Hello to eveyone, before I start rambling, let me show you the end result of just about 2 months of trying everything ie ( paints, inks, dyes, bleaches and cleaners ) in an attempt to fix what otherwise, is a really good rep.
Noob V7 DSSD with a paint mod I came up with...View attachment 93564 View attachment 93565 View attachment 93567
Ok, now if you're not interested, you didn't have to read on till the end. For those who are, here we go...
So, One of my absolute favorites has been the deepsea. I especially like the size. Shape, like a sub on steroids. Being involved with replicas now since 2012 when i was about let go at a watch repair shop on jewlers row, Chicago, that i was interning at. Went home that night, accumulated my own equipment and been a( very spare time) watch smith focusing on replicas since. So i get the king of the hill. Noob, SA3135, v7 deepsea. Unbox,,, and big disappointment. It was a big factor to me. The dark, greyish, non metallic, thinly engraved bezel insert. As alot of us here are with it. Swapped out the SA for a Yuki. Standard mods ( Automatic works, winding bridge, setting wheels, winding pinion and i serviced and oiled)... Timed it View attachment 93576 Not bad for a chinese copy of a $2200 movement. Date wheel ( as you'll see in some shots) wasn't correct and misaligned. Gen took care of that. Now. The insert...... Thanks to this new found resource RWI, I began reading for a way to correct this eyesore. AND>>> the Sharpe mod was found. Before I read this thread, I had already blown through every silver marker my local office dept had. And no, didn't take any shots of this because, well, I hated it. Some of you doing this mod had success. Looked alot better than stock. I just couldn't make it work. Here, we are so critical with these replica watches, how anyone could live with the clumpy, wrong colored, goop in the markers, yelling out to anyone who seen it...Home made craft project, is beyond me. Then i found Steve (the spongbob). Amazing work. Orderd one of his up and in the int-rum, came up with something to make this livable. This post is two fold.... One, i wanted to contribute something I think, can change the look of any of the ceramic rolex reps for the better. And two, I respect all your opinions. If there's something someone can change or use in place of or something i could have done better....Let me know!!! That said, here's how i did it.
View attachment 93604
I've used Automotive paints, oil based paints, this combo did it for me.
Martha Stuart crafts Pure Platinum
Decorative Metallic Luster Silver spark ( dries to a waxy surface ) Waterproof....
Dr Phil Martins incandescent calligraphy ink #13r Nickel ( this had a brownish liquid in it i have removed leaving the heavy pigment behind and left it open to dry some ).
Now because i'm doing this after the fact, and i want to illistrate this can work on any bezel inlay really,
we can use this scrap insert piece. View attachment 93613 looks like v7 or v6 insert anyway. Because its relatively untouched there, I'll use the large flat marker there. Here's what you'll need along with a paint brush, and something to mix inView attachment 93614 View attachment 93614
So i start with a darker base, grab ol Martha
Next a couple clumps of the wax metallic luster
and last, grab another couple clumps from the nickel ink. stir them up for a few secs. then add about 2 table spoons of water. stir until it looks like thisView attachment 93617
Now using paint brush pick up a droplet of color and dab it into the marker, let it flow onto it. dont worry about it spilling over. you want the metallic to be even so just slop it on there. once its covering the whole marker, let it dry. I pop mine infront of my shop heater for 20mins.
You'll see it now (with water evaportated ) lining the marker. Now you can remove access. Again, let it dry for a few hours. Its now a shimmery, dried platinum white in the marker. Take the qtip and very softly begin buffing the marker. gently going back and forth, around the sides. it turns into a very shiny, metallic platinum color. super smooth. keep working it until you get your desired look. like thisView attachment 93618
And repeat for all the markers and numbers in the insert. I let it dry overnight but after that, Ive cleaned the insert with carb cleaner. Let it sit in water. It just stays in there because we're dealing with a wax not so much a paint. And here it is, compared to a gen bezel inlay side by side. At first I did this to make do until i can get the spongbob plated insert. Im pretty content with this now. but want to see the differences between them when the insert arrives.View attachment 93619
The color and the way it behaves, is very very gen like.It also makes the numbers and markers look bigger and deeper than they are because the sides are now reflecting giving it a 3d effect. I could't post any more shots to this message but if anyone wants to see anything just let me know. Any input or feedback is enthusiastically welcome. a very gen like insert appearance for under $25. Time to clean up the watch with a well needed rebrush and polish.
