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ChrisN
·I believe that Adam may be taking on work again. You could try him.
https://www.watchcaseworks.co.uk/
Cheers, Chris
https://www.watchcaseworks.co.uk/
Cheers, Chris
Restoring corroded gold capped case [UK]
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silverbitz
·I'd enjoy it for what it is. Why mess to make something worse?
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hockysa
·got responses back from all the referrals from this thread
no beuno =[
no beuno =[
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Horologist
·Hi All,
I'm looking to restore my grandaddies 1952 Omega Seamaster which has not fared well in Singapore's humidity.
I've contacted Simon Freese who said he's not able to do anything about the corrosion since the watch is gold capped rather than plated.
Just wondering if there was any other options to restore a corroded gold capped watch.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Warm regards,
Benjamin
I don't post often as I am more of a a lurker. Years ago, I was a silent partner in a horology boutique (hence my user name Horologist) where I did a lot of the behind the scenes parts of running the business and we were amongst the first to deal with vintage watches back in the late 1980s, specializing in Rolex and Omega. Bad health and family issues brought an end to this.
I would be worried more on how corroded the gasket groove is which holds the seal as this is the Achilles heel of the watch case which is the section most collectors fail to look into as it is the part which sucks up the corrosive fluids from your skin and the environment through osmosis and capillary action. I must say that I have found it more on vintage Rolex watches than on vintage Omegas - which has always puzzled me.
We specialized in stainless steel cases as we did a lot of restoration to stainless steel cases. Our gold smith was very talented with gold and stainless steel work. All I can say is that you are lucky that you have a gold cap case as it might be possible with todays technology to have the back lugs covered with gold gilt of say 120 microns of gold foil to stop any further corrosion of the stainless steel. As one other member posted is to have the case passivated. You can try to do this with removing the movement and crystal, then placing it in a solution of citric acid and distilled water. This will remove all the loose iron that is causing the issue. I would then rinse it with distilled water and then dry it thourougly. If you have an electric oven (NOT GAS !!!!) I would leave it in it for about 10 minutes at the lowest temperature possible. This will remove any of the moisture which is trapped deep inside the pitted tunnels of the steel. It is moisture which feeds corrosion and unfortunately when pitting /corrosion starts, it is almost impossible to stop.
Once this is done, you have a choice to spray it with a lacquer designed for coating brass musical instruments. You can choose other products such as protectaclear or Rustoleum (Acrylic or enamel clear) for example and let it cure. Make sure you mask the threads and the gold sections to avoid excess run off. This will act as a protective layer on the steel, especially in the gasket groove which houses the seal. But before doing this, if you have a jewellery supplier or someone that works in gold guilding, to have sections cut out of gold foil to adhere to the rear of the lugs with some epoxy, cement or silicone adhesive and then still use the sealer over it as an extra security for the stainless rim of the case back. It is not a cure but at least it prevents further decay of your prized heirloom. Remember that no one will see this as it is in the back.
I would encourage you and most others who are unfamiliar with the pitfalls of stainless steel to read this link with the responses given by OysterCollector in post #7, 10, 14,19,10 and 22 in.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/vin...our-vintage-watches-clean-corrosi-t36586.html
One thread ALL COLLECTORS OF STAINLESS STEEL VINTAGE WATCHES should read!!
Good luck!!!
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Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.Here's an idea that probably won't see much traction on this forum: fill the voids with epoxy resin. I would use West System marine epoxy with colloidal silica filler. The filler permits to adjust the viscosity of the epoxy from very liquid up to a thick paste. It becomes almost glass-like when fully cured.
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hockysa
·I would be worried more on how corroded the gasket groove is which holds the seal
there's now gaps in the gasket groove, when i took the back case off as i tightened it the gasket gets caught and comes out the side of one of the gaps
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Horologist
·yeah that's the reason I'd like the corrosion attended to.
there's now gaps in the gasket groove, when i took the back case off as i tightened it the gasket gets caught and comes out the side of one of the gaps
Without seeing a photo, I am no so sure if the corrosion is the reason for why the gasket comes from the side. It seems more like that the gasket is dry and needs lubricating with some silicone grease. It has happened to me with new watches when the gasket was dry.
Regarding the gaps in the gasket groove, I would clean them as best as possible, like the method I described in an earlier post and then fill them in with either JB weld or cold solder paste with a fine tooth pick and smoothe them off while still workable by sitting in a new gasket to level the fills with the rest of the groove. Then remove the gasket and with a cotton bud dipped in metal polish, brasso or metal cutting compound,or even some 1500 wet and dry sand paper skim it slightly. Then laqueur it with any sealer for metals? You might want to do the same wig the deep pittings under the lugs if your confident. Give it a go! You have nothing to loose, Good luck!
