babola Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 I believe by now just about everyone would agree that these new A7753 powered Daylight Chronos are some of the best reps in general to hit the market in the last couple of years. The fit and finish, attention to detail and most importantly gen specs and measure make these reps head above the rest Panerai reps on the market these days. The only few smaller issues that let this rep down and may require a little attention to are around the CG and CG lever fitment and appearance. Like with many more here who ordered their Daylights in the last 2-3 weeks from the Cartel boys, my PAM236 wasn't immune to these problems. The lever was sticking out when closed by almost 0.75mm. Being a watch modder and usually interested in "how things work" in general, I took the crown and CG assembly apart and dealt to the "issue" Here's the (before) stock photo sent by Andrew's QC person. You can see the lever sticking out as well as gaps between the tips of the CG feet and the case: Having taken the bits apart, here's what I noticed, in particular. - the case tube 'sticks' a little too far from the case (due to this, there's almost no spring-loaded crown play like on the gen Panerai, the crown almost sits flush with the crown tube when opened) - the default o'ring seal used is just a tad too thick - the rubber insert inside the lever is made of a very soft rubber, much softer than the rubber insert that come inside my Jimmy Fu CG levers. My mate PeteM suggested some sort of rubber/plastic hardener to be applied, sounds interesting and who knows - it may actually do the trick - the bridge feet aren't cut to fit the case line, on 99% of the CGs I've seen (mine included) there's a gap at the tips of the bridge arc, where the CG feet need to fit the case. Actually the two main issues that IMO are causing CG lever misfit, are the fact the crown tube is too long (sticks too far out), and the lever rubber tube insert if too soft. First thing that will give in when the lever is engaged against the crown is the rubber insert, resulting in lever to stick out of the CG. The mods I've done: - replaced the thick o'ring seal inside the crown with a flatter and thinner one - "squeezed" the ends of the CG bridge to deal to the gap between the CG and the case. This alone has done quite a lot to ease the pressure on the CG lever, as now the arc of the CG bridge is slightly higher (we're talking 0.3-0.4 of a mm difference here, so not much but still enough) - flattened and polished the CG pin. The pin is already flat enough, so this step isn't really required for the naked eye appearance...we're talking microns here - re-finished the CG top by shaving off some metal at the top. My (and many others I've seen on photos) CG came with a little dip around the CG pin, making the top of the pin appear more sunken and round than it really is. I've just got rid of that little sunken part around the pin head, that's all. - re-brushed the CG top to restore the satinized brushed S/S finish. Few 'after' pics of the finished CG mod below: Hope some of the community may find this helpful...happy modding! As always, drop me a PM in case of any questions, or just post here. I'd love to see the CG/Lever mods of others as well...if you have any please post here...thanks cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Very Impressive,nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank996 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 that's great. i've done everything but bend it to fit the case. can you expand on that a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babola Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 that's great. i've done everything but bend it to fit the case. can you expand on that a bit? Sure, no problems Brian. I used my garage workshop vice for this. It's best to use some sort of dampener on each side of the vice's metal bars. I use two smaller pieces of hardwood, but you can use other material. Place the CG inside the vice, it's feet tips to rest against these two wooden protectors. I place the CG horizontally (lever hole facing up) so it's easy to monitor the squeeze and effect it has on the rectangular cavity for the crown. Engage the vice and start turning VERY slowly. The important bit to note is that even though the CG is made of solid piece of S/S and appears to be something hard to change the shape of even by vice...the CG will bend very easily, so take it slowly, bit by bit...removing the CG from the vice and placing it against the case to check how far you're from that 'perfect' fit, then repeat. It took me about 3 tries. This method isn't perfect and not for everyone, I have to say. It's so easy to scr3w things up if you overshoot with the pressure and squeeze, as well as very easy to damage the end of the CG. Also, and this is VERY IMPORTANT to note for potential modders...since the CG isn't symmetrical, meaning it's solid on one side and has a lever cavity on the other - when you apply the pressure to the ends, ONLY the side with the lever cavity will bend towards the middle! There isn't a workaround to this at least not that I know of, it's simple physics and unfortunately you cannot do much about it. Go too far and you'll end up with one side bent too much and another not at all...not a great look, so please try to avoid this by having few goes at the vice, and re-check in between. Hope this helps. Do you have any photos of your mods at this stage? cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babola Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Very Impressive,nice work Thanks mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 B- Stunning work on that CG. Watch looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Wow nicely done and very well documented! These are really starting to grow on me a lot! That small mod makes such a huge difference!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Great tutorial B. Feeling the love and might have to jump on a 162 - a grail of sorts for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babola Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Thanks guys, much appreciated. D, who wouldn't like to have a 162, the first Panerai Chrono model If they get those subdials right it won't be long until I pull a trigger on one of those. I believe there's someone on another forum that promised a 162 review of sorts, not sure. cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esco Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Thank you for sharing...