jmb Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 It seems that one thing most people can agree on is that the pearl on the Noobmariner leaves a lot to be desired. A while back I read about the "epoxy mod" on one of the forums and with new members thinking about Noobmariners it made me remember to try it out. The insert and pearl I recently put on my cheap no-date had a pearl almost identical (zit-wise) to that on my Noobmariner so I figured it would be a good victim to practice on. I used a clear "5 minute" epoxy and dabbed in a little at a time until it "flowed out" to the level I wanted. I think it improved things a lot so here are the pics... These are the kind of mods I like - FREE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Huge improvement! It will probably start to yellow in about 6 months, but it's still 100% better than the zit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Seems I remember somebody mentioning that some epoxies would not yellow, we'll see. I may do one with some polyester resin like is used on fiberglass, it is almost 100% resin and just a smidge of hardener instead of 50% catalyst like epoxy... Another thing to try (since I repaint motorcycles on the side) is a drop of catalyzed polyurethane clear (like DuPont Chroma Deluxe), that stuff never yellows. The more I think about this I may skip the resin experiment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Excellent result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 If you really want to get fancy, get some lume powder to mix up in the catalyzed clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks, TeeJ. Yeah, I'm gonna have to get some of that lume stuff to experiment with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastrmindalliance Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hey, Does anyone have a link to the epoxy mod? I want to see how similar it is to mine. Also, can you mix just lume powder with epoxy and it will work? I believe the epoxy that won't yellow is the slow drying stuff. The local stuff here is called "Selleys Super Strength Araldite. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 I'm not sure if you want to mix the lume with the epoxy unless you are building the lume dot first. The point of doing this mod is that the gen pearls have a sapphire or something clear piece on top of the lume to make it seem like it's got some more dimension. If you mix the lume in with the epoxy, it will just look like a filled in lume dot. I have comparisons of the gen pearls and some others in the Noobmariner comparison in my sig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 In my experience epoxy pearls just dont last. So ive given up in favour of watchmaterial ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 I've done a few epoxy mod tests, with a few different epoxys. They all turned yellow, even if just alittle. The best one looks aged, just a bit, so it's the one I used on my noob. Good luck with to other clear coat experiments. Can't wait to see the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) In my experience epoxy pearls just dont last. So ive given up in favour of watchmaterial ones How can it "not last"? Epoxy's pretty hard stuff. Mine has been around for well over a year and other than just starting to yellow (or I like to think, age!) it's doing fine. Sure it won't be as good as a Watchmaterial one, but it's a whole lot cheaper. BTW, if you want the best non yellowing buy "clear casting resin". It's used to make nick knacks and furniture. Resin table or bar tops, etc. Problem is finding small enough packages. Maybe a craft store? Edited October 26, 2009 by kbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 I have ordered a couple more bezel inserts (like the one I "modified" in this thread) and I will try the urethane clear approach on them. The only thing that might be a problem is it's viscosity (or lack of) might not let it pool up high enough to get a nice "lens" effect. We'll see, inserts should be here in a couple of weeks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stukov Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 The two component epoxy resin starts to get yellow after a few months. I also made the pearl modification on my sub, and this is a fact. Looks vintage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Stukov, that will be perfect to use when doing a vintage piece, then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krbarnes Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 quick question about Sub pearls. My rep lost the pearl. When you guys talk about watchmaterial pearls, are you talking about the ones on watchmaterial.com for $10? How do you "attach" them to the bezel? Epoxy? Super Glue? Sorry for all the newbie questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 I've never actually replaced one but I would imagine you would epoxy one in, maybe on the back-side after removing the insert... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 you pop the old bezel insert out by warming it up with a hair dryer and wiggling it loose. Once you have it out, you may need to enlarge the hole to accomodate for the WM pearl (yes from that site @ $10/pc). I will take some sand paper and roll it into a tight little tube like shape and slip it into the hole. Then I twist it around, sanding the hole larger, test fitting the WM pearl until its just right. I affix the new pearl with, loctite superglue gel (the thick kind) or gorilla glue. Remember gorilla glue expands, a dab'll do ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacher62 Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 This is the famouse jewelryoutlet555 insert with the WM pearl. You know what makes a great pearl coat. UV glue...the kind you use to mount a cyclops date mag. Put a tiny bit and when it looks right take it out in the sun. Dries in 20 seconds. The thing is it doesn't yellow. Otto Frei has it for $4.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I use a clear coat that came with my new car. It came in a small jar with a little brush. It has UV hardners, stays perfectly clear and white and is though as hell. I use it on the pearl in combination with a regular needle and let me tell you. The result looks 10 times better than any WM pearl I've ever een. The WM pearls look way to greenish compared to the hour markers and hands, and none has a perfect coat applied (I have some so I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 You know what makes a great pearl coat. UV glue...the kind you use to mount a cyclops date mag. Put a tiny bit and when it looks right take it out in the sun. Dries in 20 seconds. The thing is it doesn't yellow. Otto Frei has it for $4.00. Having managed a fiberglass supply company, I couldn't agree more. UV has to be the way to go here. The only issue is it is pretty viscous. An interesting experiment would be to mix the lume powder, and see if UV still catalysed it. (May even thicken it up a bit) All the base epoxies, and polyesters, (even clear casting resin) will yellow with time. There are some specialist epoxy formulators who could solve this, however the volume is so limited, it will need to be an "off the shelf". I have a close mate still in the industry whose company builds epoxies,.... I'll ask the question. O/S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted October 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I have a few bezel/pearl assemblies coming and I'm going to mix up a dab of DuPont Chroma Clear and try that. It should be just as clear as that used by Rolexman and maybe a bit more durable since it is a catalyzed product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacher62 Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Having managed a fiberglass supply company, I couldn't agree more. UV has to be the way to go here. The only issue is it is pretty viscous. An interesting experiment would be to mix the lume powder, and see if UV still catalysed it. (May even thicken it up a bit) All the base epoxies, and polyesters, (even clear casting resin) will yellow with time. There are some specialist epoxy formulators who could solve this, however the volume is so limited, it will need to be an "off the shelf". I have a close mate still in the industry whose company builds epoxies,.... I'll ask the question. O/S Thanks for the thoughts. UV glue is really easy to work with. As long as you keep in indoors in incandescent light you can work with it. However, when you take it in the sun or put it under UV light, you better have it where you want it. I was afraid the first time I moved a date mag lens, but the only hard part is getting it off without bunging it up. Putting a new one one is a piece of cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francisco Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hi: I posted a tuto recenly about reluming with epoxy. I discover that a white layer under the pearl improves a lot the result: Regards, Francisco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Your attempt number 3 looks very good. So far, knock, knock, I haven't had the actual pearl fall out but if I do I will definitely try this procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valerian Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Just dug this up. Some great information here, guys. Bump. Val. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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