6538 insert fading experiments

[aeromatic]

I have tried rubbing the inserts in the past with car rubbing compound this has given good results but leaves the insert looking faded but glossy

bleach does give a better result but i found it hard to control sometimes leaving it a bit longer in the bleach fades it too much

this time i decided to use a different method im sure this has been done many times before, lets see if anyone can guess which method i used

 

First i decided to do inserts that i already faded/aged to different degrees !

Insert 1 this insert has turned into a tropic dark brown although i dont think

the photo shows this, in daylight/sun it looks brown 

Insert 2 this rafflestime insert turned in to this uexpected olive green matt finish

some other photos which include some already faded inserts that have had this new treatment as well

this red insert im thinking about fitting it to my blackbay homage

Edited March 18, 2013 by aeromatic

[cc33]

Thanks for sharing, that brown one is very cool, It looks great!

[aeromatic]

Thanks for sharing, that brown one is very cool, It looks great!

Thanks cc was you refering to the very faded brown or the darker one? here is the result of my 5513 insert which had a bluish tint and now has a faded tropical brown after the new treatment

and some more photos if this is the one you like

[cc33]

They are both super nice but I love the darker one, mmm chocolate!!

[aeromatic]

They are both super nice but I love the darker one, mmm chocolate!!

I just redone the darker one(none 15min insert) and its now really chocolate the fonts have changed to a guilt/brown colour too i will post a pics when i replace my camera batteries

i just love it now i will order some more to experiment and keep as spares !

[cc33]

Brown is the new black I saw this one on vrm yesterday for 990 euros, ouch! You came very close, for a fraction of the price, congrats

[aeromatic]

I can replicate that look by fading the insert first then heating the insert  thats why the insert looks dark i prefer the dark matt look but tropic brown haze this raffles insert was so glossy it shouted fake,with my method i can control the patination better from just taking away the glossy black to fading right down im glad you like it i may order another 6538 dial and see if heat treating it might turn it too to a tropic although adonised finishes can take a lot of abuse dials have to be treated with kids gloves i think, its a risk i dont mind taking 

Edited March 18, 2013 by aeromatic

[mil04]

Great results on the dial! I wish I had you skills

[aeromatic]

Its crazy i just did a brown insert and it turned a green colour just slighty lighter shade green than the insert in the first watch photo  i was hoping that it would just take away the metalic look

[aeromatic]

This is the result of the metalic brown insert i was hoping it would lessen the metalic look but turned this one also to green if anyone likes custom and can use the green insert pm and i will drop it in the post for you, it only fits on cartel 6538 cases it is larger than the 5513 inserts

this is the result of the metalic coke insert i was not happy with the shiny metalic red finish so i was amazed at the matt finish this will be used for my black bay homage

and here is the finished tropic insert on my 6538 i decided to reheat the insert to make it even more chocolate all i need to do now is find a way to tropic the dial and age the hands

unfortunately the tropic colour can not be guaranteed as you can see two raffles 6538 inserts one a red triangle which turned green colour and the other raffles 6538 none 15 min insert turned tropic the only thing i can think is the factory colour process must be a different system

and here is the black bay homage

 

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2013 by aeromatic

[aeromatic]

oooppps I have run out of inserts to experiment on ! i will order some more when our bank accounts are unfrozen all the islands banks have been closed since  the 15th march so i can not order anything darn it  great way to save money and starve at the same time

[aeromatic]

one more fading experiment this is the black insert that came with my helenarou 6538 caseset lets see if this insert will change colour to a desired (tropic brown)

fingers crossed it wont turn green

here it is before the gas stove heating process

and after heating on a gas stove the insert was held over the flame part of the stove ring not too close to burn it as this will stain the insert

and has to be held with the top of the insert up (important) i placed it on a knife

it has faded similar to the 990usd insert cc33 kindly posted but a darker looking tropic

im thinking of sticking with this insert for my homage bay yes why not a none 15min insert gives a cleaner looking face !

Edited March 24, 2013 by aeromatic

[cc33]

Holy cow, you are really getting the hang of this! The chocolate insert that you made and put on the 6538 is SICK! It really looks great, and the Black bay insert looks better than the one that come with a Black bay imo. You're on to something, if I had a black bay I'd prefer your insert to the gen and that's saying a lot.

[panerai153]

I like the one on your Black Bay (last one) also the last one on your 6538 looks really, really good. I had the same problem with some of mine using bleach, some almost never turn at all, others turn within seconds. I have one on my Tudor 7924 that started out Greyish and now looks blue!

Great work

[aeromatic]

Thank you cc33 appreciate your comments

i dont mind failer as i concider this before i decide to experiment and i have ruined a lot of parts in the process

Holy cow, you are really getting the hang of this! The chocolate insert that you made and put on the 6538 is SICK! It really looks great, and the Black bay insert looks better than the one that come with a Black bay imo. You're on to something, if I had a black bay I'd prefer your insert to the gen and that's saying a lot.

[aeromatic]

Thanks panerai153 my bay looks even better in the flesh i guess im not a photographer but i try my best actually im trying to find an insert to fade to light blue for my blue snowflake sub the colour is unpredictable i was lucky with the bay insert thanks again !

I like the one on your Black Bay (last one) also the last one on your 6538 looks really, really good. I had the same problem with some of mine using bleach, some almost never turn at all, others turn within seconds. I have one on my Tudor 7924 that started out Greyish and now looks blue!

Great work

[aeromatic]

I have found now with experimenting that if the desired effect is for an aged insert as my last photo 6538 where you can see discolouration it is best to rub the insert first with something like wire wool to roughen the surface a bit then when heated up on the gas flame this gives an authenic looking finish that looks 30-40 years old, my blackbay insert was heated up without any kind of fading and this gives a new look ! its amazing that a black insert can change to tropic brown just by heat alone and look lighter!

[eray]

These are great. I'd never heard of heating them before. Nice work, and thanks for sharing.

[Nanuq]

Did you ever try your heat process on a dial to turn it tropical?

[aeromatic]

Did you ever try your heat process on a dial to turn it tropical?

Hi Nanuq

I am planning to try a tudor rose helenarou dial but my watchmaker friend said he will try to stop me hehe ! i belive i can get good result as my process you can check the dial at different stages the oven gives too much heat to fast and can lift the markers up off the dials as with the iserts its a risk with no guarantee it will turn tropical

[aeromatic]

more gas heat treatment !

 

 

[aeromatic]

Did you ever try your heat process on a dial to turn it tropical?

Yes ! result a big negative never ever heat a dial i have ruined a few the heat lifts up the painted finish causing bubbling !!!!! :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: