# Casio G-Shock 531D Cleanup



## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

*WARNING - THIS THREAD CONTINUES PICTURES SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND UPSETTING*
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I bought a Casio G-SHOCK 531D from the Sales forum for what I thought was a very good price. I could see that it was pretty worn in places, but the crystal, dial & hands looked lovely and from my previous experiences I was fairly confident that if I needed to replace any parts I should be able to get them.

It arrived super fast with box, papers and a spare link.

Here it is:



there's some light scratches to the bezel, but the majority of the wear is to the plastic parts which has a metal finish that is prone to wear over time:







None of this was a surprise, so on Thursday I contacted Casio Parts and asked them for the parts list for this watch. They are super helpful and sent me the parts list / exploded diagram for the watch.

I figured out what I needed and placed an order. Luckily all bar the front metal bezel are still available (and I didn;t really need one of these as the original is in pretty good condition). Some of the parts will have to come from Japan so won't arrive for a few weeks.

Today I thought I'd start the cleanup of the watch .......................



*WARNING - THIS THREAD CONTINUES PICTURES SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND UPSETTING*
​


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

Having taken apart some of the higher end G-SHOCKS (the MTG1100 and 1500), and also a Mudman and Gulfman, I wasn't too worried about taking this one apart.

The key is good screwdrivers (that fit properly), patience and the knowledge that that parts are designed to be taken apart.

Its a bit like the Transformer toys where you just had to figure out how they fitted together.

Brute force / ignorance are not required!!!

So - what did I find?

First it was off with the bracelet, via the springbars:



Then it was out with the six small screws (3 on each side) that hold the plastic outer casing on:



Then it was off with the lower plastic parts (one on each side):



ughhhh



URGHHHH ......

Wow - I was not expecting that!!!

In true Magnus Magnusson fashion, I'd started so I'd better finish.



I'd assumed the bull-bars were held in place by the outer screws, but they're actually just held in place by the upper plastic parts. They came out easily:


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

Next it was off with the metal covers at the top and bottom, these come off by depressing the internal spring bar, one side at a time then lifting off:



and yep, you guess it - more gunge underneath:



Then the plastic parts underneath can be removed:



With these off, the last step was to remove the upper bezel and plastic parts. It took me a few minutes to work out how to do this - I tried wiggling and levering and the bezel didn't want to come off.

I thought maybe it was being held on by double-sided tape (as with the MTG1100) but gentle force indicated not.

Then I realised that the upper plastic parts are holding the bezel on, and these are in turn being held to the watch case by where the 3 screws go.

You can sort of see it in this picture:



but you'll understand better when you see the later pictures.

Here's the bezel and upper plastic parts:



and underneath:


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

With all its armour removed we have this:



a rather bare and sorry looking 531D (kinda like a wet and dirty cat).



I think this wins the award for the dirtiest watch I've personally owned. 

Now, let the cleaning begin :yes:


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## chocko (Nov 9, 2008)

My God Remind me to stop buying secondhand watches if they are all like that .


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

Happily the ultrasonic toothbrush, shower gel and the ultrasonic cleaner cut through the dirt.

How about this?











(this was toothbrush only btw)

And this is why I LOVE G-SHOCKS. They are built to standup to the dirtiest conditions and to last.


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

All the other parts had a jolly good bath:









I'm going to wait now for the parts to arrive and then put it back together. Pics to follow.

(and yes, it does make you think about what's underneath ......................)


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

Excellent stuff, I love reading this type of thread, well done so far mate :thumbup:


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## TONY M (Jun 22, 2010)

Bravo!

Did you find the ultrasonic cleaner worked well on the bracelet? I do not own one and would like to as I'm a little OCD about the hygienic state of my watches and the bracelets can be a pain to clean properly.

Tony


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

you should have weighed it before the strip down, its a damn sight lighter now after all your hard work :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

TONY M said:


> Bravo!
> 
> Did you find the ultrasonic cleaner worked well on the bracelet? I do not own one and would like to as I'm a little OCD about the hygienic state of my watches and the bracelets can be a pain to clean properly.
> 
> Tony


Very well. They are a great investment. Simple to use and very effective (and you can clean things other than just watch parts - e.g. rings, earrings, glasses, shower heads etc etc)

For cleaning tiny watch movement parts they are essential.

