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So after Part 1; I bring you part 2. Please remember to clean out the airbrush, but leave your paints handy... You will likely need them when you repaint your dial after messing up parts 2 or 3. :) 1. If your dial is sterile; you can skip to Part 3 (Resin/Luming)... 1a. If you want to add a nice decal to make the watch truly one of a kind, see Fransisco's tutorial here. 2. If your watch has engraved text on the dial, (Ross or rmcsherry dial) then you will probably want to add color to the lettering. Be sure the paint is completely dry and cured before attempting this one. I give a giant thanks to vuhuynh for showing me the 1 BEST TIP for doing this correctly. (Hairdrying from the rear) Lets start by gently rubbing a simple crayon (in a circular motion) over the text. Yes, a child's crayon. Nothing special here for me. I used a white crayon for the black dial, and a brown crayon for the lighter colored dial... The circular motion ensures that you are getting the colored wax into the engravings from all angles. This will leave an almost rectangular film or residue over the text area and dial. Do not worry too much about overfilling the engraved area. **Forgot to mention; but one of the most important tools I have for this job is a FLAT block of wood... Use this ro rest the dial and/or do any rubbing... This way you are less likely to bend this very thin pice of brass.*** After you are done filling the engraved area and even a little overlap, comes the MOST IMPORTANT PART!!!! Hit the backside of the dial with the hairdryer. (Holding the dial upright at all times) Only needed (for me) a 10 to 15 second burst of hot air. You will be shocked to find out how much easier it is to wipe off melted wax... This seems to have slightly melted the wax from the base of the dial; effectively filling out the engravings even better. This also enables you to wipe off any and all excess wax MUCH easier. Do NOT use a towel or something very thick and abrasive. I actually used a T-Shirt to gently wipe over the top of the dial like a squeegie. The wax looked a little runny after the 1st wipe; so just reheat and rewipe. (Same pic as above... This is after 1 wipe) So easy a caveman can do it... I also use a CLEAN toothpick for any precise wax removal. The T-Shirt seemed to work nicely. Althou the pic is with Resin already added; I was going for a rather washed out appearance. The BEAUTY of this method is that if you do not like it; chances are...You can redo the wax without having to repaint the entire... Hope to have helped some by this one... BIG Thanks again to vuhuynh for this one!!! After it looks just right (but not perfect) now add a small layer of clear coat matte finish... YES; a light coat. And follow up immediately with the hairdryer to cook and cure that bad boy... Not too sure exactly why; but that is what I was instructed from one of OUR very best at this... (I am not questioning his tactics.) Part 3 (Resin filling and Lume) Coming Soon!!!

Thanks guys!!! VDB; actually realized I had the CG backwards when looking at the pics... That has been fixed.

