Big Crown dial question

[dbane883]

How did the Rolex oompa loompas apply the lume plots  to the 6538 dials?  

 

Gilt circles and then a dab of lume that just touches the inside portion of the gilt circle?

 

Or was a base coat of white (or other) used first and then the lume applied on top of that?

 

I'm fairly certain it was the former, but need a conclusive answer.  tia

 

 

 

 

[JoeyB]

I believe all the gilt dials were made using the same techniques. The ones I've seen, mostly 6542s, are black. The pic is of a 6538 and shows the background of the marker to be black.

 

[Nanuq]

Yep, black over gilt, lume over black. The "gilt" is actually the brass plate beneath showing through openings in the black.

[cc33]

They applied a very thin layer of special white paint before applying the lume, it was to protect the dial from the radiation. So after the dial was lacquered they would apply that special white paint and then the lume over that.

[cc33]

Here is an old 6536/1 dial which has no lume left just that white paint, so you can see what it looks like.

[dbane883]

ok... so the "gold" circles are actually at a level lower than the black...  Then clear lacquer over everything.. and then white paint/primer on the markers and then the lume.. 

 

Thanks

[Mendota Explorer]

cc33, great pics of that dial.  One of the things I want to do, if I ever get around to starting my 6538 build, is I want to try to reproduce the lighter 6:00 marker that Rolex used to signify a radium dial.  I found some amazing shots online showing this.  They colored the lume for the 6:00 marker whiter, and that meant radium was used for the lume material.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Mendota Explorer

[cc33]

Yes mostly 5510's and 6536/1's had that feature of the lighter 6pm marker. I've always wondered why it was used on some and not others.

[JoeyB]

Yep, black over gilt, lume over black. The "gilt" is actually the brass plate beneath showing through openings in the black.

That is precisely the way the water-slide decals I use work. Inkjet doesn't print white, so the lighter colors like the gold/gilt allow the dial brass to show through to a degree. The decals are sealed using a clear coat before they are wetted and applied.  

 

 

As it ages the 'gilt' look subsides to more of what we are used to seeing today. 

 

I didn't know about the white paint under the lume. That is very interesting. 

[cc33]

Cool way of making them yourself, well done!

That paint they use is extremely tough and durable, I'm thinking an enamel paint of some kind, like they used to use to make the red depth ratings on the early ncg subs

[JoeyB]

I tried making a red letter 6542 dial, but the red is raised on the genuine dial. It looked like garbage incorporating it into the decal, and I can't make those little letters with a paint brush! I did make the exclamation point dial for my 1675, and that was good.