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Color dripping mod

GerRepFan

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13/2/19
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So guys,
first of all I hope that I'm in the correct section. Yesterday I came up with a cool idea (well, at least I hope it's a good idea lol). I saw a photo of a painted Hublot Big Bang (so called Mr. Brainwash edition) online and I immediately fell in love with it although I normally hate Hublots but that's another topic.
So I wondered if it would be possible to do something like that on your own? I'd be really keen on getting an all black Hublot (don't know which one yet) and then dripping some colors over it. Guess that would look pretty cool. Maybe you could even recommend me a type of paint I could use for this (maybe acrylic paint but I'm not sure if it would stick to the watch over time). Another option would be paint brushing but I'd rather have that color dripping look.
And another thing: Color dripping shouldn't be a problem if the watch is water proofed, should it?

Thanks in advance!

​​​​​​​Cheers guys!
 

KJ2020

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That's pretty cool. It opens up a whole new approach to custom watches. I wouldn't attempt anything like this on a watch case that wasn't completely disassembled though. Should go without saying, OP asked the question.
 

p0pperini

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Yeah KJ2020 , the technique looks pretty interesting as long as it doesn't require ultra-precise positioning of a design. I can't really see how it would work with a whole assembled watch though - I'd have thought individual dipping of whatever component was going to get the treatment would be required.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the OP shedding a little more light on exactly what he was referring to... GerRepFan :)
 

GerRepFan

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Hello,

thank you for the quick replies. And thank you p0pperini for the link to that YouTube video. That's probably not the same technique than on the Mr. Brainwash Big Bang but it's pretty cool anyway and it's exactly what I'm looking for. But probably needless to say that this is rather not possible for me to do...
I'll post a link to the mentioned HBB (hopefully it leads right to a photo) so you get an idea of what I mean by color dripping. Just by looking at it I'd say that this isn't done by using any special technologies rather than just dripping some paint onto the watch. But I wonder if that paint really lasts permanently...

https://www.google.com/search?
q=hublot+big+bang+Mr+Brainwash&client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&source=android-browser&prmd=isnv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjq5MuqprjoAhWR7KYKHZicCSMQ_AUoAXoECAsQAQ&biw=360&bih=572#imgrc=zc0_QPxOe9F0EM&imgdii=o5-XMMc12m4o9M


Hope that link works.
 

p0pperini

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Hey GerRepFan - yes I'm sure you're right. Having taken a close look at pics of that Mr. Brainwash piece I agree, it looks like a hand-painted finish. The individual layers of colour have different textures and reflective surfaces.

You could coat it with a hard varnish/lacquer layer to protect it, but with wear a painted layer on top of metal will be prone to getting worn and damaged over time. It's just the same with PVD or plating on a watch - it's going to wear through in places eventually.

Going back to your questions:

Acrylic paint is plastic, and will be very fragile. I'd recommend enamel paints. The little pots of Humbrol enamel that modellers (like me) use would be perfect for this sort of project. Enamel is very hard-wearing. It's available in a mass of colours and finishes. Mixing gloss, matt and metallic could work great.

You'd need to be really careful masking off the areas that would be vulnerable to paint creeping in - if it gets into crown threads or the gap between pushers and the case, it'll be horrible to sort out. You could probably do it with the watch assembled if you were really careful at the masking stage. I think my inclination would be to do it with the watch disassembled to make masking easier. Although you'd want it to be as completely reassembled as possible while masked to get continuity to the drips.

Keep us updated if you take this project on!
 
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GerRepFan

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That's it! Acrylic paint it says in the article. Good to know!

I might wait for a Hublot cheapie and then try out some color dripping on it just to see how it turns out. Could be fun. I'll also try the lacquer in order to protect the paint and then I'll see if the paint lasts. But I guess I'll probably need to find a good balance between intense colors and thin paint because I believe that the paint will most likely crumble easily the thicker the paint is. I'll keep you updated! And maybe someone still has some tipps?

Thanks so far!
 
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GerRepFan

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p0pperini Just saw that you updated your post. Thanks for your explanation. However, I'm gonna try acrylic color first simply because I don't wanna buy 4 or 5 buckets of enamel paint of which I would just use a little bit. ;) I still have some acrylic paint at home (action painting is/was another hobby of mine :D) so I'm gonna use this first. Furthermore the article that KJ2020 posted also mentions that the artist used acrylic paint as well. We'll see if that works.
I agree that it would be best to disassemble the watch prior to the painting but I honestly have no idea how to do so and secondly I also wanna make sure that the color has smooth transitions just like you mentioned as well. I'm about to pick up a 15€ Megir cheapie so I honestly don't give a damn just in case paint gets into the case/movement. :p
 
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p0pperini

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That all makes complete sense GerRepFan - look forward to seeing the results!