Not too sure if this would be the right subforum, so if Admin feels the need to move this; I understand. Thought I would try and combine several different methods I have been testing into one nice and concise tutorial. Not too difficult a job. Remove the dial from the backplate when starting from scratch here. 1. Stripping the Paint from the existing dial and/or backplate: I like to start with a bare bones dial... Stay away from sanding your dials. Go to your nearest Home Depot or whatever hardware store and get paint stripper. Be sure to buy a few of those plastic disposable trays too... Simply drop the dial in the tray and pour a bit of stripper on top and let it soak for about 2 or 3 minutes. While wearing gloves, remove the dial and gently brush the dial with a wire brush. I am sure you can use other, more gentle, brushes; but this is what I had around the house. The paint will come off very easy. Now wipe the residue off the dial and wash it in mild soap and water or vinegar. (I am told that vinegar removes oils and residue from brass and Stainless) Your dial should now look like a small clean brass plate. (Although some of mine did not look brass at all) This also works if you want to strip down the back plate. Removing any and all lume, paint, or anything else for that matter... The paint stripper is strong stuff. ****Forgot to metion; you probably want to do this part outside since the fumes from that stripper is enough to drop a horse*** Turn on some tunes, you will be at this for a while: And you can't forget the early morning Krusty the Clown Slippers. 2. Painting the dial and/or backplate: I have tried over 10 different painting methods, and I have found that my favorite and easiest to use the the ole airbrush. Picked one up at a local hobby shop with the compressor (very quiet by the way) for under $150.00... I have found some spray paint to actually be pretty darn good too. Just remember to find "FLAT" paint... (At least in my limited experience, Flat works best for the PAM and hommage dials I am working with) Next tool you need is a heat gun a.k.a Wife's Hairdryer: She will KILL me if she ever sees his thread... My little outdoor patio workstation looks like this: I started with a white base coat... Actually a little off-white: Added a single LIGHT coat: By the way; I use an old hunk of styrofoam from my kid's Christmas toys and toothpicks to hold the dials in place. Next, I added a darker color to try and get that aged sunburt/faded color: After you achieve the desired color, you can spray the dial with a LIGHT coat of CLEAR MATTE Finish... This was actually a difficult find for me; ended up using a Krylon Clear Matte I found at Home Depot. ***Please remember that after every coat, hit that sucker with the hairdryer for about 4 to 5 minutes*** If you have engraved letter you want to fill in; please take heed that every coat of paint makes the engravins a little more shallow... Another recommendation I was given was to put the dial in the oven on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes to fully cure the paint to the dial. Place that sucker on a sheet of tin foil and cook away: When you remove the dial from the oven; you may realize you left it in too long, or that you didn't apply enough paint... Notice how my dials changed in appearance. Before cooking: After cooking: It's alright you can always touch it up a bit more afterwards. I overcooked mine a bit and the white paint turned a bit yellow. No worries, because the airbrush was still around to add some more color. Cooked for about 10 minutes and the result came out as expected. Please stay tuned for Part 2 (Filling the lettering/Resin filling/Luming)

I am actually in the process of making a tutorial on this very watch... Part 1 was posted at RG already... I'll be bringing it over later today. Oh; as for theat cannon pinion... I think I HATE you know... I didn't even think about the d@mn CP...

At least for now; here is my completed vintage project. Everything completed by me and no one else... Feels good that way. DSN 6152-1 case heavily worked on by myself Ofrei 6497 (all I have at the moment) DSN Hands Aged and lumed by me Ross Dial painted and repainted about 25 times. Lumed and resin filled by me. DSN CG heavily reworked by me, also added a protruding CG Pin. All in All; I am happy with the end result. Nightwatch thick caseback is inbound, as well as a moillie 3601 with okabum hands... What do you guys think? And dial itself before mounting: Pics are looking a little more yellow than the actual color. I will try and adjust that later.

Wasn't meant literally. Just my opinion that out of all the others that I have tried (so far), his is by far my favorite. I didn't mean to put down any of our resident strap makers; as I have only tried about 3 or four of them. And yes; you are correct that others are less costly. Ted Su straps are much more expensive than the other's that I have tried out.

I LOVE mine. My 112 is naked without it. Great pickup. Ted is the ONLY one to go to for hornback :

WOW!!! You have been on ebay waaay too long. Try giving others a shot at these... Fantastic collection, and when you feel like recouping any of your cost on those movements, feel free to hit the PM button...

Your right. I am expecting a total cost of approximately 600 to 650.00, and the end result will be great. Out of the 16 reps in the arsenal right now (10 of which are pams) I have always wanted to build a super rep DJ... Not sure why, they look tiny on my wrist. I am used to 44 and 47mm watches... I have just always loved the look of a TT DJ on a leather or croc strap... Seems a little old fashion, but (for what its worth) this was my inspiration. I know this is an older model than mine, but I must make due with what is/was available.

