A hand-me-down 4006 6021

[Johvic]

I got my first ever bell matic from a co worker who was cleaning his garage and found his first ever watch hanging from a nail.  He decided to give it to me since he knew that I love watches. This piece had been through a lot of wrist time but works wonderfully except for the date and day, maybe had been banged up hard.  Oh well, this will be my WIP for 2012 I guess.



Items on the list are
1. New Crystal
1. Service / repair / lube movement
1. New seals
1. Polish / brush casing
1. Find a decent strap / bracelet.

[JohnN]

Congratulations!  The dial and hands look great!   

[f-stop]

I expected it to be a LOT worse for wear considering where it was found! Congrats on a great first Bell!

[StartSomething]

Very nice!
 
I absolutely agree with both previous posts - hands and dial appear to be great and from what you described of the watch's previous life I would have expected it to look much worse...
 
Please keep us posted about your project's progress!
 
Best,
Hermann

[Johvic]

Thanks guys,  the insides of the watch was immaculate, looks like it was never disassembled.  Most of the wear marks can be seen on the crystal,  the old man is a mechanic so you can have an idea of what abuse that watch has been through. 
I'm waiting for replies for parts so that the restoration can begin. 

[Johvic]

BTW, it came with this bracelet.





And this is how bad the crystal's condition is.

[puckhog]

Hi, I am new to the site. I just inherited a gold 4006-6010 Sieko Bell Matic. It runs fine but, but I could not figure out how to operate the alarm. Thanks to U-Tube, I have now mastered it. It presently has a leather band, what are the chances of locating a gold metal band?....

[JohnN]

Hi, I am new to the site. I just inherited a gold 4006-6010 Sieko Bell Matic. It runs fine but, but I could not figure out how to operate the alarm. Thanks to U-Tube, I have now mastered it. It presently has a leather band, what are the chances of locating a gold metal band?....

  to SCWF and the Bell-matics Forum, puckhog!  The yellow-gold 4006-601x did come on some handsome bracelets. Finding a vintage one in good shape will be difficult. Modern bracelets are an option, but I found that the 19mm lugwidth of this style Belle limited my choices without modifying the endpiece. 

[Johvic]

Ordered the seals from Pete the last weekend.     can't wait!

[Johvic]

Seals have arrived in the mail from Pete!


Items on the list now are
1. New Crystal
1. Service / repair / lube movement
1. New seals
1. Polish / brush casing
1. Find a decent strap / bracelet.



Thanks Pete!

[/size][/font][/color]

[CarrollGardener]

Funny...I just acquired one identical to the square case example from the mechanic. And in fact the one thing it needs is a crystal. Did you by any chance locate one yet? I haven't even got round to finding the part number.

[Johvic]

Hi,


I've ordered one from the bay and am waiting for it to arrive.  Will let you know if it fits well.   

[StartSomething]

Hi all,
 
I have had pretty good experiences with this seller's crystals:
 
250976261195
 
That experience is based on my however very limited watchmaking skills plus you will need the original crystal retaining ring, since the crystal comes without one. However, fit and especially shape are better than the Sternkreutz replacements, IMO.
 
Best,
Hermann

[croolis]

hello Johvic ..
firstly that's a nice catch!!
the bracelet appears to be an original seiko, I wouldn't know if original to the watch but it's the same one I have on my 6139-6005 except with different endpieces. If I am correct, it should have STL Stelux on the clasp - these are premium quality bracelets and they look beautiful too .. I wouldn't replace that!
the crystal is probably salvageable .. i've just done one of mine as follows ... first a rub with 400 grit dry sandpaper, then a rub with 1200 grit wet/dry, followed by a rub with a tissue and some 'peek' (which is a metal polish paste) .. i'll be posting the end-result in a second nothing short of amazing ..
following the 1200 grit, the crystal should be a milky white, and at this point it is easy to see where there are deaper gouges and a bit more rubbing needs to be done.
These are plastic crystals (as someone in another thread kindly informed me) and they really don't take that much elbow grease ..
give it a try nothing to lose!

[Johvic]

Hi Croolis,


I may try salvaging the crystal, I've used metal polish on my old Nokia screens before and it does shine very nicely.  I checked the bracelet, and it does have the Stelux emblem printed on the clasp. I will also try refurbishing this bracelet. 


Thanks for the inputs!  Much obliged!

[Johvic]

Thanks for the tip Croolis!  This is how it came out,  I still need a decent metal polish cream.  I used 800 grit and 1200 grit,  I can't find my 2500 grit sandpaper 





I still need the crystal taken off, I can see dirt lodged between the case and the crystal, and I want to give that black ring a good resurfacing 

[Johvic]

Finally,  the watch came back to me in this condition.





bracelets fixed



new seals in place





and looks and feels good on my wrist.



Thanks for everybody who put their 2 cents in rebuilding this awesome watch. 

[StartSomething]

That looks excellent!
 
 
 
Enjoy that beefy Belle!
 
Best,
Hermann

[slipperywhen wet]

Well done. Looks lovely.