Need tips on tune ups

[BigOakleyGuy]

Hey guys! I bought some juliets this fall and they need a flex coupler change. I also noticed some minor scratches on the lenses. I decided that, since I live in Finland and there is no one nearby who can do tune-ups, I will order the Linegear nose bridge tool and learn to fix things myself. I acknowledge the risks involving fixing your X-Metals and that the tool is not 100% safe method. I know how to do the flex coupler change and switch the lenses but does anyone have any good tips on how to minimize the risk of damaging the finish or potentially breaking something?

 

[TheStig]

You should send it to @OakleyOneKenobi in the UK.
Polished and X-Metal finish can touched up. All other finish can't be fixed.

 

[BigOakleyGuy]

You should send it to @OakleyOneKenobi in the UK.
Polished and X-Metal finish can touched up. All other finish can't be fixed.

I will think about it. Is there anyone in EU who does tune ups? UK shipping is really expensive nowadays from EU or atleast from Finland.

 

[TheStig]

There is one in Germany.
Let me look for a link.

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Kleinanzeigen: Accessoires & Schmuck gebraucht kaufen - Jetzt in Stade finden oder inserieren! - kleinanzeigen.de

www.kleinanzeigen.de

 

[Broccoli]

You should send it to @OakleyOneKenobi in the UK.
Polished and X-Metal finish can touched up. All other finish can't be fixed.

XM finish can be blasted.

 

[TheStig]

XM finish can be blasted.

Thats what I meant. You can fix a XM Frame with blank spots or a complete frame by blasting.
Or you buy a beater Plasma Frame and blast it to XM.

 

[OakleyOneKenobi]

Hey guys! I bought some juliets this fall and they need a flex coupler change. I also noticed some minor scratches on the lenses. I decided that, since I live in Finland and there is no one nearby who can do tune-ups, I will order the Linegear nose bridge tool and learn to fix things myself. I acknowledge the risks involving fixing your X-Metals and that the tool is not 100% safe method. I know how to do the flex coupler change and switch the lenses but does anyone have any good tips on how to minimize the risk of damaging the finish or potentially breaking something?

I wouldn't attempt doing it yourself unless you are very confident you can do it. To buy the tooling and parts is more expensive than sending them to someone who has done thousands like me. But, i only do UK customers now. It is too expensive to post to the UK and send back.

Hope you get sorted buddy.

 

[alol]

+ 1 to @OakleyOneKenobi sentiment. I would also weigh up the Frame provenance. i.e if it was a plentiful frame (hence not a limited serialised one like an Ichiro for example) then maybe buy the parts & have a go. FWIW I would watch/read OXM tutorial prior to deciding. If you have multiple Frames that you are intending to Tune up I would definitely advocate going ahead. If its only one Frame I'd take the pain & get it posted to some of the experienced members on here. One slip on reinserting the Pins and you are then (as I have-and I've done quite a few) looking for a Bridge piece which is waaaaay more than the postage/piece of mind that comes with getting the pro's to do it.....

 

[Lopaka KaMars]

It’s not rocket science. I didn’t want to ship everything out every time I needed something done. The only way that’s going to happen is to fix things myself. Check out my DIY thread and I talk about doing my own pins. I must have redone almost a hundred bridges so far, with no major mishaps. Maybe I’ve been lucky to avoid damaging or breaking anything. Maybe I’ve just been extra cautious. I’m an electrician so I’m not bad with my hands.

 

[BigOakleyGuy]

Ok so I did decide to take matters in my own hands. I did not break anything and overall I think my first tune up on Juliets was a success. To be clear these are my most frequently used x-metal pair so they were not in perfect condition before this either. I only had a small setback when putting back the pins.

I used packaging foam/plastic on top of the bottom part but I recommend using hard rubber instead for anyone since the bottom part actually came a little bit through the foam and made a minor scratch that can be seen in a certain angle.

So what you can learn from my mistakes: don't use paper or plastic/foam to cover the bottom part of the press, use something more durable so that the metal of the press does not come in contact with the frame.

Overall, I knew the risks and still went for it and for me it kinda worked. I personalised my frames to my liking 100% myself and I am happy with the overall look. The scratch is only visible in certain light and a certain angle so I'm not that upset about it (it is exaggerated in pics), after all atleast now I know what not to do next time when fixing juliets.

For someone who is thinking about doing this at home there were really good points made on this thread already and I can only relate. If you only have one X-metal send it to a pro since on the first time doing this it is almost 100% certain that you are not going to be able to do it perfectly.