# Bulova Lunar Pilot - Dial Crorrection/Replacment Mod - 1st Watch Mod Project Ever



## Joespeeder

Hey Guys,

Here is the story of my first ever watch mod. It's very simple and I have done lots of mechanical things in the past, but cracking open 2 brand new watches and swapping parts seems so intimidating for the 1st timer so here's my story. Simple as it is, this could be a guide for others as a 1st step.

I am under no illusions, I could do more and I may later. If I go further I'll post those results also. For many this is going to seem as easy as changing a battery but a week ago I would never have though about doing this and now I've completed my project with great results so far...

As I've read about various moon, space, and pilot watches I came across the Bulova Lunar Pilot and it's story. I wont recount it here. It's been told many times. However, I was frustrated by the different font and the date window in the silver cased version and when they released the black version those things were corrected. However, the case was black.... sighhhh.... I contacted some guys that Mod watches and after some great discussions I could see it would be a lot easier to buy both and swap the guts. The price wound up being about the same either way since I was able to buy both watch at Kohl's Black Friday sale prices.

I reread the threads and found a video of the conversion and a review of the converted watch.

Here is the info that helped me, I couldn't have done this without all that posted and commented.

https://www.watchuseek.com/f2/go-bulova-lunar-pilot-moon-watch-no-go-4732595.html

https://www.watchuseek.com/f705/new-bulova-moon-watch-adding-some-character-3265138.html











I'll post my photos and notes below.

Joe


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## Joespeeder

I order both watches from Kohl's and they arrived in about 3 days. I also ordered a Watch Case Ball to unscrew the backs and picked up a Watch Case opener at Harbor Freight which I hoped to not use. I had it just in case. I also put out a brand new Hobby mat that I use to protect my bench when working on other my other hobby, RC aircraft. The mat is very clean and new so I had a great surface to work on for a 1st timer.

I removed the bands and prepped my area. The Black watch arrived in a larger case but only has one strap and the silver version has the two straps, a spring bar tool, and yet is the shorter box. Don't know why. I did study the 2 watches to see if I could tell the difference in crystals. The Silver case crystal is taller so my guess is the black case truly does have a a better sapphire crystal. I emailed Bulova to confirm but I haven't gotten a reply yet.

Here are my 1st set of photos.

Joe


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## Joespeeder




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## Joespeeder

I used the Case Ball for the Silver case and it worked perfectly. The back broke loose right away. However, the black case would not release the back no matter what I did with the ball. I have a heat gun I use for lots of things in RC building so I applied a little heat to the case trying to not heat the back. I hoped the little bit of expansion might pop the back loose when I used the ball. It didn't. Don't try that unless you have a very good feel for a heat gun. You could burn and distort things very fast if you're not careful.

So I loaded the Harbor Freight Tool with the rectangular bits and carefully adjusted the prongs to match the case recesses. Holding it tight and making sure I wouldn't slip I gave the tool a nudge and the back started to move in the case. I removed the tool and went back to the ball to remove the back. I was able to open the back without damaging the back and managed not to leave a mark.


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## Joespeeder

With the cases open I found the little hole that said "Push" and needed to find a tool small enough to fit into the hole. My jewelers screwdrivers were too large, my allen wrenches were too big at .05, and I feared they may be magnetic. Not sure it's a big concern with a quartz movement but they didn't fit so as A.E. Newman said "What me Worry"..
I remembered I have some very small carbon rod stock so I sniped a piece off, sanded the hairy bits at the rod end so I wouldn't get carbon into the watch. and added some tape as a handle. Presto, a watch crown pusher tool thingy 2000 was born.

I had noted that the crown was to be in the first position to release. That didn't work so I pushed it in to the closed position and when I used the Watch Crown Release Tool 2000 to push the little button the crown released easily. Cool... Drop it in a clean mixing cup. I repeated the sequence on the other case and both crowns were out.

I held my hand out flat on the bottom of the case to support the movement and flipped my hand and the case over together. The movement dropped into my hand with the hands side up of course.

I set the case down crystal side up and gently grabbed the edge of movement and set in on the bench. I did he same with the second case.

I took the little gasket off and set it to the side. Then I picked up the good movement and lowered it into the silver case. Somewhere in there the case and movement are keyed. The movement found it's home and I set the entire thing on the bench face down. I replaced the crown by gently sliding it back into the case/movement and with a slight twisting motion allowed it to find it's happy home as it clicked into position. Repeat this whole process with the black case and the movements are now swapped.

I replaced the battery's and checked that the crowns actuated the hands correctly and worked properly.

Replace the case backs, tighten with the ball, and it's job done.

This was a very simple project I know but very satisfying.


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## Joespeeder




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## Joespeeder

Oh yea... I reset the chronograph hand so both versions are zero'd out correctly. 

Per the manual, Crown out to position 2, top pusher moves chronograph seconds hand and bottom pusher movers 10ths hand in the 2 o'clock sub dial.

Hope this helps someone.