That said, the ultrasonic toothbrush is just as good at cleaning larger parts, but it is fiddlier as you have to hold the part you're cleaning. The bristles are more effective for removing build up of dirt and dirt that is trapped in corners or between links etc.


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## TONY M (Jun 22, 2010)

Sir Alan said:


> TONY M said:
> 
> 
> > Bravo!
> ...


Thanks for that, I'll consider a purchase some time.

Tony


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## jmm1 (Aug 18, 2009)

Thats an excellant job you've done. The before pics though have just put me off my dinner.


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

The postman brought these today:



not enough to start the re-build, but a good start.

Old one on the left, new on the right:


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## bofff (Oct 8, 2013)

wow, how old is this watch? And what is its history? miner? archeologoist? gardner?


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

just hope it wasnt a vet


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

We are amazed Sir. :thumbup:


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

The last of the case parts I've been waiting for arrived yesterday, so I re-assembled the watch.

This was fairly tricky, the plastic parts clip together onto the inner case and the bezel. Finding the right order to do this took a couple of attempts. For example, the bull bars can't be fitted last, they have to be fitted before you fit the bezel.

Anyway, it all went back together nicely, so here it is:









I still need to re-paint the lettering on the bezel and when I do this, I might strip it down again and take a few more pics (my camera battery was on charge when I did this)

The older Casio models built with a lot of metal components have a nice hefty weight to go with the rugged look - and they'll last.


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## Retronaut (Jun 14, 2010)

A fine effort! :thumbsup:


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Nice job, I suspect my g shock glide will be as grim and dirty as that. The only clean it's had in 20yrs is in the shower or sea and it's been used a lot in the garden, training, diving, building work, working on the car etc. I bet its minging. You've made me think about stripping it down and giving it a clean.... )


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

I re-painted the wording on the bezel, and took the bezel off to do this (rather than risk getting paint where it wasn't wanted). Here are a few pics showing how to get it back on:



onto this:



It looks like it should be easy, but it is a bit fiddly - the reason being the lip the bezel has to clip over on either side (9pm and 3pm)



you'd think this was just a push fit, but in my experience not. And also, even if you did manage to get both sides of the bezel on (one side is easy), the bull bars need to go on, and this is not possible one the bezel is on:



So, logically this means the parts need to be assembled before they are fitted to the watch.


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

Like this:



here you can see how the bull bars clip in



and here is the bezel clipping in correctly



the final pieces are the two lower parts





and then hold them in place with these


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

How about this for a sturdy clasp:





that's not going to fail in a hurry is it!!

And the finished watch:


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## YuriLori (Feb 24, 2014)

Wow that was alot of gunk under that thing!

Great looking watch now. Even has handle bars for the wife to hang on to! 

You glad you went through the process?


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

YuriLori said:


> ...
> 
> You glad you went through the process?


absolutely. I've got a watch that will last and looks great and I've played a part in this.


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## ballbag (Jan 1, 2015)

Hi There Sir Alan, could you please forward me a link or a phone number for casio spares? I have this watch and the plastic part that the strap fits to has broken. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Jay


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

Google is your friend 

But, seeing as I'm being friendly too, try this:

Casio Electronics Co. Ltd. Harp View, 12 Priestley Way, London, NW2 7JD

t: +44 (0)20 8208 9567 | e: [email protected] | w: www.casio.co.uk


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## ballbag (Jan 1, 2015)

Sir Alan said:


> Google is your friend
> 
> But, seeing as I'm being friendly too, try this:
> 
> ...


Thanks, that was my first port of call but, I thought you might have known something I didn't. Great job by the way


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

I'd suggest an email to the address listed. I've always found them to be very helpful.


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## ballbag (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm already on it 

Were the parts expensive?


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## ballbag (Jan 1, 2015)

Well, they've been back in touch with me and sent me this 



I need 2 x #6, 2 x #11 and 1 x #4

Happy days, thanks Sir Alan


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## Sir Alan (Sep 10, 2010)

that's similar to what I went for - they had those in stock (or at least in stock in Japan) when I ordered.

If you replace your crystal, I'll be interested in how you get on please.


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## ballbag (Jan 1, 2015)

Well, truth be known, I also have a very good condition G-520D, (I bought it for my brother but he gave back to me as he doesn't really wear a watch). As I much prefer to wear the G-531D, as I have for the last 8 years or so, I decided to borrow some parts from it. I changed the crystal too as I left the watch on when I was welding and got some heavy sparks on it.

I'll get some pics when I do it


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