BTW, in case of any confusion, I'm talking about the very small 14ml pots of Humbrol enamel.
 
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GerRepFan

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Alright, watch is ordered and should arrive next week. Never thought that I'd be that excited to get such a cheap and crappy watch LOL
I'll keep you updated
 
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GerRepFan

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So, the watch arrived today which was actually really surprising to me because the seller sent the watch only yesterday. But hey: I ain't gonna complain about that :p



This is it... It's actually nicer than I expected. Watch is heavy and doesn't feel cheap at all (well, except for the clasp). Good catch for 15€...



But as you can see it's waaaay to big for my wrist.


So, before I started painting it I protected the glass with foil.



Also put foil on the pushers and crown to make sure that no paint gets into the movement.



And of course I had to put foil on the clasp as I didn't want the paint to ruin the beautiful Megir logo... ;)


And then I started my creative work... Didn't feel quite right to splash paint onto a watch but I quickly got over that LOL. I mixed the acrylic paint with a little bit of water and then dripped it onto the watch. Worked out pretty well... And that's what it looked like when I was ready. Actually, the foil on the glass looks even better than the whole rest of the watch imo... :xd:




And after the paint had dried I removed the foil. At first I was a little bit scared because some paint got onto the glass but luckily it didn't get into the watch or movement. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo but the lighting didn't show the colors nicely.
And now onto some impressions of the transformed watch...



OMG I just love the colors on that thing :clap:



















And of course a wristshot... Damn that thing looks big af on my small 16cm wrist :unsure:



So, that's it... Hope you all liked my little "report". I'm gonna upload some more photos in better, natural lighting tomorrow to do the watch justice (if that is even possible with a 15€ watch... :hehehe:

Anyway, I have to say that I had a lot of fun while painting the watch and I'm actually quite satisfied with the result. Unfortunately the colors aren't as saturated as I hoped they would be but I like the watch anyway. Gonna be one of my 2020 summer watches... I'm really curious about how long the paint will actually last until it starts to crumble... Maybe I'll need to put some lacquer on it. Time will tell...

So, that's it for now (hopefully I didn't forget to mention anything). Few more photos will follow tomorrow.

Have a good night everyone :wave-1:
 
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p0pperini

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GerRepFan Hey, it’s great to see someone get inspired, then go right ahead and do it!

You will probably find that the paint begins to scrape off quite rapidly without a protective layer, as it has nothing to key into, especially on the bare metal surfaces. It would’ve helped to rough up the surfaces that’ll be painted with sandpaper, and degreasing them with isopropyl alcohol before painting. Lacquering would also help (and would make the colours appear richer too).

Getting saturated colour with water-thinned paints will never be possible, so if you decide to do a Mk.2 version, it would be worth spending some time looking for a free-flowing medium. There’s a big market for “drip art” and loads of products available.

And because it makes me cry a bit (even on a $15 watch) - when you do mk2, please spend a little more time masking off the crystal neatly... Buy a scalpel. ;) But seriously, for this sort of artistic project to really work, half the art is in the preparation, and the contrast between sharp, well defined clean areas, and the chaotic painted surfaces.
 

Ams55557

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I wonder if adding dimethicone to the acrylic would make it last longer and less likely to flake off.
 

p0pperini

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I wonder if adding dimethicone to the acrylic would make it last longer and less likely to flake off.
Dimethiclone is a silicone oil - to me, that would seem to indicate it'd have the opposite effect. It's used in acrylic "pour painting" to create cells. As we're on the subject though, Floetrol or Liquitex pouring effects medium would work better than water as the thinning medium. (My wife is into this.)
 

Ams55557

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Yeah, that was my thinking, silicone bonds with silicone and the dimethiclone is skin safe.

Safe to say, there is probably an additive needed to make this more wearable and I don’t think a sealing agent will get very far.
 

GerRepFan

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p0pperini Thanks for your reply. Now I got some more ideas on what to improve next time. And I'll be looking out for some lacquer for this first "prototype" as well.





And because it makes me cry a bit (even on a $15 watch) - when you do mk2, please spend a little more time masking off the crystal neatly... Buy a scalpel. ;)

Haha, I will... ;)
 

p0pperini

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BTW, I didn't mean to come across as overly critical buddy - as I said, I really admire how you got straight on with this project! And my comments on the aesthetics of the thing (sharp masking) are completely moot, as "art" is a totally subjective thing! :)