Joe


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## FreddyNorton

Very nice and you are very brave. You did exactly what I would do if I had the money. Love my silver moon watch but like the font on the new black watch much better but also like the silver case much better than the black. Now you have the best of both. Also thanks for the interior shots because I always wondered what it looked like in there but never had the guts to remove the back kinda waiting until I HAVE to when battery dies.


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## Joespeeder

Thanks Freddy,

Black Friday really helped with the cost. As it turns out the price went down again after I bought mine. Kohl’s had some good sales. 

I will post a photo of the Case Ball when I’m at the office later. Just realized I missed showing that. I used Windex to clean mine before I used it and it made it very sticky. 

I hoped this might take some of the mystery out of the swap. It’s really very easy but intimidating since I’d never opened a watch to do anything but change a battery years ago. 

Keeping the Crown closed and then pushing the release button with gentle pressure on the crown it released easily. That was a huge release as a first timer. 

Looking at my photos I should have cleaned the crystal before taking them. I was most happy that I kept everything very clean inside. The photos look dirty at points but that’s all exterior and the watch is very clean in look and mechanically now. 

I’m going to a show at our local Planitarium tonight featuring Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” guess what I’m going to be wearing? &#55358;&#56611;&#55358;&#56611;&#55357;&#56860;

Joe


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## Joespeeder

Here's the friction ball.... I did a quick search on Amazon and this popped up so no real issue finding one. I had no idea these existed until I saw it in Dime Piece Timepiece's video.

I know these are very basic things for everyone here but it's the easy stuff that baffles me when getting started doing something new.

Joe


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## Joespeeder

Hey Guys,

Just to finish off this thread I'll post some pics from our trip to the planetarium. The show was a graphic, laserish, spacey display set the Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". They took you for a ride and played the complete album 45minutes of cool stuff. 
Can't imagine it, but if you've never listened to the Dark Side of the Moon. Get a good copy, and take 45 minutes to switch off, go someplace quiet and with dim lighting and listen start to finish to the album. 
The album was in the Billboard charts for over 18 years until it aged out of the way albums were measured for the charts. Once the selection process was allowed to include older albums it reenter the charts again.

Relax, sit back and let it wash over you.....

*Here's the promo for the show....*






*In the first pics you can see a Breitling 24hour Navitimer, a Rolex Sub GMT, a Omega Speedmaster and Bulova Chronograph, and probably a Strela.... You have to squint...*









*Timing the burn from inside the Command Module...*









*
Thanks to my Schwarzenegger Operations Manual I braved the cold of Mars with no suit and by just holding my breath... But stressed movements blurred the photo.*









*
Feeling more comfortable next to the Polar Lander but it was chilly...*









*
As we left for home you could just make out the Spice Mines of Kessel. Didn't go there.... Tis a silly place....*









That's all I have for this thread. Unless anyone has a question or comment. This was a fun project, I learned some stuff, and the new Bulova is really stunning in it's presentation. Having a watch that's accurate to about 6 seconds a year and the clean look of the Lunar Pilot for about $600 is cool but it will drop in price to about $400 total cost once I sell the cast off watch which is very cool looking in it's own right. Watch for sales and hope this helps someone.

"There's no dark side in the moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark."

Joe


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## astitchintime

I have the 96B225, job done 

I personally prefer the polished finish, purely from my point of view and my initial reaction when comparing the polished to the beed blasted version, the polished case looked less of a homage or recreation on the wrist and closer to what might be described as an original - a bit like the Speedy, not that I was trying to make it look like one. Which is all nonsense because the original Bulova that went to the moon was not chrome, but certainly had less metal on show. Strange what wearing one can do - I went into the store expecting to buy the beed blasted.



Joespeeder said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> Here is the story of my first ever watch mod. It's very simple and I have done lots of mechanical things in the past, but cracking open 2 brand new watches and swapping parts seems so intimidating for the 1st timer so here's my story. Simple as it is, this could be a guide for others as a 1st step.
> 
> I am under no illusions, I could do more and I may later. If I go further I'll post those results also. For many this is going to seem as easy as changing a battery but a week ago I would never have though about doing this and now I've completed my project with great results so far...
> 
> As I've read about various moon, space, and pilot watches I came across the Bulova Lunar Pilot and it's story. I wont recount it here. It's been told many times. However, I was frustrated by the different font and the date window in the silver cased version and when they released the black version those things were corrected. However, the case was black.... sighhhh.... I contacted some guys that Mod watches and after some great discussions I could see it would be a lot easier to buy both and swap the guts. The price wound up being about the same either way since I was able to buy both watch at Kohl's Black Friday sale prices.
> 
> I reread the threads and found a video of the conversion and a review of the converted watch.
> 
> Here is the info that helped me, I couldn't have done this without all that posted and commented.
> 
> Go Bulova Lunar Pilot Moon watch or no go?
> 
> New Bulova Moon Watch : Adding some character
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll post my photos and notes below.
> 
> Joe


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## CA805JV

I also have both the original Lunar Pilot and the PVD version. While I would not attempt this mod myself, I'm curious what my local authorized Bulova service center would charge for this swap. I'm a big fan of the space program and I think I'd really like my silver one to have the dial that more closely matches the one-off that Commander Scott wore on the moon.


