I can't keep playing the "I'm new, please help me" card so I'll try the "I'm an idiot" one instead.....

In these months of acquiring my first vintage watches, I've never had the need to unscrew the caseback, after all I'm not able to do anything once they're open so I haven't bothered.

However in the pursuit of trying to learn bits and pieces I happened across an Ad for 'caseback removing putty'?

Does it actually work, or are there better alternatives for how shall I say it 'the less experienced members', who don't want to turn the back of their watch into a road map?

 

Never really heard of case opening putty, but if you want something inexpensive to try that can't do any damage, get a case opening ball.

I was quite skeptical with these when they first came out years ago, but I added one to an order at a material house and figured the dog could chase it for $4 if it didn't work. But it is something I keep at my bench at all times now. Just make sure the case back, and the ball, are clean, and it does quite a good job of opening and closing case backs.

They probably sell them on eBay, but here is a link to what I am referring to at a known material supplier:

http://www.esslinger.com/watchcaseopeningfictionball.aspx

Just a general note when opening watch cases - always clean around the case back before you remove it. you want to prevent any debris that is present from falling into the movement. This is a common issue with the quartz battery swap places in the local mall - they rarely take the time to clean the case before cracking the watch open, and this leads to problems with the train being blocked with debris.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks Al, that looks like a good option and very similar to the 'putty' that I had seen which you shape into a ball and use in the same fashion.

While I appreciate that it's not what a lot of you guys would think about using, having never taken a case back off before I'm looking for the option that prevents the least accidental damage as possible, especially for the first few times.

Like all things, once it becomes second nature I expect I'll graduate to what the 'more experienced' members use, 'cos eventually I might be one of them

Thanks to both for your replies....

Mike

 

Interesting - might need to try one of those. Not sure I would use it on a case back like this, though......

 

Um...don't.
Just use whatever was used to remove it for your photo.
Chances are the ball would grip the non-enameled edge and work just fine, but I wouldn't take ANY chance!

 

Two tips for keeping your balls in best working order:
1/ When not in use, keep it wrapped in cling film - this keeps the dust off of it.
2/ Keep it inflated - they work much better that way. The needle type adapter you get with a car tyre inflator does the trick in a couple of seconds.

 

In my experience, this tool works better than the balls. Neither will work on very tight case backs, but I have had good success with this:

http://www.esslinger.com/images/products/detail/2533.1.jpg

 

I have one of those as well - in my experience the ball works much better. I use the ball basically every day, several times per day and as noted if it's clean and inflated properly, it's great.

Of course for really tight case backs, you need something more substantial - I have the Bergeon 5700 with a set of friction dies, and also brand specific dies for Rolex, Panerai, and of course Omega.

Cheers, Al

 

Awesome! And to think I used those cans of compressed air to move dust from one place to another!

 

I have one of those too and it works pretty well although it does seem to put a lot of pressure on the threads when you are pushing down hard which causes additional friction and I dont think helps in opening the case.