projectologist Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Well I had some uber hi-res files of a couple of gen vintage dials on my desktop, so I had been wondering how they would look resized to 36.5 and 39mm. I printed this one at 300dpi after the usual PS/PP along with variations of light and dark fading. I used a higher-end printer that produces excellent tack sharp, grain-free exhibition prints and was surprised at the results. Also, the paper used was heavy weight with a matte finish. This gave the dial face a very convincing textured surface. Then I went in with a 10/0 paint brush and coated the indices with a semi-gloss clear acrylic finish (pics below were taken before coating in case it didn't work). The only difficult part was cutting them out neatly. I wish there was some inexpensive way to die cut them. Something I didn't expect... I discovered that the dial texture imparted by the matte surface of the printing paper is more convincing than spraying on a matte coating over an already painted dial. Plus when spraying a coating you run the risk of orange peel and fogging from applying it too thick. Here are the first 2 I printed and cut out (it was harder to cut out perfectly round with scissors than I thought it would be). Below are some quick phone pics for now. Shot in the shade and partial sun. The dial changes from warm to cool just as a real dial would. I used my leather hole puncher to make the small center hole. I'm happy. Also my first attempt at luming hands. Disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting that this method is a replacement for an actual metal based dial with an applied finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Very clever...fun stuff!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Very cool technology. Won't pass the geiger counter test but looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 any chance to see some macro shots of the dial? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Very clever...fun stuff!! +1 Very clever Indeed,looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sander Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 wow, this looks pretty good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Looks pretty convincing! Nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eton Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Looks great, the dial is fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
projectologist Posted September 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Looks pretty convincing! Nicely done! Thanks! If I had the skills to do sausage lume, then Pre-A dials via this method is doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Looks pretty convincing! Nicely done! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlgrey-erfurt Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 any chance to see some macro shots of the dial? me would like too plz rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0lf Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 I think it's a really cool idea as far as ideas go And please don't take this personally I'm not trying to be nasty - it's simply an observation of my own thought process and not a reflection on your work. I know I couldn't wear one of these. I mean every time I'd put it on I'd have this thought in the back of my mind that not only I'm wearing a replica of a very expensive vintage watch, I'm actually putting a photograph reprint on (very high quality but still) paper of the original dial inside the watch case. I guess I'm shallow like that but I think having this done as a silkscreen transfer on top of an etched marker lume-filled aluminum disc would go a long way for me personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
projectologist Posted September 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 I think it's a really cool idea as far as ideas go And please don't take this personally I'm not trying to be nasty - it's simply an observation of my own thought process and not a reflection on your work. I know I couldn't wear one of these. I mean every time I'd put it on I'd have this thought in the back of my mind that not only I'm wearing a replica of a very expensive vintage watch, I'm actually putting a photograph reprint on (very high quality but still) paper of the original dial inside the watch case. I guess I'm shallow like that but I think having this done as a silkscreen transfer on top of an etched marker lume-filled aluminum disc would go a long way for me personally. No problem... nothing you said was directed at me, you're only describing your personal reaction to if you wore a dial done via this method. I tried it on a whim and was not anticipating that it would look indistinguishable from the real thing at normal viewing distance. You'll probably find it interesting to know that I'm working with another member on printing this same file onto an aluminum disk. The disk will have cutouts for the indices. There'll be a clear film over these to simulate the plex layer. More updates, hopefully soon. Here's the photo of the gen dial I started with. I removed the hands in PS, then resized it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossanti Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 very nice indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgodeep Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Ingenious - love it and it looks very convincing I'm looking forward to the next step with the printed aluminium dial Cheers FGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parryl Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 cool stuff . can you make one for me ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Super cleaver work Projectologist and great results with both the print and hands! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0lf Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 No problem... nothing you said was directed at me, you're only describing your personal reaction to if you wore a dial done via this method. I tried it on a whim and was not anticipating that it would look indistinguishable from the real thing at normal viewing distance. You'll probably find it interesting to know that I'm working with another member on printing this same file onto an aluminum disk. The disk will have cutouts for the indices. There'll be a clear film over these to simulate the plex layer. More updates, hopefully soon. Here's the photo of the gen dial I started with. I removed the hands in PS, then resized it. That sounds very promising! Hope to see this come to fruition soon and thanks for not taking my comment personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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