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## mauricio22

Joespeeder said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> Just to finish off this thread I'll post some pics from our trip to the planetarium. The show was a graphic, laserish, spacey display set the Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". They took you for a ride and played the complete album 45minutes of cool stuff.
> Can't imagine it, but if you've never listened to the Dark Side of the Moon. Get a good copy, and take 45 minutes to switch off, go someplace quiet and with dim lighting and listen start to finish to the album.
> The album was in the Billboard charts for over 18 years until it aged out of the way albums were measured for the charts. Once the selection process was allowed to include older albums it reenter the charts again.
> 
> Relax, sit back and let it wash over you.....
> 
> *Here's the promo for the show....*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *In the first pics you can see a Breitling 24hour Navitimer, a Rolex Sub GMT, a Omega Speedmaster and Bulova Chronograph, and probably a Strela.... You have to squint...*
> 
> View attachment 13682213
> 
> 
> *Timing the burn from inside the Command Module...*
> 
> View attachment 13682225
> 
> 
> *Thanks to my Schwarzenegger Operations Manual I braved the cold of Mars with no suit and by just holding my breath... But stressed movements blurred the photo.*
> 
> View attachment 13682257
> 
> 
> *Feeling more comfortable next to the Polar Lander but it was chilly...*
> 
> View attachment 13682261
> 
> 
> *As we left for home you could just make out the Spice Mines of Kessel. Didn't go there.... Tis a silly place....*
> 
> View attachment 13682269
> 
> 
> Eso es todo lo que tengo para este hilo. A menos que alguien tenga una pregunta o comentario. Este fue un proyecto divertido, aprendí algunas cosas y el nuevo Bulova es realmente impresionante en su presentación. Tener un reloj que tiene una precisión de aproximadamente 6 segundos al año y el aspecto limpio del Lunar Pilot por aproximadamente $ 600 es genial, pero bajará de precio a aproximadamente $ 400 de costo total una vez que vendo el reloj desechado, que se ve muy bien en sí mismo. derecho. Esté atento a las ventas y espere que esto ayude a alguien.
> 
> "En realidad, no hay un lado oscuro en la luna. De hecho, todo está oscuro ".
> 
> José
> 
> [MEDIA = youtube] g1OOQP1-wOE [/ MEDIA]
> [/CITA]
> excelente viaje y excelente mod .. yo actualmente pedí a bulova la caratula del modelo ***** pavonado 98A185 para ponérsela a mi bulova 96B251 .. me costo 54 dolares ya con el envio ..
> espero que no me cause un problema por que mi bulova tiene la rueda de la fecha y espero que la rueda no rose en la caratula nueva .. en tu caso cambiaste todo el movimiento .. crees que afecte en algo ? el movimiento sin fechador , se llega a sentir la rueda de fecha y el cambio si lo intentas poner la fecha si tubiera ?


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## ZIPPER79

Great job.....



CA805JV said:


> I also have both the original Lunar Pilot and the PVD version. While I would not attempt this mod myself, I'm curious what my local authorized Bulova service center would charge for this swap. I'm a big fan of the space program and I think I'd really like my silver one to have the dial that more closely matches the one-off that Commander Scott wore on the moon.
> 
> View attachment 15569629


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## FL410

Lunar Pilot dial swap


I know someone previously posted a write up of a movement swap between two new lunar pilots, the black and the silver, in order to put the no date, vintage font Bulova dial into the silver watch. I just completed the cheaper, although more technically challenging dial only swap. I called up...




www.watchuseek.com


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## 357-Mag

Joespeeder said:


> I did study the 2 watches to see if I could tell the difference in crystals. The Silver case crystal is taller so my guess is the black case truly does have a a better sapphire crystal. I emailed Bulova to confirm but I haven't gotten a reply yet.


I know this is an older thread but am curious if you ever got a response about this? So you're saying the black case Lunar Pilot has a shorter crystal than the silver case version? Very interesting.


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## TimeOnTarget

MCWW bead blasting mod just arrived today!


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## Mido

Great job. 

I also heard that Bulova sells the newer, non-date Dial for $50. That is also a viable option for first generation Lunar Pilot owners.


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## MattBrace




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## Rivaldo10

TimeOnTarget said:


> MCWW bead blasting mod just arrived today!
> 
> View attachment 15849317
> 
> 
> View attachment 15849318
> 
> 
> View attachment 15849319


could you show the back cover? Another question is whether the watch was disassembled during sandblasting? but you can give it to sandblasting without disassembling the watch. thanks in advance!


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## TimeOnTarget

Rivaldo10 said:


> could you show the back cover? Another question is whether the watch was disassembled during sandblasting? but you can give it to sandblasting without disassembling the watch. thanks in advance!


Yes, the watch was disassembled and bead blasted by Jay at MCWW. He is a pro, and I would not attempt this on my own.


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## Rivaldo10

> TimeOnTarget


great job!


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