Noob V7 DSSD with a paint mod I came up with...View attachment 93564 View attachment 93565 View attachment 93567
Ok, now if you're not interested, you didn't have to read on till the end. For those who are, here we go...
So, One of my absolute favorites has been the deepsea. I especially like the size. Shape, like a sub on steroids. Being involved with replicas now since 2012 when i was about let go at a watch repair shop on jewlers row, Chicago, that i was interning at. Went home that night, accumulated my own equipment and been a( very spare time) watch smith focusing on replicas since. So i get the king of the hill. Noob, SA3135, v7 deepsea. Unbox,,, and big disappointment. It was a big factor to me. The dark, greyish, non metallic, thinly engraved bezel insert. As alot of us here are with it. Swapped out the SA for a Yuki. Standard mods ( Automatic works, winding bridge, setting wheels, winding pinion and i serviced and oiled)... Timed it View attachment 93576 Not bad for a chinese copy of a $2200 movement. Date wheel ( as you'll see in some shots) wasn't correct and misaligned. Gen took care of that. Now. The insert...... Thanks to this new found resource RWI, I began reading for a way to correct this eyesore. AND>>> the Sharpe mod was found. Before I read this thread, I had already blown through every silver marker my local office dept had. And no, didn't take any shots of this because, well, I hated it. Some of you doing this mod had success. Looked alot better than stock. I just couldn't make it work. Here, we are so critical with these replica watches, how anyone could live with the clumpy, wrong colored, goop in the markers, yelling out to anyone who seen it...Home made craft project, is beyond me. Then i found Steve (the spongbob). Amazing work. Orderd one of his up and in the int-rum, came up with something to make this livable. This post is two fold.... One, i wanted to contribute something I think, can change the look of any of the ceramic rolex reps for the better. And two, I respect all your opinions. If there's something someone can change or use in place of or something i could have done better....Let me know!!! That said, here's how i did it.
View attachment 93604
I've used Automotive paints, oil based paints, this combo did it for me.
Martha Stuart crafts Pure Platinum
Decorative Metallic Luster Silver spark ( dries to a waxy surface ) Waterproof....
Dr Phil Martins incandescent calligraphy ink #13r Nickel ( this had a brownish liquid in it i have removed leaving the heavy pigment behind and left it open to dry some ).
Now because i'm doing this after the fact, and i want to illistrate this can work on any bezel inlay really,
we can use this scrap insert piece. View attachment 93613 looks like v7 or v6 insert anyway. Because its relatively untouched there, I'll use the large flat marker there. Here's what you'll need along with a paint brush, and something to mix inView attachment 93614 View attachment 93614
So i start with a darker base, grab ol Martha
Next a couple clumps of the wax metallic luster
and last, grab another couple clumps from the nickel ink. stir them up for a few secs. then add about 2 table spoons of water. stir until it looks like thisView attachment 93617
Now using paint brush pick up a droplet of color and dab it into the marker, let it flow onto it. dont worry about it spilling over. you want the metallic to be even so just slop it on there. once its covering the whole marker, let it dry. I pop mine infront of my shop heater for 20mins.
You'll see it now (with water evaportated ) lining the marker. Now you can remove access. Again, let it dry for a few hours. Its now a shimmery, dried platinum white in the marker. Take the qtip and very softly begin buffing the marker. gently going back and forth, around the sides. it turns into a very shiny, metallic platinum color. super smooth. keep working it until you get your desired look. like thisView attachment 93618
And repeat for all the markers and numbers in the insert. I let it dry overnight but after that, Ive cleaned the insert with carb cleaner. Let it sit in water. It just stays in there because we're dealing with a wax not so much a paint. And here it is, compared to a gen bezel inlay side by side. At first I did this to make do until i can get the spongbob plated insert. Im pretty content with this now. but want to see the differences between them when the insert arrives.View attachment 93619
The color and the way it behaves, is very very gen like.It also makes the numbers and markers look bigger and deeper than they are because the sides are now reflecting giving it a 3d effect. I could't post any more shots to this message but if anyone wants to see anything just let me know. Any input or feedback is enthusiastically welcome. a very gen like insert appearance for under $25. Time to clean up the watch with a well needed rebrush and polish.
