Mickey Padge Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 The new noob factory Rolex Explorer II is a very nice watch, superlumed dial, great case set, not a bad watch at all, however, it seems all or most of the dials have a wonky 12 marker, maybe the 6 and 9 marker too, the one I got did, thats for sure..... Check out the crooked markers on the QC pics! So, I thought what could be done? I like white dials, but I also don't like gloss dials a great deal, I much prefer a matte finish, like the black dial 42mm Explorer 2 So I picked up a can of Mr. Super Clear Flat UV Cut Spray for about £10, and took the watch to pieces, removing all the hands and the dial. I took off the 6 and 12 markers, and carefully reglued them in the right place, then proceeded to gently add a few coats of Mr Hobby onto the dial, ever watchful for dust..... Once the dial dried I reassebled the watch, lining the hands and the date change as you should, and the results are here in the following pictures, please let me know what you think! I have to say I was really surprised at how well it turned out, the dial has zero reflections, only the crystal reflects, the finish is lovely and soft, and the lume is the same as before, just as bright. The watch is totally transformed, on my wrist now, and not going anywhere! I am so tempted to do the same thing to my 42mm white Explorer II! Thanks for looking, any questions, please feel free to ask! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Ah beautiful! Just perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Looks fantastic A while back, Ubi posted a white matte dial DayDate, which really caught my attention, I've wanted a matte dial DJ ever since, and this just reinforces that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted June 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Thanks guys, I was so scared I would mess it up, but thankfully everything went to plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Thanks guys, I was so scared I would mess it up, but thankfully everything went to plan! I think the results speak for themselves I know how you must have felt though, I'm feeling the same about my planned 16610 to 16800 conversion project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted June 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Sorry that the picture links go via RWI, I have no clue how to fix that? They still work at least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted June 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I think the results speak for themselves I know how you must have felt though, I'm feeling the same about my planned 16610 to 16800 conversion project Thanks, I think a tiny spec is on the dial between the 8-9 marker, but otherwise it looks pretty clean. Clone movement inside, and before I fixed the markers, the GMT hand was out of sync, so I fixed that too, the GMT hand jumps on this piece when set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Thanks, I think a tiny spec is on the dial between the 8-9 marker, but otherwise it looks pretty clean. Clone movement inside, and before I fixed the markers, the GMT hand was out of sync, so I fixed that too, the GMT hand jumps on this piece when set It's certainly not a visible mark, it all looks pretty clean Nice work on sorting the movement too Is it independantly settable, or just in keeping with the 24 hour sweep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted June 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Hmm, not sure, Asian ETA clone with GMT mod, it wasn't clicking into place on the hour before, but inbetween, now after re fitting the hands, it clicks onto each hour and inbetween correctly And the mark you would need to look for it pretty hard, certainly doesn't bug me, certainly not when compared to the 12 marker position before I opened up the watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiyal Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hmm, not sure, Asian ETA clone with GMT mod, it wasn't clicking into place on the hour before, but inbetween, now after re fitting the hands, it clicks onto each hour and inbetween correctly And the mark you would need to look for it pretty hard, certainly doesn't bug me, certainly not when compared to the 12 marker position before I opened up the watch! Excellent work on all counts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted June 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Just refinished the dial on my 42mm white Explorer II, including the hands, looks stunning, even more impressive than this smaller version posted here, matte dials are so much nicer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seafoam Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Very nice MP. Question: How did you remove the markers? I thought about doing the same thing to my black dial version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted June 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Very nice MP. Question: How did you remove the markers? I thought about doing the same thing to my black dial version. Well, I knew I was going to respray the dial, so I just picked them off with my nails! Reglued them with care using rodico putty and jewellers glue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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