Hydro Mod!

[edwing206]

I was asked to post pictures of the Gs that I hyro modded, so here goes!
I used 15wt silicone oil that I bought at a local hobby shop. I didn't know it was red until I poured a little into a container. I originally wanted to use clear but this turned out nicely. The red colored display on the 7900 goes really well with the resin in my opinion. The Riseman and In4mation already had red displays and the oil just made them POP more, I really like how they turned out. I saw blue, green, and a few other colored silicone oils so I'm going to pick some different colors up and mod a few other of my Gs.
The Riseman's bubble split into two and they're in different parts of the display now, pretty funny. The In4mation had a bubble but it went behind the module. Hopefully it reappears because I like the way it looks. The digits are also sharper and have more contrast.
Overall the process was so much easier than I had imagined. Two pieces of advice: First is to run the oil through a coffee filter or another type of filter that will clean out small particles. Like most oils I believe the silicone oil is recycled and I noticed tiny black pieces of material, I think maybe metal shavings or something. The other piece of advice is to get the bubble the size that you like and submerge the case in oil so when you reassemble the watch you don't trap more air. If you do it will eventually make its way to the front and you will have a huge bubble...I'm speaking from experience

Added bonus is the weight of the watch! They feel so much more solid. I can only imagine what a Frogman would feel like.
The main reason I did this mod is so I can free-dive to 1000m, my watches weren't able to go that far before.

Let me know what you think!





The Riseman picture is pretty washed out. In person the display is a deeper red.

[G-fob]

awesome man, what is the name of the hobby store ? I only know of Michaels around here, and how much is a bottle ?

this is major discover for me: hydro mod and color lcd at the same time - one stone kills two birds

[Mike K]

awesome man, what is the name of the hobby store ? I only know of Michaels around here, and how much is a bottle ?

I'm not sure if Michael's (the national arts and crafts chain) is the right type of "hobby store" to carry this type of oil -- the ones around here seem to specialize in artwork, knitting, scrapbooking, floral arranging and so on.

I got my lightweight silicone oil from a local hobby shop that specializes in radio control vehicles, from cars and trucks to planes and helicopters. They had a wide variety of oil weights (and colors) since they're used in vehicle shock absorbers, and people like to tinker with different weights for different "rebound," and most of their smaller bottles were in the $8-$10 USD range.

Added bonus is the weight of the watch! They feel so much more solid. I can only imagine what a Frogman would feel like.
The main reason I did this mod is so I can free-dive to 1000m, my watches weren't able to go that far before.

If you free-dive to 1000m, you wouldn't just be breaking world records, you'd be shattering them!

[edwing206]

awesome man, what is the name of the hobby store ? I only know of Michaels around here, and how much is a bottle ?

this is major discover for me: hydro mod and color lcd at the same time - one stone kills two birds

Thanks!

The hobby shop I went to is called Galaxy Hobby. They're a local shop. A 20oz bottle cost me $3.99.
You can find your local hobby shop by typing your city name followed by "hobby shop", that's how I found a few close to me.

[Ottovonn]

I am tempted to purchase a used GW-5000 just for the sole purpose of hydro modding it. I wonder if this experiment will be possible for a complete beginner. I have no experience opening watches of any kind. In the past I hired people to tinker with my watches. I'm afraid of screwing things up and I have naturally shaky hands. Fortunately, I have a spare DW-5600e that can serve as a prototype, so I'm willing to try. I love the legibility of the GW-5000 and the prospect of making the digits pop even more is far too enticing to pass up.

[edwing206]

I'm a complete beginner with opening watches too. In fact, these were the first G-Shocks that I opened as I've only been collecting for a little over a year. As for the shaky hands, lay off the coffee

[Vdubz]

Awesome edwing. Thanks for the post


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[Vdubz]

I was thinking of hydro'ing one of these



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[Drop of a Hat]

I briefly owned a Citizen Orca Hydro Mod. It was super cool, but for a G, I don't quite understand why.

"He's just a witness"

[Vdubz]

More for the look and novelty


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