Franken Dj Project. cal 3135 to 2824 or 2892 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been reading almost every thread on here and RG regarding an upcoming Franken project. Already acquired a 16233 TT gen case, crystal, and dial. About to get a Gen 3135 date wheel and correct 6mm crown for the 16200 case size. (24-603-8 Crown and 24-5320 tube) It seems that I will need a movement spacer/enlargement ring as the cal 3135 is 28.5 mm in diameter and the ETA 2824 & 2892 are 25.6mm. I have sent a PM to Stilty without a reply yet. Only sent it about 15 minutes ago... I read somewhere that you can use the ETA 2834-2 enlargement ring and file it down a bit. These are available from Jules Borel. It seems that this will fit the ETA movement precisely, but will enlarge the movement to about 29mm. Only a little filing necessary. Now to the questions: 1. 2824 or 2892-A2 ? 2. Any info about whether or not the Gen date wheel is a simple overlay with the proper enlargement ring? 3. I read that the cannon pinion and 4th wheel should be replaced. Here are the CP options: 2.2, 2.45, 2.7, 2.95, 3.2 Here are the 4th wheel options: 4.8, 5.05, 5.3, 5.5, 5.8, 6.05 Which ones? 4. Hands. The hand size on the eta mvmnts are 90/105/25 What sizes are the gen hands? I know this is a lot of information and some pretty in depth questions, so if some experts could please chime in I would appreciate it. Any Franken experts willing to take on a project can also PM me. I am starting to think that this is going a little over my head.

And what type of camera setup are you running. Very nice...

okay maybe only the homepage is down. I am at the accesoires page right now. HERE

Hey M, Risti still down or me. Go see our section over here. Seem it will be out until Sun. or Monday of next week.

Wow, Wow, and Wow... I am in the process of a similar, but probably not as good, build. Beautiful.

What the Hell? Can't load paneristi.com right now. Please tell me this isn't some sort of Panerai Virus!!!

Hell; there is a gen 201a dial also for $2999.00

Found this on the Risti tonight. Thought it may be of interest for some. http://www.network54.com/Forum/282106/mess...A+Sly+Tech+Dial

Would that happen to be from Ross? Mine should be here soon... Can't Wait. The vintage bug is nasty and has NO cure!!! Don't get well soon.

1. I was working with him on SEVERAL non-rep things and asked for a favor. I guess I used up my favor bank on him. (I have NO IDEA what happened to make him stop working on reps. 2. The LH pin comes floppy. According to a few threads, you should not remove the CG pin. I was even told my master modder that the sucker was in there so tight, he would damage the pin if he applied any more pressure. With that said, the lever is still a tad floppy. It does; however, snap right into place and won't come lose. This is fine with me. My VCG, has ZERO floppiness, but required a little work to get the right finish and fit.

Just wait for the 112. (Flav, Rex, LH, VCG, & DSN) My Ted Su BIG Hornback is lonely. And YES; FLAV is by far the fastest I have ever dealt with. I probably shouldn't be telling people this. He may get flooded with requests.

BIG Dirk fan myself:

You are AWESOME!!! This is, in fact your old dial... Flav said it could use a new finish, and voila... From what I have learned, the cg pin was indeed polished. Also, I have a Dirk Shark from the Risti with the 5218 engraved buckle. I just haven't really decided which strap yet.

Not sure if it is old case or new. These are 3 pc lug screws. Correct to gen or no???

Be weary though. Finding gen parts for a 127 is pretty difficult and extremely costly. I have had Ultimate 127's from 3 different dealers, ans DSN is definitely one of the best. Go with his Swiss and superlume. You may have to drop a few bucks on a high CP mod, flush the CG pin, tighten the lever; and all 127's belong on a Gunny Strap. (Caitlin or 74) Order early, because they take a few weeks to make.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!! What do you mean inaccurate? Not complaining by any stretch of the imagination, just VERY curious. It is always these little things that will nag me. I love the chase!!! I love trying to get a watch more accurate to gen, than getting a gen itself. (That and the price tag)