DSSD - SUB C Pearl Mod

[sinda67]

Ok,

We all know the week spot in most DSSD's is the pear. Well actually the ceramic subs in general. So, I have been working on a pearl mod using some information posted by Thinkbachs and comments by the gen owner, Johnnydeepsea.

This is going to be a two step process. I've aquired a DSSD 21J from cptben41 this weekend to make this attempt on. I've tried this a couple of times on some sub-c's I just can't seem to make it right.

The first photos are those I've gotten off the web of the GEN pearl. Best macro's I could fine quickly.


GEN I

GEN PHOTO2 - interesting because you can see the clear quote ABOVE the metal ring on the pearl.

GEN PHOTO3

PHASE 1 of my mod. Basically I removed ALL the lume and added clear epoxy with a touch of white paint. The intention being to comeback when it dries with clear over the white to raise is just a bit.

So what do you DSSD and SUB-C owners think? I am going to continue with phase II tommorow. If this work out, next time I will add some blue lume powder to the MIX to she will glow. After all is done, I will polish both the pearl AND the ring around the pearl. I did this on some SUB-C's is does look better, just not perfect.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Good, bad, other?

 

[believer123]

I'm very interested... So far, so good. Nice pics btw.

 

[PamLuver80]

it looks pretty cool! cant wait to see the next phase!

 

[phillycheez]

a step in the right direction for sure.

good luck and proceed to phase II!

 

[sinda67]

Took a couple of photo's of my first attempts. If this works out, these get done next. The hard part is getting the epoxy to stay tall in the center of the pearl and low on the ends towards the ring.

Version 1: Ring on pearl was in bad shape when I started.

Version 2: Just can't keep the epoxy higher in the middle and lower on the ring edges.

 

[johnnydeepsea]

looks good so far do you think if you let the epoxy set a little on a flat surface then scraped up a bit and applied it that you might get the effect of it being higher in the center like the Gen. Well done so far!

 

[sinda67]

Hmmm thats a good point. I was doing a mod one time and it did that, started to setup. This is the 5 min stuff. JD, I think your onto something here. I think the big issue is the pearl holder itself. You know the metal portion? It's much deeper in the center then the edges, so it naturally want to take the shape as you can see in the Phase 1 photos. If you could see a side profile view of the pearl holder, it looks like this: V

Good idea. If the clear coat doesn't look right, this will be the next step. The more I think about it, the more that sounds good.

 

[rsh]

I have a couple of comments....I want to try this actually.....
1. scrape out everything
2. drop a small drop of epoxy in the bottom as it is already setting. That should allow a "ball" of epoxy in the bottom.
3. Next I would actually use epoxy / lume mixture and drop a small layer in there....this should technically coat the earlier mound...
4. Once dry, place a clear coat on top of the mount.

sounds like a plan, will it work ? who knows ? I have a pearl sitting here...let me mess around....

 

[sinda67]

Ok RSH, so you saying dont fill it as high as I did, just enough to fill that very bottom of the pearl holder, then come back after it dries and see if you can build it taller in the center and lower towards the outside of the pearl holder.

Another good idea. You know what I got another ceramic pearl in the box.

 

[rsh]

Sinda
I just tried it.....tiny drop of epoxy in the middle

here is lume epoxy combo....this was supposed to be a larger drop that should have spanned to the edges but I will let it dry and place a tiny bit more ....see if we can get a mound of "lume material"

 

[johnnydeepsea]

That looks good I would then get some to set on a flat surface till it is pliable and use a toothpick to twirl it like a ball of cotton candy very small put it in the middle let it set all the way and then apply some lume I think you will get the Gen effect you are looking for.

 

[rsh]

Well, it was going fine....

Doh....just a bit too much.....it is super hard to get the right amount and then try to clear coat it.....

 

[acg2010]

Good thread so far.

Interestingly, some of the newer rep pearls actually come with a clearish small bubble or at least have a pretty good illusion of doing that on them. My new DSSD from Lay at least has that look to it, no longer a white looking pearl blob like some I've seen. Wonder if it's luck of the draw or if the rep factories have semi-figured out what the look needs to be.

 

[shaunc]

dont know what consistancy epoxy youre working with but wouldnt letting it dry upside down allow gravity to build the dome using the surface tension of the epoxy to hold the shape?? or is the epoxy to thick?

 

[roadhog99]

Interesting thread. I tried doing BKs pearl mod on my sub c and did manage to get a domed look to the pearl. However it looked too grey and also didnt have the "glass" like look of the gen. I think RSH's idea of building up a small blob in the middle, then dropping a clear coat on top could work really well. The gen pearl is a blob of lume with a sapphire lens over it, so in theory, it would be replicating that as close as we could probably get.
One thing I tried was using car clear coat as a top layer over the epoxy. This seemed to work well at giving the glass like look as it's really clear, and sets really hard. However, its quite difficult to apply because its quite a thin liquid compared to epoxy.

Would love to see how this turns out.

 

[sinda67]

RSH, yep that first photo is heading in the right direction FOR SURE. Well tonight when I get home, I will just see if I add a bit more of epoxy to the center. But like JD said, I will let it set up a bit. But I am going to try your method on the extra ceramic pearl I have and see what happens there.

 

[johnnydeepsea]

Great thread guys this could help a lot of people

 

[sinda67]

Well, I confirmed one thing for sure. You can't let it set up. It's way to gummy. Strings of gum....when I drop my pin into the epoxy, I cant get it to come off the pin. This was about 2 1/2 minutes after mixing. By the time it starts to set, it's just too damn tuff to work with. I wonder if Rolex creates this with some sort of jig, or maybe fills from the BOTTOM of the pearl, like you fill a soda can with soda. I will go to phase two tonight and show the results. Roadhog, can you post some pics of your? I like to know how you kept the epoxy away from the rim of the pearl holder.

 

[sinda67]

Well, it's not working. If I only had something small enough to put inside the pearl holder to keep it from spreading out. Here is phase 2 which did nothing IMOP. Once I polish it overall it will look decent, maybe like a BK pearl, but I dont know how to proceed.

 

[sinda67]

Ok one more idea, like RSH, I gonna build it up one step at a time. Came up with a good method to get it centered with the right amount of epoxy using my oilers.

I will just build it one layer at a time and see what happens. Doesn't look to bad from a distance