6542 Albino Build (first build)

[anonymus]

Hi Guys,

Im looking for a bit of advice and someone to hold my hand throughout this process..

Ive been thinking about a vintage GMT for a long time and lurking around these forums and others looking for references..

I really fell in love with the old urban legen story of the executive pan-am 6542 and even found a resonable dial on yuki..

i found this article on the watch..

http://stefanomazzariol.blogspot.de/search/label/Rolex/GMT-MASTER/ref/.6542/ALBINO

So since i never built anything before I was looking for some advice, or even someone to help me out so I don't screw it up too badly

I would like to go for the cosmetics in the first hand but still go as close as possible to the "gen" if it even exists..

Nice well cared for piece as if one of these pan-am execs lost the wtch in a game of cards but the winner took good care of it over the years

1. So since I don't even know where to start on something like this, what would be the appropriate/best base for this build?

2. I saw some member at RGW.cc who was making these bakelite-inserts with lume in the numbers and they look great, but I also saw on one of the TD's websites ultimate vintage bla-bla GMT with a nicelooking plastic bezel (dont know if lumed but maybe its enough to lume the back of it or something to get a bit of glow.. old radium probably would be pretty weak anyways, no?)

3. I would like it on a jubilee-bracelet as I think this looks amazing on the GMT.. any advice on what i need to think of to match this to the case (or no difference)

4. May even go all-in and engrave the caseback with the panam logo if i can find someone who would do that.. would be sweet..

anyways..

any opinions and tips to basically anything in this project would be much appriciated, all from parts to techniques to good people to speak to in these matters..

some what of a noob in the rep-game but Im hooked big-time

some more images to finish in style

the black-dial is pretty also..

all the best
/anon

 

[Bonesey]

I think it all comes down to how much you want to spend.

I think for the better budget version you could pick up the Puretime 6542, drill lugs, shape the crownguards, shave down the rehaut a bit, age the case, swap in an Ingod44 dial, pick up a second hand gen jubillee if you can, get JMB to see if he can engrave the case back, age the bezel insert (or drop $300 on the NDT version) and your done

 

[phillycheez]

Guy on RWG makes great lookin inserts for this. Cheaper and better than NDT imo.

Good luck! This would be a true grail for me.

 

[Bonesey]

Cheaper yes, not sure about better tbh.

 

[phillycheez]

Your probably right. I've done a little research a while back when I was interested in the same build.

Guy on RWG can make it any color you want.

 

[anonymus]

Cool, this is all very good advice..
And i Would love to do this by myself, but I question my own skills..
You as a PRO where would put this on a skill-requirement from 1-10?

Drilling lugholes and so on would require some tools i guess but im sure i could find that, but question is if i'd just **** it up when i try

how did your first build turn out? I would want this to look good..

but the base is a very good tip and i will check with PT regarding that model..

thanks a lot!
/ anon

I think it all comes down to how much you want to spend.

I think for the better budget version you could pick up the Puretime 6542, drill lugs, shape the crownguards, shave down the rehaut a bit, age the case, swap in an Ingod44 dial, pick up a second hand gen jubillee if you can, get JMB to see if he can engrave the case back, age the bezel insert (or drop $300 on the NDT version) and your done

yeah i found this guy a couple of weeks ago but stupidly i forgot to bookmark his page... was it andrewB or somethinng in that order?

also what is this other make of inserts you guys mentioned (NDT)?

/ anon

Your probably right. I've done a little research a while back when I was interested in the same build.

Guy on RWG can make it any color you want.

 

[Bonesey]

When I first started in reps I decided I wanted to build a 1016 Space Dweller Explorer I franken. Within a few months of collecting pieces I decided it was beyond my skill range and sold a lot of it on.

I'm now on build 30+ and only just got to the point where I'm happy drilling lug holes, modding bracelets for gen size bars, installing new tubes for crowns etc. Not to say that I couldn't have done it sooner, but only now have I invested in a good drill press ($180) and enough other tools probably to have bought a decent second hand gen. But on the other hand I've seen guys drill lug holes using a hand drill and doing wonders with very very basic tools.

