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Sharing my v7 sharpie mod experience

lrnz

Active Member
27/1/17
298
88
28
EU
So guys, I decided to share with you guys my experience painting my v7 hulk.
This is a cheap mod that I recommend to anyone who has ( submariner, gmt, ceramic Daytonas, etc..).
The word " cheap" might put you off, but it can litterally change your mind about your watch.
I had my v7 for quite a bit now, ( 9 months maybe ) and it looked like this.

Pictures in sunlight:

38387265272_0d0105e1f3_b.jpg


24547419108_e322d53b1f_b.jpg


Picture in low light:

37704196014_aaabae12d5_b.jpg


38364090696_c2a802d81e_b.jpg


38418578301_3bdb9f7090_b.jpg




Being bothered so much by the extremely dark numbers, ( see 30',35',40' markers in the last photo) I bought a yachtmaster and stopped wearing the hulk.
After thinking about selling it for a while, I decided to try out the sharpie platinum mod that everyone talked about.

I used this pen ( high light picture )

38362802516_ed2af19f92_b.jpg


( I took the bezel out, it's not mandatory, but it helps you a lot especially while painting the triangle at 12 o'clock, as you don't have to worry about getting paint on the crystal. )

FIRST STEP
Clean the bezel engravings.
I recommend:
1) get a toothbrush and brush the numbers
2) get the tip wet with water and start cleaning the engravings. You don't need a lot of pressure

SECOND STEP
wait for it to dry, and clean it with a microfiber cloth.

THIRD STEP
Apply the sharpie. Write a line of a piece of paper first in order to make sure the pen writes correctly. Then, start painting the bezel. You want to write on it in one direction (e.g. do counter clockwise strokes). It might seem that the numbers are extremely full at first but the paint quickly thins down

26642226399_d348850c64_b.jpg


FOURTH STEP

Wait for the paint to dry, 30m/1 hour is fine.

FIFTH STEP

Grab a toothpick, wet the tip with water and clean the excess paint. You will need a lot of toothpicks as the tips will get full of ink or lose their shape quickly.

(Still had to clean the 12 o'clock to 15' markers)
38418625461_080443a112_b.jpg


Don't worry. While cleaning the bezel it can happen that you mess up a marker (you remove the paint from the engraving ). Simply go back to STEP ONE, make sure to clean it very well though.

And this is all it takes. After doing this mod, I have started wearing my hulk again and I love it!

I'm sorry I didn't take any sunlight pictures with the paint mod yet as I hadn't the possibility yet.

Comparing the results: ( See the 50',45',40' markers of the stock paint )

24547423568_305ccf9242_b.jpg


38387274522_89b735b4da_b.jpg


Some shots with the paint mod:

24547462518_9665489c66_b.jpg


38362790056_ec33248551_b.jpg


37704225724_956ab15377_b.jpg
 

domiffm

no, I have nothing for sale
Patron
Certified
28/4/15
4,663
10,531
113
Germany
Thanks for sharing the mod and the effort for taking the pics and explanation.

I my eyes the color is really good.

But to give you a honest feedback: IMO the surface of the paint looks extremely uneven, it looks... just painted. I would rather live with a little too dark color than having a lighter color but uneven/not clean surface. IMO this is now a bigger tell because this unevenness we have on really cheap sub inserts.
 
D

d4m.test

Guest
Looks good! You can also use nail polish remover to remove the excess paint. Unevenness is a (slight - because one can't notice unless you look up close) issue for sure, but think it can be mitigated if you are willing to spend a lot of time smoothing it out (I was not)!
 

lrnz

Active Member
27/1/17
298
88
28
EU
Thanks for sharing the mod and the effort for taking the pics and explanation.

I my eyes the color is really good.

But to give you a honest feedback: IMO the surface of the paint looks extremely uneven, it looks... just painted. I would rather live with a little too dark color than having a lighter color but uneven/not clean surface. IMO this is now a bigger tell because this unevenness we have on really cheap sub inserts.

I know, but I have done some touch-ups in order to correct the unevenness. this is a common problem of DIY paint mods.
Are there any specific marker that you are referring to? I can say that artificial highlights the imperfections. In the sun it is better.
By the way, for me it's the opposite, but I guess everyone has an opinion :) I prefer the paint modded one over the dark one.
 

domiffm

no, I have nothing for sale
Patron
Certified
28/4/15
4,663
10,531
113
Germany
I know, but I have done some touch-ups in order to correct the unevenness. this is a common problem of DIY paint mods.
Are there any specific marker that you are referring to? I can say that artificial highlights the imperfections. In the sun it is better.
By the way, for me it's the opposite, but I guess everyone has an opinion :) I prefer the paint modded one over the dark one.

Manually you will never get the evenness of an automated process. So yes is it a common problem of the dyi‘s.

In my eyes affected here are: triangle, all markers until 10, 20, 30, 35.. from what i can see from the pics.
 

lrnz

Active Member
27/1/17
298
88
28
EU
Manually you will never get the evenness of an automated process. So yes is it a common problem of the dyi‘s.

In my eyes affected here are: triangle, all markers until 10, 20, 30, 35.. from what i can see from the pics.

