subzero1 Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Sooo, I decided to do a little experiment with my Ti/SS 192 rep. I had read about how mixing oxiclean and hot water and throwing a Ti watch in will oxidize the TI and give it a dark grey with blue look. I wasn't sure about the water resistance of the 192, and how it would handle being submerged in a chemical bath, so I opened it up, and removed the Venus movement and dial from the case. I put some oxiclean in one of my pots, stirred in some water, heated it on my stove on low heat, and tossed in the case and bracelet from the 192. When it came out I really didn't like the blue-ish tint on the Ti parts of the watch, so very lightly wiped it down with a cape cod polishing cloth (barely touching it up), and the blue went away. Lucky for me the Ti stayed a much darker grey than it originally was, creating a very strong contrast between the Ti and the SS parts of the watch, VERY COOL. Oh yeah, there's one other thing that happened, see if you can spot it. Here's the watch as it is now, re-assembled: Yes, as you can see the tachymetre markings around the inner bezel came off. I didn't realize they were part of the case and not part of the dial, so when I put it in the chemical bath, the oxiclean stripped it right off. Now it's less accurate to the original, but the funny thing is that I like the new look much better, cleaner and less busy. I think the new overall look is pretty badass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highflyingclive Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 What is "oxyclean"? Chemical formula or constituents would help us identify a similr product on this side of the pond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TineT Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Sure looks like Tantalum more... Yes, please do share with us what Oxyclean is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikerz Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Oxiclean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highflyingclive Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 The website is no help - what does it say on the side of the pack? Which Oxyclean product are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 (edited) I absolutely love it Great concept and execution (apart from the tachy markings, hmmm, must be a way round that ) Now like Clive has ever so subtly hinted.... WE WANT EXACT DETAILS!!! Exact product, mixture ratio of water:product, duration of bath, temperature etc. Edited July 15, 2006 by docblackrock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzero1 Posted July 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 I absolutely love it Great concept and execution (apart from the tachy markings, hmmm, must be a way round that ) Now like Clive has ever so subtly hinted.... WE WANT EXACT DETAILS!!! Exact product, mixture ratio of water:product, duration of bath, temperature etc. Weelll, OK. The pic above is of the exact product I used. There's no ingredients spelled out on the label. The only thing mentioned anywhere is in the "Precuations" area, where is says the product contains "Sodium Percarbonate and Sodium Carbonate". Not sure if that helps or not. If you get your watch tested for waterproof and it is, then the whole tachymetre issue can be avoided by just sticking the whole watch into the oxiclean bath. Formula - I took one scoop, mixed it with 2 cups of water and heated it in a steel pot on the lowest setting on my stove "1". I let it warm up and mixed everything really well. One note of caution, this stuff will bubble up very quickly, so keep a cup around to scoop out the excessive suds for the first 5 minutes or so. After that, drop in the watch and metal band and leave it in there for 20 minutes, "stirring" every 5 minutes or so. Take it out and let it sit for half an hour. You will notice the strong blue highlighting I talked about. Wash it thoroughly with hand soap and water in a sink, using a soft brush (I use an old soft toothbrush) to get all the chemical residue off. This washing will not remove or alter the blue-ish tint in any way. If you like it that way then do nothing further, you are done. If you don't want the blue-ish tint, simply take a cape cod cloth and wipe off the titanium parts. Use VERY little pressure, just barely enough to do a very light wiping. Wipe off the whole watch. Afterwards, re-wash it under the sink with hand soap and soft brush again. Voila, dark grey ti with bright shiny SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 (edited) The website is no help - what does it say on the side of the pack? Which Oxyclean product are you using? Not sure of product, but chlorine-free suggests that sodium carbonate is the active ingredient (*edit* subzero now confirmed it) "Why are you suddenly so interested in the cleaning products?" my girlfriend will ask suspiciously in the supermarket next time...I can hear her now Edited July 15, 2006 by docblackrock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Weelll, OK. The pic in the above link is of the exact product I used. That link is the main site, not product-specific - what is it actually called? Versatile? Miracle Foam? Thanks for info - not sure about putting entire watch in chemical bath, proofed or not, deserves a 'Nanuq Award' I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usil Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Very nice look for this watch. As this is a chemical process, it might be best to insure you remove all skin oils from handling the watch by using an ammonia compound like a window or lens cleaner. This would insure no motteling where oiled areas took up less chemicals. Just a suggestion. As for dipping entire watch into chemicals, I will wait for someone else to try this first. Usil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bignasty Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Looks cool. Did you re-install the case back and crown into the case before submerging in water? Just wondering if the watch flooded or if you left out parts that allowed it to flood? Looks cool though! Might also consider this on my CA rep. Cheers, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzero1 Posted July 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Looks cool. Did you re-install the case back and crown into the case before submerging in water? Just wondering if the watch flooded or if you left out parts that allowed it to flood? Looks cool though! Might also consider this on my CA rep. Cheers, Jon Tossed them in individually, so the whole case flooded. Made sure to dry it really well and let it sit out for a while to remove all moisture before re-assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bignasty Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 So I wonder what the water resistance is on this rep? I've not submerged mine yet, I've always been scared to submerge chronos! My 187 has now had a bath or two but the pushers are screwed down at all times. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmytim Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 Wow, that is a nice mod (if you call this a mod), maybe I should try it too...someday... (maybe on the iwc gst ti) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzero1 Posted July 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 FYI, I decided to sell this watch, check out the FS section. This is just for those that liked the effect but don't want to do the chemical bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabmojo Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 What I dont get is why this works. I have done this with a bunch of ti bands and it really does darken it up. The question is why. After reading how to oxidize TI it usually involves dry heat. Maybe this does not oxidize it and just dies it. Best Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sssurfer Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Thank you for sharing your experience. Valuable info! Modifying a dial could prove of even more general interest than darkening Ti, IMHO. Be warned about tossing a whole watch in a warm/hot bath: water resistance is not assured at high temperatures, as metal (case parts) expands much more than rubber (o-rings & gaskets). I believed that percarbonate was the active ingredient in that cleaner, as 'per-' compounds (perborate, percarbonate...) develop oxygen so to perform oxidation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tescardo Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Would be interesting if this works also with a brushed steel-case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzo Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 (edited) it will only work on titanium ... Sodium Percarbonate acts like concentrated hydrogen peroxide and so accelerates the natural tendency of TI to oxidize it's outer layer and turn dark. A by-product of this, [unique to TI] is that it improves the surface strength. This DIY process is one of the coolest things to come around in a long time. It's easy, and the results are impressive. Very close Visually to old vintage Panerai light PVD coatings Edited September 7, 2006 by enzo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supermanx Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 it will only work on titanium ... Sodium Percarbonate acts like concentrated hydrogen peroxide and so accelerates the natural tendency of TI to oxidize it's outer layer and turn dark. A by-product of this, [unique to TI] is that it improves the surface strength. This DIY process is one of the coolest things to come around in a long time. It's easy, and the results are impressive. Very close Visually to old vintage Panerai light PVD coatings Interesting that you bumped this enzo, planning on doing it to the one I bought today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Keep us posted - this mod was on my to do list, just building up the courage to cook my Tanti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 ^^^ bumpety-bumpy, Apologies for exhuming this corpse of a thread but feeling reckless again and wondering if any poor soul achieved/failed miserably in attempting this mod? Anyone??? Question is, do I play and just cook the bracelet??? Or get the case locked up tighter than a clam's sphincter and hope for the best? Those non-screw chrono pushers are a worry.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Sooo, I decided to do a little experiment with my Ti/SS 192 rep. I had read about how mixing oxiclean and hot water and throwing a Ti watch in will oxidize the TI and give it a dark grey with blue look. I wasn't sure about the water resistance of the 192, and how it would handle being submerged in a chemical bath, so I opened it up, and removed the Venus movement and dial from the case. I put some oxiclean in one of my pots, stirred in some water, heated it on my stove on low heat, and tossed in the case and bracelet from the 192. When it came out I really didn't like the blue-ish tint on the Ti parts of the watch, so very lightly wiped it down with a cape cod polishing cloth (barely touching it up), and the blue went away. Lucky for me the Ti stayed a much darker grey than it originally was, creating a very strong contrast between the Ti and the SS parts of the watch, VERY COOL. Oh yeah, there's one other thing that happened, see if you can spot it. Here's the watch as it is now, re-assembled: Yes, as you can see the tachymetre markings around the inner bezel came off. I didn't realize they were part of the case and not part of the dial, so when I put it in the chemical bath, the oxiclean stripped it right off. Now it's less accurate to the original, but the funny thing is that I like the new look much better, cleaner and less busy. I think the new overall look is pretty badass. that's really col ..iwas wondering today how to get the metal oxidized ... oxi clean is supposed to supply more oxigenated carbonation to regular soap.. wonder what other chemical can be used just by applying with a brush .. wonder if oxiclean will work by just brushing it on after boiling it... maybe i will try that with a ti watch i have that i was going to change the movement on .. sure looks like the genuine TI ... great job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 which dealer did you get the 192 from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaifender Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 What is "oxyclean"? Chemical formula or constituents would help us identify a similr product on this side of the pond. here in spain the product he's referring to is marketed as "KALIA Oxy-Action". not sure about other E.U countries though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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