I guess it depends on how deep you want to go into the rabbit hole. If your investing in the tools for a single build then it's probably cheaper to just PM a modder to do the work for you. In respect to the 6542 think in the region of $300 for someone like Donerix to age and assemble the watch. On top of the parts of course.

High end parts sites that might be handy for you:

www.ingod44.com

www.yukiwatch.com

www.ndtradingcorp.com

 

[anonymus]

Thank you very much.. And that is sort of what i suspected.. Maybe i will start with some cheap subs and try it out but for this build (unless i by chance discover im a maveric at this and i highly doubt that) maybe its better to turn to someone with the experience to make it justice..

Thanks for the links I didnt know about NDTrading before and i guess that is the insert you mentioned before in this thread..

I did some digging on rwg.cc and the guys who makes these great inserts is called JoeyB and for anyone else interested this is his project/sales thread..

http://www.rwg.cc/topic/145626-chap...rt-for-rolex-gmt-master-6542-perspexbakelite/

I did not contact him yet and dont know if he is still selling these and i will compare a bit closer to the NDT now aswell..

another guy at rwg.cc who seems to be an authority on this model is freddy333 who assembled a stunning all gen parts (except the insert i guess) white-dial it seems..

so if anyone else are also researching this build these guys threads may be worth a read aswell..

thanks so much for input and I will update as i proceed..

When I first started in reps I decided I wanted to build a 1016 Space Dweller Explorer I franken. Within a few months of collecting pieces I decided it was beyond my skill range and sold a lot of it on.

I'm now on build 30+ and only just got to the point where I'm happy drilling lug holes, modding bracelets for gen size bars, installing new tubes for crowns etc. Not to say that I couldn't have done it sooner, but only now have I invested in a good drill press ($180) and enough other tools probably to have bought a decent second hand gen. But on the other hand I've seen guys drill lug holes using a hand drill and doing wonders with very very basic tools.

I guess it depends on how deep you want to go into the rabbit hole. If your investing in the tools for a single build then it's probably cheaper to just PM a modder to do the work for you. In respect to the 6542 think in the region of $300 for someone like Donerix to age and assemble the watch. On top of the parts of course.

High end parts sites that might be handy for you:

www.ingod44.com

www.yukiwatch.com

www.ndtradingcorp.com

 

[Bonesey]

Some people progress faster than others, guess I've been a bit of a slow starter just taking time to learn new things. You can look through my builds to see how i've progressed if you want.

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/...odification-thread-79116?p=773063#post-773063

edit: i've just seen the date of the first mod thread i posted, about 11 months ago.

 

[anonymus]

Well that may be true that people progress differently I highly doubt my first build skills could match my style-sense

I've already looked at a lot of your builds and i think the path you took with the 88usd watches for starters seems like a very reasonable one.. I figure I will do something similar.. maybe order 2 of the cheaper models together with the body for the 6542 and get cracking on those for myself while sending the grail-project off to someone who actually knows what they are doing

only thing i dodnt see in your build-projects and ive been wondering over for some time now is the dial in your signature.. how did you get that effect, looks really really nice with the cracks !

/anon

Some people progress faster than others, guess I've been a bit of a slow starter just taking time to learn new things. You can look through my builds to see how i've progressed if you want.

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/...odification-thread-79116?p=773063#post-773063

edit: i've just seen the date of the first mod thread i posted, about 11 months ago.

 

[Bonesey]

Oh god, I wish I was able to produce a spiderweb dial like that. I have some ideas in the making but nothing concrete just yet. That's a gen 16660 Sea-Dweller. And absolutely stunning.

 

[anonymus]

Oh god, I wish I was able to produce a spiderweb dial like that. I have some ideas in the making but nothing concrete just yet. That's a gen 16660 Sea-Dweller. And absolutely stunning.

yes looks great, have you tried clear laque and then heat? my father is a carpenter and makes a lot of faux aged furniture and i know he has done some tables and chairs with a similar effect.. i will ask him if he has any idéas next time im calling to check in with the old folks.. but i guess wood reacts diffrently.. but still.. its a greatlooking dial!

