titanium Nitride) which is Gold, not black. The addition of Aluminium makes it go through darker shades (which are actually shades of purple that become dark enough to look grey/black). So it is not pure black as it is not possible to obtain black with TiAIN.

That is the PAM 036 with the original movt produced as a limited edition of 300 in 1998. In solid caseback models they were just decorated with Geneve stripes, then they started engraving them (like this) for the 036 and then went on to change the bridge plates to what we are all familiar with. Interestingly the Chinese copied this movt type originally which is why it appears in so many reps like this. This is also why the 036 rep is one of the most accurate off the shelf!!

Markus - nothing has arrived yet, strange since Germany not far and registered airmail usually takes 3-5 days. Could be today!!

I would have thought you just fit an ETA part. Available from Cousins or O.Frei and they only cost a couple of bucks.

RSM = Regimental Sergeant Major, A title for a senior Warrant Officer Class 1 and is the highest non commissioned rank for a soldier (A fully Comissioned Officer is the next step) just in case anyone was wondering.

No jacking off in the power shower with it on!!

Just dont lick the brush - youll be fine. It's low dose radiation from this stuff so quickly dissipates.

Gentlemen (and Ladies - who should really know better), the long wait for the AR coating is over for those of you who had it done this time around. They are done and on the way back to me. Most of you are also in on the datewheels which I hope will be back this week too. I will be offering this service again but only if there are sufficient takers. This last lot was really not worth doing as there was little interest and unfortunately for me it is a fixed price for up to a set amount so effectively I lost out on this round. But I feel that next time might prove more popular what with the cyclops and all!!

Thanks for the compliments - nice job on the CG - all it takes is a little imagination. @sssurfer - your dial should be with you very soon!!

Just to add my 2 cents - the reason the CG always looks skinny on the reps is because on the gens the crowns sits much closer to the case so does not need to be pulled out as far to adjust the hands. As a result the crown cut-out in the CG is not as deep so the CG looks fatter. The rep crowns sit much further out from the case so need a deeper cut-out to pull the crown into to adjust the hands, otherwise the size of the rep CG's is correct. All early PAMs have a CG that the top surface is curved from top to bottom to follow the profile of the case when looked at from the side and are much fatter than the modern PAM's.

Just looked at mine and it is 2 pieces - look a bit closer!!!

The bezel is held on with a compression plastic ring in the edge of the bezel. You need to pry the bezel up by working a thin blade all around the edge until it pops off. The crystal is seperate and will stay in the case. To fit it will need pressing on which you might be able to do with finger pressure.

Absolute waste of time - and if you have never done one before it's not a case of just painting it on. You stand a real risk of ruining the dial in one go. The proper lume comes as powder with a varnish and a diluting liquid. The mix of these allows you to control the flow to achieve a smooth finish. There is no substitute for the real thing (and that is what is used on the gen).

Yes I will be offering a PVD service - just waiting for company to finalise the price. This is a proper PVD TiAIN finish so is not jet black but more of a dark grey. Should have the prices this week.

I am a Dental technician and there are cements (thats what we call glue) that cure chemically or with the use of UV light. UV light will not work as it cannot penetrate solid objects and the cements are not usually designed for metal to metal but for tooth to metal - however I am sure they would work. Soldering steel is not easy, as has been mentioned, and the heat will discolour the bezel which would need lots of work to restore the brushed finish especially around the numbers. The gen 187 has white gold markers which cannot be soldered to SS so they must be fixed from under the bezel.

I had a similar experience with another member who sent me a watch that he had tried to re-lume as well with even worse results - luckily it was a sandwich dial and I was just about able to rescue it (it really was a mess). For anyone thinking of doing this take note - it is not easy at all, even though it does not look like there is much to it. Tritec makes at least 5 different binders/varnishes to suit different techniques and styles so it's not just a case of mixing it and painting it on. When you have done a 196 (as The Zigmeister has also done many of) you begin to see how really hard this is work is when you are dealing in .5 mm You would not believe the intense concentration needed (I sometimes get muscle spasms as a result), I think I remember Paplatine once saying he would never do another 196, and it certainly separates the men from the boys - so to speak!!

Excellent advice Neil - thanks for that. Yes the markers seem to be stuck on with some kind of clear resin glue (its not superglue) and the slightest knock can take them off. Also the letters are very sharply cut and the edges can easily catch on clothing which could also rip them off. Loctite make a thread lock which is red coloured and will do a perfect job of securing the screws.

No but airmail to the UK only takes a few days!!

The first and most obvious mod is a re-lume, then cannon pinion fix (there is plenty to read about this - although it might not be necessary) followed by a new crown.

Well she has to go for sure!! (hope she dosn't read this!!)

Ok Boys - I'll be waiting (trying to bulid up my concentration levels - eh Exper!!).