LM-7 (PloProf) design thread 3

[Broker]

If I remember right from the Orange County Choppers show on US TV they powder coat some of those custom motorcycles.

Todd

[Guido Muldoon]

If I remember right from the Orange County Choppers show on US TV they powder coat some of those custom motorcycles.

Todd

They do indeed Todd. I still have some CNC machined aluminum parts from my old Harley that were powder coated 15 years ago and still look new. I have a couple of steel powder coated valve stem covers that still look new also. These are bigger than the HEV but not by all that much.

[GraniteQuarry]

How about an orange crown???

Something different from the watch this one pays homage to, and of course it's in the company name???

D.

[Guido Muldoon]

Here are two photos of small red parts. First a steel valve stem cover that is powder coated. The cover measures ~12mm in diameter and the knurled portion is ~7mm tall. This cover was used on three different Harleys, a '93 Springer, a'95 Bad Boy and a '99 Road King Classic and has seen in excess of 100k miles mostly in the desert southwest. I think it has held up fairly well and I don't think the powder coating seriously affected the degree of detail visible or the functionality of the gripping surface.

This next photo is an anodized aluminum cable clamp. It has the same history as the valve stem cover and measures 20mm wide, 13mm deep and 11mm tall.

I don't know if any of this is of any help but they are real world examples of two of the options being discussed and I tried to select very small parts used rigorously in harsh environments.

[Broker]

Appears as if the anodized aluminum has held up better. But it could be an issue of usage wear on the different parts.

Todd

[Danny S]

Yessir, Red is important.

But Red is not of over-riding importance, if it risks having function suffer Red will have been a mistake.

Brad is right on the money re: the "smoothing" effect of powder coating. I've had a couple of sets of rough cast Al motorcycle wheels powder coated, they came out nice & slick. Powder's durability and wear resistance is very similar to epoxy paints. Very tough and chemical resistant.

Whatever you & the case Co engineers decide will work great for me Mitch.

[Guido Muldoon]

Appears as if the anodized aluminum has held up better. But it could be an issue of usage wear on the different parts.

Todd

The cable clamp gets attached and may only be touched a handful of times after that. The valve stem cover gets screwed on and off hundreds of times not to mention dropped on concrete and asphalt, in puddles of oil, gasoline, mud, stepped on, thrown at scorpions and small children etc.

[diverx]

Guido, am I mistaken, or is the powder coat on the valve stem cover a transparent red? Maybe just an illusion from the close-up. Either way, if powder coating could be applied in a thin enough layer(1.5 - 2.5 mils), that would have potential. Considering the exposure that cover has seen, I think the wear factor for the HEV crown would be nominal in comparison.

[Nalu]

It would be nice to keep the crown red if possible. Powder-coating should be a good option. I'm much less concerned than most about wear and tear on a watch - Mitch, you know my opinions on that. Tool watches shouldn't look new forever IMO. They should be durable, but cosmesis is secondary to function. As a collector and diver, I appreciate the wabi of an older watch (see the 3 diff't Ploprof dials below, oldest on the left, NOS on the right).

The depth rating discussions could go on forever, and they often do on the forums. The fact is that a watch which aspires to be a serious tool diver for any occasion (to include professional, technical, military and research diving) should include an HEV. Note that depth rating means more than just water-resistance. It includes resistance to case/crystal deformation which could interfere with the movement/function of the watch. A watch which maintains seal integrity still might not function if the caseback is impinging on the rotor.

@diverx, my understanding is that the crown under discussion is just a crown and that the HEV is a separate structure, all in steel. But this seems to contradict the failure Mitch describes. I always thought that 'external' HEVs as seen in Omega, Oris, Anonimo, etc. are merely 'caps', with the HEV mechanism underlying it. That is, one opens the cap so that the HEV can function to relieve internal pressure, not to release the pressure in and of itself. This as opposed to the flush-style HEVs as seen in Sea-Dwellers and Avenger Seawolves, which is the actually valve mechanism. Anyone?

Joerg, red doesn't just disappear at 3m. It fades out a varying depths depending on latitude, time of day, distance from your eye, shade of red, turbidity, etc. And when I photograph my LM-7 at 40m, I'll be using 2 strobes to bring out the colours

[Nalu]

Guido, those photos help a lot - thanks for posting.