Thanks for the reply, of course you can't get it 100% even manually ( there is the spongebob mod for that ) but doing some touch ups definitely helps.

I can say that artificial highlights the imperfections
 

connor86

I'm Pretty Popular
12/11/13
1,007
29
0
This is a very good work but honestly, to me the paint looks too silver
 

lrnz

Active Member
27/1/17
298
88
28
EU
This is a very good work but honestly, to me the paint looks too silver

This has been discussed several times, some prefer to use the " white sharpie" but that again is too white ahahaha, I guess it all boils down to personal preferences! Let's be honest, only people from these forums will notice things like the SEL's, and the color difference between the paint modded ones and the gen; and nobody is going to look at your watch with a loupe :)
 

connor86

I'm Pretty Popular
12/11/13
1,007
29
0
This has been discussed several times, some prefer to use the " white sharpie" but that again is too white ahahaha, I guess it all boils down to personal preferences! Let's be honest, only people from these forums will notice things like the SEL's, and the color difference between the paint modded ones and the gen; and nobody is going to look at your watch with a loupe :)


The truth is nobody's is looking at your watch really, unless you’re in front of a watch maniac :)
This said, i have a lot of ceramics and refused several times to perform any paint job, i think the stock results are dark but solid and the paint is very smooth
 

muiramas

Erect Aristocrat
Supporter
18/1/17
5,707
7,025
113
To get it 100% even and flat you need to 'dry brush' it before it dries - with a really soft brush. The sharpie nib is shit at applying the ink with any finesse, and the result is usually gloopy and rough looking.
 

indrasaja

Horology Curious
19/3/15
24
0
1
So guys, I decided to share with you guys my experience painting my v7 hulk.
This is a cheap mod that I recommend to anyone who has ( submariner, gmt, ceramic Daytonas, etc..).
The word " cheap" might put you off, but it can litterally change your mind about your watch.
I had my v7 for quite a bit now, ( 9 months maybe ) and it looked like this.

Pictures in sunlight:

38387265272_0d0105e1f3_b.jpg


24547419108_e322d53b1f_b.jpg


Picture in low light:

37704196014_aaabae12d5_b.jpg


38364090696_c2a802d81e_b.jpg


38418578301_3bdb9f7090_b.jpg




Being bothered so much by the extremely dark numbers, ( see 30',35',40' markers in the last photo) I bought a yachtmaster and stopped wearing the hulk.
After thinking about selling it for a while, I decided to try out the sharpie platinum mod that everyone talked about.

I used this pen ( high light picture )

38362802516_ed2af19f92_b.jpg


( I took the bezel out, it's not mandatory, but it helps you a lot especially while painting the triangle at 12 o'clock, as you don't have to worry about getting paint on the crystal. )

FIRST STEP
Clean the bezel engravings.
I recommend:
1) get a toothbrush and brush the numbers
2) get the tip wet with water and start cleaning the engravings. You don't need a lot of pressure

SECOND STEP
wait for it to dry, and clean it with a microfiber cloth.

THIRD STEP
Apply the sharpie. Write a line of a piece of paper first in order to make sure the pen writes correctly. Then, start painting the bezel. You want to write on it in one direction (e.g. do counter clockwise strokes). It might seem that the numbers are extremely full at first but the paint quickly thins down

26642226399_d348850c64_b.jpg


FOURTH STEP

Wait for the paint to dry, 30m/1 hour is fine.

FIFTH STEP

Grab a toothpick, wet the tip with water and clean the excess paint. You will need a lot of toothpicks as the tips will get full of ink or lose their shape quickly.

(Still had to clean the 12 o'clock to 15' markers)
38418625461_080443a112_b.jpg


Don't worry. While cleaning the bezel it can happen that you mess up a marker (you remove the paint from the engraving ). Simply go back to STEP ONE, make sure to clean it very well though.

And this is all it takes. After doing this mod, I have started wearing my hulk again and I love it!

I'm sorry I didn't take any sunlight pictures with the paint mod yet as I hadn't the possibility yet.

Comparing the results: ( See the 50',45',40' markers of the stock paint )

24547423568_305ccf9242_b.jpg


38387274522_89b735b4da_b.jpg


Some shots with the paint mod:

24547462518_9665489c66_b.jpg


38362790056_ec33248551_b.jpg


37704225724_956ab15377_b.jpg
Pretty good effort of making the numbers out, good job buddy..

Sent from my Redmi Note 4X using Tapatalk
 
D

d4m.test

Guest
such a simple yet effective mod. thanks for sharing!


Sent from my iPhone using RWI
 

pietcornelisse

Active Member
6/4/11
242
2
0
Thanks for sharing the mod and the effort for taking the pics and explanation.

I my eyes the color is really good.

But to give you a honest feedback: IMO the surface of the paint looks extremely uneven, it looks... just painted. I would rather live with a little too dark color than having a lighter color but uneven/not clean surface. IMO this is now a bigger tell because this unevenness we have on really cheap sub inserts.

I did the same with paint brush, look:

78e1a7aca978f5c1ee84729c87c2a56e.jpg



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