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seber
·As one other member posted is to have the case passivated. You can try to do this with removing the movement and crystal, then placing it in a solution of citric acid and distilled water. This will remove all the loose iron that is causing the issue.
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Horologist
·S seberCommercially this is done with nitric acid. Of course that's just a quick dip. How long would it take with citric acid?
See the following site just under ASTM A967 citric acid passivation treatments. this will tell you the time fames under different temperatures. I would also use it in n ultrasonic cleaner just to make sure that it goes as far as possible in the internal corrosion that is not seen;
https://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=68
As a former engineer in materials science, my preference would always be citric acid. There have been long term debates in the past on which is better, but each to their own.
a nice article to read ( not written by me by the way)
https://www.besttechnologyinc.com/passivation-systems/nitric-vs-citric-acid-passivation/
good luck!!!
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hockysa
·See the following site just under ASTM A967 citric acid passivation treatments. this will tell you the time fames under different temperatures. I would also use it in n ultrasonic cleaner just to make sure that it goes as far as possible in the internal corrosion that is not seen;
https://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=68
As a former engineer in materials science, my preference would always be citric acid. There have been long term debates in the past on which is better, but each to their own.
a nice article to read ( not written by me by the way)
https://www.besttechnologyinc.com/passivation-systems/nitric-vs-citric-acid-passivation/
good luck!!!
As a former mechanical engineer that did very poorly in material science in uni, I am not trusting myself at attempting any of this lol
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seber
·See the following site just under ASTM A967 citric acid passivation treatments. this will tell you the time fames under different temperatures. I would also use it in n ultrasonic cleaner just to make sure that it goes as far as possible in the internal corrosion that is not seen;
https://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=68
As a former engineer in materials science, my preference would always be citric acid. There have been long term debates in the past on which is better, but each to their own.
a nice article to read ( not written by me by the way)
https://www.besttechnologyinc.com/passivation-systems/nitric-vs-citric-acid-passivation/
good luck!!!
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AriTheWatchmaker
·A good jeweler with a Laser-Welding setup can do the steel fill and the gold fill where needed. I dont know of anyone that recaps with gold-filled sheet stock, but there may be someone out there.
Usually when laser filling the steel, it is difficult to get stainless wire to adhere to the corrosion, so some experimentation is required to get it to work. Usually people get 304 or 416 stainless, and it isnt the same material the case was made of, so it has some electrochemical issues binding.
Maybe someone knows the type of steel used for Omegas in the 1950's but I would work that side while trying to find a competent tradesman to do the lasering.
The gold will flow and stick to most anything that you laser it to- my jeweler uses gold to laser steel where the corrosion doesnt allow it to weld properly.
Usually when laser filling the steel, it is difficult to get stainless wire to adhere to the corrosion, so some experimentation is required to get it to work. Usually people get 304 or 416 stainless, and it isnt the same material the case was made of, so it has some electrochemical issues binding.
Maybe someone knows the type of steel used for Omegas in the 1950's but I would work that side while trying to find a competent tradesman to do the lasering.
The gold will flow and stick to most anything that you laser it to- my jeweler uses gold to laser steel where the corrosion doesnt allow it to weld properly.
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Horologist
·Maybe someone knows the type of steel used for Omegas in the 1950's but I would work that side while trying to find a competent tradesman to do the lasering.
.
Most of the stainless steel omega lines from caliber 351 up to caliber 552/562 all used 304L stainless steel according to the xrf analysis we performed prior to conducting any type of work. It is also known as 18-8 or 18-10 which is means 18 parts chromium and 8 or 10 parts Nickel. Most of the earlier cases were staybrite stainless steel which was a brand name of the similar 304L stainless. L means low carbon. You will find that most old kitchen and laundry sinks were of this grade stainless including some cutlery
Usually when laser filling the steel, it is difficult to get stainless wire to adhere to the corrosion, so some experimentation is required to get it to work..
The gold will flow and stick to most anything that you laser it to- ………………... the corrosion doesnt allow it to weld properly.
Ditto, you cannot weld to anything that is rusted as it is an oxide of the metal. Grinding out the rust is the only real option but then it defeats the purpose as you have very little to work with. Passivation can help as it can repassivate the chromium layer but it is a hit or a miss, depending on how deep the corrosion is. I am not a fan of welding as stainless is not heat treatable and needs to be pickled with Nitric acid once welded otherwise you can risk having heat induced corrosion which puts you in a vicious circle.
The OP's best option would be also to fill in the pits and corrosion after passivation with products such as
https://www.gluesaustralia.com.au/selleys-metallic-cement-resists-boiling-water-petr (disclaimer: I have no vested interest in this product either directly or indirectly and is purely for the purpose of information only)
and slowly fill in the corrosion with a small toothpick or spatula of some kind and patiently work around it. Sanding would also help to flush with existing surface. I am just as eager to see this restored as OP is!!!!