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossanti Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Thanks for sharing mate..if i have the $$ to pull this baby I will let you know..maybe need more advice from you! Nice one job matey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 As I said before I am not talking to you....!!!!! Great post mate, sweet looking watch, that mod moves the watch up a notch in gen-ness. I tried to get a vice myself after seeing your mod..... but I got arrested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgodeep Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Superb work B - reference tutorial for us all Cheers FGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0lf Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Great stuff well put together, as always So in conclusion, we have arrived. What are your thoughts on the theory of the next batch of these sucking, as is frequently the case with repdom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank996 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Sure, no problems Brian. I used my garage workshop vice for this. It's best to use some sort of dampener on each side of the vice's metal bars. I use two smaller pieces of hardwood, but you can use other material. Place the CG inside the vice, it's feet tips to rest against these two wooden protectors. I place the CG horizontally (lever hole facing up) so it's easy to monitor the squeeze and effect it has on the rectangular cavity for the crown. Engage the vice and start turning VERY slowly. The important bit to note is that even though the CG is made of solid piece of S/S and appears to be something hard to change the shape of even by vice...the CG will bend very easily, so take it slowly, bit by bit...removing the CG from the vice and placing it against the case to reach that 'perfect' fit, then repeat. It took me about 3 tries. This method isn't perfect and not for everyone, I have to say. It's so easy to scr3w things up if you overshoot with the pressure and squeeze, as well as easy to damage the end of the CG. Also, and this is VERY IMPORTANT to note for potential modders...since the CG isn't symmetrical, meaning it's solid on one side and has a lever cavity on the other - when you apply the pressure to the ends, ONLY the side with the lever cavity will bend towards the middle! There isn't a workaround to this at least not that I know of, it's simple physics and unfortunately you cannot do much about it. Go too far and you'll end up with one side bent too much and another not at all...not a great look, so please try to avoid this by having few goes at the vice, and re-check in between. Hope this helps. Do you have any photos of your mods at this stage? cheers! thanks very much. I'm a little leary about bending it as it is so easy to mess up. Seems like the best way to acomplish the mod though, both the lever and case fittament issues. from all the pictures i've seen, the cg pin looks a tiny bit deeper than flush. here's mine along with a gen pic for reference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babola Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 from all the pictures i've seen, the cg pin looks a tiny bit deeper than flush. here's mine along with a gen pic for reference... Very nice result Brian! Yeah, the gen Pams can be all over the place when it comes to CG pins, even as new. Some are perfectly flush with the top of the CG, some little sunken. I believe the pin on a gen Panerai allows a little more travel, so if you push it little too far in it can end up looking sunken. Not 100% sure about this but that's what I noticed on many a gen Pam, though. My Jimmy Fu CG pins are the same, while flat on top, if you push them a little further they will end up being sunken. Most of the other cartel rep CGs I have don't 'travel' that much in. cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babola Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Great stuff well put together, as always So in conclusion, we have arrived. What are your thoughts on the theory of the next batch of these sucking, as is frequently the case with repdom? Thanks M! Well, I asked Andrew (Trusty) ...he said this is it and no new versions being planned by this factory, "this is as good as it gets" he said. He also pointed out that the factory is now cognizant of the CG issues and are a little more careful during the assembly. I don't know what that means exactly, sorry. I heard some rumors by some members of the rep forums about "V2" with updated CG/crown assembly possibly on a horizon soon, but Andrew quickly denied it. Who knows at this stage mate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikman Posted October 4, 2010 Report Share Posted October 4, 2010 So I bent mine using a pipe wrench. Very true about pressure, I was easily able to bend mine in 2 very gentle squeezes, though maybe a bit too much. It's obvious the one side isn't square anymore and the bottom side of the crown now almost touches the CG on that side but the lever is about 40% better than it was. Now if I could just file the angled side to square nicely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1mmy Posted October 4, 2010 Report Share Posted October 4, 2010 So I was looking at getting one of these, specifically the white faced Daylight. However, in all the pics on all the dealer's sites, they have a polished CG and screw in strap pins as opposed to what looks like quick release on the black face versions. The gen should all have quick release straps and brushed CG whether white or black face. What gives with the reps? Anyone else noticed this or have experience on whether the white faced daylight is wrong? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikman Posted October 4, 2010 Report Share Posted October 4, 2010 So I was looking at getting one of these, specifically the white faced Daylight. However, in all the pics on all the dealer's sites, they have a polished CG and screw in strap pins as opposed to what looks like quick release on the black face versions. The gen should all have quick release straps and brushed CG whether white or black face. What gives with the reps? Anyone else noticed this or have experience on whether the white faced daylight is wrong? Tim I have the 251K and it is brushed CG and quick release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1mmy Posted October 4, 2010 Report Share Posted October 4, 2010 I have the 251K and it is brushed CG and quick release. I might be wrong - having checked some gens for sale, the white does seem to come with poliched CG and screw in pins.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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