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Hi Watch bangers!
I did actually make it a personal goal of mine to present a watch every week but real-life caught up and ive been busy helping people move around haha. Bit nevertheless I am a week late but have another beautifull watch and project report for you guys!
Before you read the whole report I have made a fully commentated 4K Macro video of the whole process for the lazy ones out there. I have uploaded it to my Youtube channel and it would bring me great joy if you would watch it!
Now going ahead with the written version!
This watch was one of a few which I presented my Mother for her birthday to let her decide which one I should fix for her. She chose this vintage Seiko 4206A which I got from Ebay and so I sat down and got to work. Now I bought this watch online because I was really surprised at the remaining quality of the original dials and how there where still so many of them. After purchasing one and reading up a bit online it turned out that this movement line was particularly prone to behave irrationally or to repair so I kind of messe dup but nevertheless, I faced my challenge!
The watch on arrival:
![Watch Analog watch Clock Watch accessory Nickel]()
Disassembly
1. Remove the watch case by unscrewing the back and removing the stem
![Watch Gauge Clock Measuring instrument Circle]()
2. Remove the Watch hands
![Watch Automotive tire Gauge Clock Measuring instrument]()
3. Release the Dial feet from the back with the small levelr at the 10 and the 4 Position I think and remove the dial.
As you can see it is in pretty good condition and has a very pretty sunbust effect. There is a slight stain though around the “ Automatic” text which left me kind of clueless since it is a metal surface and I wouldn’t really know what would stain it in such a way. I decided to leave it be to minimize the risk of further damage. Heres a close up picture:
![Watch Clock Circle Font Metal]()
4. Remove the Day clip and the Day wheel underneath it. This revealed a very interesting sping-like swan neck system for the day-wheel quick set system. Never seen that before!
![Font Gas Measuring instrument Circle Fashion accessory]()
5. Then remove the Day wheel spring and the 24 Hour day turning wheel.
![Motor vehicle Font Fixture Metal Close-up]()
![Font Gas Metal Circle Engineering]()
6. Now you can unscrew and remove the main setting cover plate and the attached date wheel.
![Material property Motor vehicle Auto part Font Close-up]()
7. Take away the ( im not sure what this part really is called) but it is part of the quick set system which hooks into the second clutch wheel.
![]()
8. Now remove the Date Spring and lever, the bottom day wheel and the hour wheel to remove some more from the front side.
![Watch Helmet Analog watch Nickel Silver]()
9. Remove the one translation wheel and the setting system sub cover which also separated the two clutches.
![]()
10. And finally take out the clitches and the yoke, setting system to completely disassembly the front side. Now you can turn the movement so we can work further on the back side.
![Nickel Metal Fashion accessory Gas Jewellery]()
11. Remove the Rotor
![Rim Watch Bicycle part Circle Auto part]()
12. Take off the Automatic module
![Watch Bicycle part Material property Watch accessory Silver]()
13. Remove the Winding wheel Y ratchet. I did try to remove the winding wheel in the first run but for some reason the screw did not watch to budge so I left it in for the picture. Off camera however I eventually did make.
![Watch Watch accessory Material property Nickel Jewellery]()
14. Remove the elegant arching balance wheel. I was really surprised to see this in this kind of movement since I thought that this kind of design was only present in really high end watches. Interestingly enough the 4206 B however has the classical one winged balance.
![Watch Analog watch Material property Watch accessory Nickel]()
15. Remove the Pallet fork system ( sorry for the blurry focus)
![Bicycle part Engineering Auto part Nickel Machine]()
![Gear Door Wood Crankset Engineering]()
16. Take off the main bridge and and the small spring attached to one of the screws.
![]()
17. Pick out the Barrel, its ratchet and the 4th and 5th wheel. Interestingly enough the gears wheels have as many holes in them as the number which is kind of cool!
![Bicycle part Lock Metal Engineering Nickel]()
18. Now focus on the little winding module on the bottom right. Remove the translation wheel, the spring and the small bridge to take it out completely.
![Watch Household hardware Body jewelry Material property Nickel]()
19. Almost done! Take of the final bridge which holds down the 6th wheel and the escapement.
![Material property Composite material Household hardware Nickel Metal]()
20. And finally remove the 6th wheel and the escapement wheel. With that, we have completed the disassembly of the Seiko 4206A.
![Watch Circle Auto part Nickel Metal]()
Cleaning
For cleaning im still sticking to the good old hand cleaning method. So this means that I let the individual parts marinade in lighter fuel for a while before giving them a scrub and rinsing them of in Isopropanal alcohol. I was thinking about dipping my toes into the ultrasonic cleaning branch but im unsure what fluids to buy and what parts I cannot drop into the cleaner so I think ill stay with what works at the moment. Additionally im broke haha.
