Dial Painting/Lettering/Resin Filling/Luming... Part 2

[TswissT]

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!!!

[bmedude]

After seeing this it makes me realize how simple things could be if you sit back and look at the entire picture. Thanks!

[tech]

Thanks for the posting! I'm still all thumbs though when it comes to these pieces. My hats are off to anyone with these skills or attempts to acquire them.

cheers