 

[Bonesey]

It is. I need more experimentation tbh. It's about creating a thin clear laquer that is little brittle as well.

 

[anonymus]

It is. I need more experimentation tbh. It's about creating a thin clear laquer that is little brittle as well.

actually what would you think about going about it backwards to create the cracks..

I mean the cracs appear when wood expands in heat and the laquer cannot keep up so it cracks..

what about putting the dial in the freezer before applying the laquer? (so the metal shrinks a bit and then expands when it heats up and hopefully cracks will appear)

i guess the problem is to get the laquer to properly dry in a cold enviroment..

im just guessing here but it sounds like the logic may work..

just an idéa from the top of my head, derailing my own thread a bit.. but its interesting

 

[Bonesey]

Always willing to discuss different possible techniques

 

[anonymus]

Always willing to discuss different possible techniques

cool I desperatly tried to get out of the work i have to do today so i did some more research and came up with this on vintegizing guitars..

from article
...To accelerate the aging of the finish, you speed up the cycles of hot and cold the instrument would naturally go through. Cunetto keeps freezers in the shop, and after a few rounds of cooling and warming, the nitrocellulose lacquer begins to disintegrate. The effect is a beautiful spider web of tiny checkered cracks in the finish that make a new guitar look like it’s 50 years old....

link to article: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/07/relic-guitars/
(in the article they also link to some of these workshops/builders)

looks like we are on to something with the hot/cold thing.. and looking at their description it looks like you can distress it after it is finished so no need for it to dry in a cold enviroment..

/ anon

 

[Bonesey]

Hmm, nitrocellulose laquer you say...

 

[anonymus]

Hmm, nitrocellulose laquer you say...

well atleast its what the quitar-ager said..

"Page says he always uses [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose"]Nitrocellulose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] instead of modern polyurethane. He says nitro is “more spiritual†to him."

not sure what kind of lacquer my dad use to create his effects on furniture.. but vintage guitar-freaks are about as close to vintage watch-freaks when it comes to details and authenticity i would say so if these shops can create "relic-replicas" that can be accepted by that community im sure its a good place to start the experimenting..

and then its just the question how that lacquer would react with a dial, and how hot/cold you need to get a dial to expand-retract to create these cracks..

 

[Mendota]

Cool direction this thread has taken. I like the ideas being tossed around with the vintage guitar techniques.

I'm also a huge fan of the 6542. I'd love one of these and a 1675 but I'm just not sure how to go about it yet. I understand that there are a bunch of flaws with the Puretime 6542 so mods are definitely required.

 

[anonymus]

Cool direction this thread has taken. I like the ideas being tossed around with the vintage guitar techniques.

I'm also a huge fan of the 6542. I'd love one of these and a 1675 but I'm just not sure how to go about it yet. I understand that there are a bunch of flaws with the Puretime 6542 so mods are definitely required.

well thats what these forums are for im kind of clueless in the modding-scene and very happy with bonesy giving his input and helping out, but im also more than happy to put down some leg-work and see what other communitys are doing within their field..

i've only discovered this whole rep-scene a couple of weeks ago, but always been into vintage watches and it really does pain me i didnt discover this earlier..

it is a great opportunity to have all of the grail-watches you always dreamt about (my first rep-buy a daytona 6241 is still in the mail but got word today it had reached UK atleast). This is a watch I could never afford to buy but always have been admiring and the reason i found this place in the first place.. (or actually i found RGW board and through that i found RWI RG WC RWG.cc and so on).

now I would say im actually more into reps and frankes than vintage gens since here is the possibility to create exactly what you are looking for.. and i hope my first custom 6542 will be a step in that direction (even if i dont finish it myself but take the help of a real pro modder to finish it i will definitly buy some other cheapos and try out some different techniques like the ones we have been discussing here..)

and thats the charm to me.. you can get exactly what you want only the imagination is the limit.. i like that in any hobby

/ anon