cls Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 If you are like me, the most glaring defect in a rep Panerai is the crown guard. It doesn't move smoothly, some lock closed too much, some not at all and the pin... After receiving my PAM 111H from Andrew, day 1 the crown guard fell off. Don't ask how I found the pieces, but I did. Step 1 was to open the back and gently back out the winding stem about 1/2mm before tightening the screw. This gave just enough room for the crown guard to lock in with a positive snap but not so much that it wouldn't open easily. Step 2 was to remove the entire crown guard assembly. You could remove the pin from the back using a bracelet tool, in my case the pin was already out. I inserted the pin through the guard and lever and used a small amount of crazy glue on the underside of the crown guard. The glue allowed me to hold the pin in place and leave the top of it a little high. My rep, and just about all of them I have seen had the pin driven in place leaving a mark on the top, as well as being recessed. I have seen authentic Panerai's with recessed pins, but I think it looks much more professional to have a flush pin. And definitely no mark on the top. With the pin slightly proud, I then placed a sheet of 600 grit wet dry sandpaper flat on a table, and carefully sanded the top of the crown guard moving the guard and not the paper. It surprisingly only took a couple of minutes for a nice flush finish. The result: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 If you are like me, the most glaring defect in a rep Panerai is the crown guard. It doesn't move smoothly, some lock closed too much, some not at all and the pin... After receiving my PAM 111H from Andrew, day 1 the crown guard fell off. Don't ask how I found the pieces, but I did. Step 1 was to open the back and gently back out the winding stem about 1/2mm before tightening the screw. This gave just enough room for the crown guard to lock in with a positive snap but not so much that it wouldn't open easily. Step 2 was to remove the entire crown guard assembly. You could remove the pin from the back using a bracelet tool, in my case the pin was already out. I inserted the pin through the guard and lever and used a small amount of crazy glue on the underside of the crown guard. The glue allowed me to hold the pin in place and leave the top of it a little high. My rep, and just about all of them I have seen had the pin driven in place leaving a mark on the top, as well as being recessed. I have seen authentic Panerai's with recessed pins, but I think it looks much more professional to have a flush pin. And definitely no mark on the top. With the pin slightly proud, I then placed a sheet of 600 grit wet dry sandpaper flat on a table, and carefully sanded the top of the crown guard moving the guard and not the paper. It surprisingly only took a couple of minutes for a nice flush finish. The result: Nice post. But I wasn't aware there was 1/2mm of slop in the positioning of the winding stem. Mine seem to snap into place and that's that. I have had to back out the crown slightly and then loctite it into place to acheive the effect you're describing with the tightly closing lever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cls Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Nice post. But I wasn't aware there was 1/2mm of slop in the positioning of the winding stem. Mine seem to snap into place and that's that. I have had to back out the crown slightly and then loctite it into place to acheive the effect you're describing with the tightly closing lever... I haven't dis-assembled and looked at the keyless works, but backing out the winding stem before tightening the screw worked. Maybe it was not inserted correctly when I got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted November 22, 2006 Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 Nicework! I agree that that most pins on gen PAMs are flush. Question: I'd like to do this on one of mine, but it has a milled lever to accomodate a lello crown--will this pin mod affect the operation or the position of the lever in any way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaccum Posted November 22, 2006 Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 I haven't dis-assembled and looked at the keyless works, but backing out the winding stem before tightening the screw worked. Maybe it was not inserted correctly when I got it. What I can tell is that the crown stem was not installed correctly. vaccum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cls Posted November 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 Nicework! I agree that that most pins on gen PAMs are flush. Question: I'd like to do this on one of mine, but it has a milled lever to accomodate a lello crown--will this pin mod affect the operation or the position of the lever in any way? Shouldn't effect the lever in any way because the pin is in the same position relative to the lever. It's a VERY slight up/down adjustment of the pin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cls Posted November 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 What I can tell is that the crown stem was not installed correctly. vaccum Do you think it was not installed correctly when I received it, or it looks off now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pannylovernr1 Posted November 22, 2006 Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 Great tip, got to try that with a bostonwatchexchange pad I've just ordered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaccum Posted November 22, 2006 Report Share Posted November 22, 2006 Do you think it was not installed correctly when I received it, or it looks off now? The pin in the picture looks awsome. vaccum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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