Mainspring service
Now as always I did not have a spare Mainspring at hand so I removed the spring by hand and checked it out:
![]()
As you can see it is / was absolutely disgusting haha so I gave It a good rub down in lighter fluid and isopropanol and the paper used for that was absolutely nasty in the end, see for yourself:
![Eye Eyelash Wood Jewellery Circle]()
![Snout Fish Tail Moth Wildlife]()
However, I did clean it nicely I think and lubricated the spring with Moebius 8200 and the barrel wit Moebius 8217 before winding the spring back in carefully. After closing the barrel I did a mainspring wind test with the winding wheel and it had tension on it so it seems like I did a decent enough job.
Lubrication
Moebius 9010 – All jewels aside from the pallet fork jewel pivots
Moebius HP 1300 – For parts which turn a bit slower. Between the arbour and the watches wheel, the barrel pivot in the main bridge or the metal pivots for translation wheels for example. But that’s just my personal tase
Moebius 8200 – Used to lubricate the mainspring
Moebius 8217 – Braking grease for automatic barrel wall
Moebius 9415 – For the tip of the pallet fork jewels.
Molycote DX Paste – Any strong friction contact points. So the setting and winding system basically
Reassembly
For the reassembly of course you just follow the above given steps and pictures from the disassembly backwards. Ive been thinking about making reassembly pictures as well, it would make the report way more comprehensive and would show more difficult nifty parts for example shock and balance jewel lubrication. However it would be way more annoying to take the pictures and it would cost me a lot more time. What do you all think?
Timegrapher Test
Okey, so once I’ve cleaned everything it was time to put my work to the test and I strapped the watch into the timegrapher. And this is the catastrophic result:
![Gadget Material property Font Display device Electronic device]()
This was the start of the snowstorm like reading which followed. It couldn’t really pick anything up and I was just devastated. Because I did not have any replacement balance on hand, I was desperate and opted to measuring the Rate my eye and stop watch. As you can think, this did not end up well so I ordered a lot of a few spare movement to butcher them for the balance.
![]()
After placing in the 4th replacement balance however, I managed to get a decent reading. The Amplitide could be better, but this is the way I left it in the end haha.
Final Results:
After the timegrapher drama I closed the back up and attached a basic rubber strap for testing purposes. And from here on its basically B-Roll pictures! Here is a comparison of the movements size to my pinkie finger!
![Watch Land vehicle Hand Automotive lighting Automotive tire]()
And here the final satisfying shot:
![Watch Analog watch Silver Clock Watch accessory]()
So yeah all in all a stressful but also fun little project which I could conclude by gifting the watch to my mother. I was very surprised to see the winged balance as well as challenged by working on a movement of this size but in the end I managed! I hope you all enjoyed reading this and that the guide may help other hobbysts or even professionals ( haha who am I kidding) in the future. Any comments, questions or criticism is of course welcome!
And so as always watch bangers...
Stay safe and healthy and till next time!
I did actually make it a personal goal of mine to present a watch every week but real-life caught up and ive been busy helping people move around haha. Bit nevertheless I am a week late but have another beautifull watch and project report for you guys!
Before you read the whole report I have made a fully commentated 4K Macro video of the whole process for the lazy ones out there. I have uploaded it to my Youtube channel and it would bring me great joy if you would watch it!
Now going ahead with the written version!
This watch was one of a few which I presented my Mother for her birthday to let her decide which one I should fix for her. She chose this vintage Seiko 4206A which I got from Ebay and so I sat down and got to work. Now I bought this watch online because I was really surprised at the remaining quality of the original dials and how there where still so many of them. After purchasing one and reading up a bit online it turned out that this movement line was particularly prone to behave irrationally or to repair so I kind of messe dup but nevertheless, I faced my challenge!
The watch on arrival:
Disassembly
1. Remove the watch case by unscrewing the back and removing the stem
2. Remove the Watch hands
3. Release the Dial feet from the back with the small levelr at the 10 and the 4 Position I think and remove the dial.
As you can see it is in pretty good condition and has a very pretty sunbust effect. There is a slight stain though around the “ Automatic” text which left me kind of clueless since it is a metal surface and I wouldn’t really know what would stain it in such a way. I decided to leave it be to minimize the risk of further damage. Heres a close up picture:
4. Remove the Day clip and the Day wheel underneath it. This revealed a very interesting sping-like swan neck system for the day-wheel quick set system. Never seen that before!
