Noob Daytona Panda Bezel Paint Mod

[PsychoTee16]

Hey Guys,

so so recently I purchased a Noob Daytona, and while its a fantastic watch, the Bezel is just super lacking to me. Dull, thin, etc.. So, since it seems near impossible to obtain an ARF Bezel without buying the entire watch, I got to thinking what I could do.

I had some white enamel paint (Testors) sitting around from an old paint job on my Explorer II, and I thought let’s give it a try!

I personally think it turned out great and may be a great alternative to an ARF Bezel. Yes I know it makes the font errors stand out a bit more, but oh well!

Process :

- No need to disassemble the watch.
- Use a very fine paint brush, and brush a light coat over a few sections of the bezel. Do not try to stay within the lines, just paint over everything.
- Wait 10 minutes until the paint is also see through on the Bezel.
- Take a toothpick and start carefully scrapping the excess paint off the Bezel. It should come off very easy. Do your best to not scrap inside the numbers and markers.
- Continually wile the Bezel clean with a cloth. Keep all the excess pieces off.
- Apply a second coat of needed.

I only applied a second coat in a few areas as I felt needed.

Pics below. Opinions wanted!

 

[Alexccmeister]

Nice job. What is the text material made out of in the gen bezel?

 

[philwongnz]

Unfortunately the gen is not white.. I would think using a lighter shade of the sharpie pen might be an alternative..

 

[SuperLory]

If doing a sharpie mod was all one needed there wouldnt be market for Spongebob bezels

It’s much more complex than this. 10 for the effort but you are as good as keeping it stock imho

 

[M Scott]

In another post, you said that you used Testors Flat White which is important it to note, as they also offer Gloss and Semi-Gloss White.
Looks like a great way to make a stock Noob look better. Thanks for posting this mod.

In the picture below, the Noob Bezel does look noticeably duller, and some Ceramic Noob Bezels are duller than others.
Very hard to judge color and brightness in online pictures unless you had an ARF or Gen to compare in the same light or picture.
If it is too white, you could try mixing in a little flat grey to tone it down a bit.
.

 

[M Scott]

Unfortunately the gen is not white.. I would think using a lighter shade of the sharpie pen might be an alternative..

The Sharpie pens are oil based like the Enamel paint, so the result may appear similar, or maybe offer a different shade of Flat White...
.

 

[nasssy]

Unfortunately way too white and an instant tell , My gen gmt in my profile pic has the correct colour and it is far from white. I have found Molotow to be nearest diy fix when comparing to gen - Acrylic no. 227 / 127HS Metallic silver

 

[PsychoTee16]

Thanks for all the info guys! Really good stuff.

I can always scrap it all off again. Easy task.

I may may wear this for a bit and try the Molotow Pen! I’m just happy the darn thing is readable now. Was so dull before.

However, the Molotow Pen looks a bit too silver. If I look at Gen pics it is more on the white side. Maybe I’m wrong!

 

[philwongnz]

If doing a sharpie mod was all one needed there wouldnt be market for Spongebob bezels

It’s much more complex than this. 10 for the effort but you are as good as keeping it stock imho

Of course, it is not the same, but it is still better than stock IMHO.

 

[philwongnz]

Thanks for all the info guys! Really good stuff.

I can always scrap it all off again. Easy task.

I may may wear this for a bit and try the Molotow Pen! I’m just happy the darn thing is readable now. Was so dull before.

However, the Molotow Pen looks a bit too silver. If I look at Gen pics it is more on the white side. Maybe I’m wrong!

You are not wrong, the gen does look "white" under certain lighting (well more whiter than say a Sub), but it is actually silver (based on the gens I had seen)

 

[PsychoTee16]

You are not wrong, the gen does look "white" under certain lighting (well more whiter than say a Sub), but it is actually silver (based on the gens I had seen)

I may look into adding a little bit of grey to the white enamel paint. Dull the white down a bit.

 

[KJ2020]

Try doing a small section with Testors Flat Steel. It's quite nice, and much brighter silver than its name implies.

 

[PsychoTee16]

Try doing a small section with Testors Flat Steel. It's quite nice, and much brighter silver than its name implies.

I’m going to order some Flat Grey, so I’ll add this to the list!

 

[PsychoTee16]

Here’s out in normal lighting. I do see how some think it’s too white.

 

[KJ2020]

Here’s out in normal lighting. I do see how some think it’s too white.

You did a great job painting it, it looks great. Just not gen-like, unfortunately. I'd rather it look that way TBH.

 

[rolexlover101]

If you can scratch it off that easy, I am wondering the longevity of the mod..

 

[lilmoogz]

Anyone know what the gen engravings are coated with? It’s not platinum like a sub I’m assuming


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PsychoTee16]

If you can scratch it off that easy, I am wondering the longevity of the mod..

I have to use a toothpick and scratch at it pretty good.

I did this on an old Explorer II and it never came off unless I wanted it too.

 

[PsychoTee16]

Guys,

Just re-painted the Bezel with Flat White and a bit of Flat Aluminum this time! I think even better! Definitely less white this time.

I just kelt kept adding small amount of the Aluminum color until I got it where I wanted it.

Let me me know what you all think.

 

[KJ2020]

Guys,

Just re-painted the Bezel with Flat White and a bit of Flat Aluminum this time! I think even better! Definitely less white this time.

I just kelt kept adding small amount of the Aluminum color until I got it where I wanted it.

Let me me know what you all think.

Looks much better, it may still be whiter than gen, but IDK that I would try any further to achieve that. BTW you can scrape ceramic with a razor blade to get paint off, I probably should have mentioned this before.

Have a look at my post here, scroll to #164

https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo.../7402168-noob-batman-v9?p=7635948#post7635948