5. Then remove the Day wheel spring and the 24 Hour day turning wheel.
6. Now you can unscrew and remove the main setting cover plate and the attached date wheel.
7. Take away the ( im not sure what this part really is called) but it is part of the quick set system which hooks into the second clutch wheel.
8. Now remove the Date Spring and lever, the bottom day wheel and the hour wheel to remove some more from the front side.
9. Remove the one translation wheel and the setting system sub cover which also separated the two clutches.
10. And finally take out the clitches and the yoke, setting system to completely disassembly the front side. Now you can turn the movement so we can work further on the back side.
11. Remove the Rotor
12. Take off the Automatic module
13. Remove the Winding wheel Y ratchet. I did try to remove the winding wheel in the first run but for some reason the screw did not watch to budge so I left it in for the picture. Off camera however I eventually did make.
14. Remove the elegant arching balance wheel. I was really surprised to see this in this kind of movement since I thought that this kind of design was only present in really high end watches. Interestingly enough the 4206 B however has the classical one winged balance.
15. Remove the Pallet fork system ( sorry for the blurry focus)
16. Take off the main bridge and and the small spring attached to one of the screws.
17. Pick out the Barrel, its ratchet and the 4th and 5th wheel. Interestingly enough the gears wheels have as many holes in them as the number which is kind of cool!
18. Now focus on the little winding module on the bottom right. Remove the translation wheel, the spring and the small bridge to take it out completely.
19. Almost done! Take of the final bridge which holds down the 6th wheel and the escapement.
20. And finally remove the 6th wheel and the escapement wheel. With that, we have completed the disassembly of the Seiko 4206A.
Cleaning
For cleaning im still sticking to the good old hand cleaning method. So this means that I let the individual parts marinade in lighter fuel for a while before giving them a scrub and rinsing them of in Isopropanal alcohol. I was thinking about dipping my toes into the ultrasonic cleaning branch but im unsure what fluids to buy and what parts I cannot drop into the cleaner so I think ill stay with what works at the moment. Additionally im broke haha.
Mainspring service
Now as always I did not have a spare Mainspring at hand so I removed the spring by hand and checked it out:
As you can see it is / was absolutely disgusting haha so I gave It a good rub down in lighter fluid and isopropanol and the paper used for that was absolutely nasty in the end, see for yourself:
However, I did clean it nicely I think and lubricated the spring with Moebius 8200 and the barrel wit Moebius 8217 before winding the spring back in carefully. After closing the barrel I did a mainspring wind test with the winding wheel and it had tension on it so it seems like I did a decent enough job.
Lubrication
Moebius 9010 – All jewels aside from the pallet fork jewel pivots
Moebius HP 1300 – For parts which turn a bit slower. Between the arbour and the watches wheel, the barrel pivot in the main bridge or the metal pivots for translation wheels for example. But that’s just my personal tase
Moebius 8200 – Used to lubricate the mainspring
Moebius 8217 – Braking grease for automatic barrel wall
Moebius 9415 – For the tip of the pallet fork jewels.
Molycote DX Paste – Any strong friction contact points. So the setting and winding system basically
Reassembly
For the reassembly of course you just follow the above given steps and pictures from the disassembly backwards. Ive been thinking about making reassembly pictures as well, it would make the report way more comprehensive and would show more difficult nifty parts for example shock and balance jewel lubrication. However it would be way more annoying to take the pictures and it would cost me a lot more time. What do you all think?
Timegrapher Test
Okey, so once I’ve cleaned everything it was time to put my work to the test and I strapped the watch into the timegrapher. And this is the catastrophic result:
This was the start of the snowstorm like reading which followed. It couldn’t really pick anything up and I was just devastated. Because I did not have any replacement balance on hand, I was desperate and opted to measuring the Rate my eye and stop watch. As you can think, this did not end up well so I ordered a lot of a few spare movement to butcher them for the balance.
After placing in the 4th replacement balance however, I managed to get a decent reading. The Amplitide could be better, but this is the way I left it in the end haha.
Final Results:
After the timegrapher drama I closed the back up and attached a basic rubber strap for testing purposes. And from here on its basically B-Roll pictures! Here is a comparison of the movements size to my pinkie finger!
And here the final satisfying shot:
So yeah all in all a stressful but also fun little project which I could conclude by gifting the watch to my mother. I was very surprised to see the winged balance as well as challenged by working on a movement of this size but in the end I managed! I hope you all enjoyed reading this and that the guide may help other hobbysts or even professionals ( haha who am I kidding) in the future. Any comments, questions or criticism is of course welcome!
And so as always watch bangers...
Stay safe and healthy and till next time!
