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Decal printed dial

Bart Cordell

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I do not proceed like this. Just apply the decal well centered and wait 15/20min before carefully remove some tiny bubbles with a paint brush. Then lets dry.


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thinwhiteduke

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[MENTION=9607]bart[/MENTION], couldn't wait for 3 days, so I lumed and mounted the dial yesterday. Lumed it without a loupe. Bad idea, he he, as my left hand was holding a magnifying glass.I messed up the lume, but proceeded anyway to see how it looks. This is a work in progress as I am still waiting for a new bezel insert to arrive, so ignore the insert (I don't like the beat-up look) and the mismatched pearl. Let me know your thoughts, sir:

Ignore the bezel insert and the pearl as I am changing this to a new one. Bart Cordell inspired true-gilt dial mounted:




Repetition is key
Love to see it when its all set up and dry.
 

Bart Cordell

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[MENTION=121448]thinwhiteduke[/MENTION] not bad. you definitely need to use a loupe to lume. And take time is crucial. I spend about 1,5 hours to lume a dial.
I prefer less aged insert too


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manodeoro

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Hi to all the seasoned gilt dials makers ... Is your club open to rookies ?
Since a few days (nights in fact) I work on my first attempt to this art.
I already have my first coronet and ROLEX finished and I'm quite happy with that (will post some pics).
Now I'm working on OYSTER PERPETUAL and it shows to bee much more difficult.
So I'd like to know how you work ... if it's not a secret of course.
Do you use high resolution pics as guide or else ?
And if it's pics where do you get them ? cause all I have found is very medium definition.
Every advice and help is welcome

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thinwhiteduke

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Thanks, [MENTION=1173]kdo2milger[/MENTION]!

Funny thing is, my practice runs are almost always better than the lumes on the dials, he he. Nerves, I guess.

Here's one on my Zippo lighter. One of my better attempts:


The Triangle is my best thus far. I guess I'll pretend I'm just luming the Zippo?


But here's the result on our 27.4mm dial:


Maybe I can salvage this by "cleaning up" the rectangle at 9?

[MENTION=9607]bart[/MENTION], thoughts?




Repetition is key
Love to see it when its all set up and dry.
 

kdo2milger

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Your dial looks good.
Generally when clean up attempts happen, the dial can be damaged.
Can you make another or you just have the one dial blank?
 

thinwhiteduke

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You're absolutely correct. My 29mm dial was already fine when I messed it up by trying to sand down the profile of the lume, getting some scratches in the depth rating area. I attempted to "fix" the scratches. The attempt was "a success" in that the scratches disappeared. BUT it got that "squared-off" effect around the affected area. So I guess I will let it be. I still have a couple of dials and will continue to practice, @kdo!

BTW, I plan to install this 27.4mm dial on my 114060 with killer chamfers and shaved CG's. I originally bought this 114060 as base for a Tempus Machina-inspired homage minus the coin bezel as I will let the bezel be. Bought the signed 29mm HR "gilt" dial and hands set. Found out it didn't fit the donor watch. So now, it will now be purely fantasy watch as I cannot replicate the depth rating of the TM in red, so chop chop. Bond meets ceramic, he he. With gilt hands on a Swiss ETA that is in transit.

Your dial looks good.
Generally when clean up attempts happen, the dial can be damaged.
Can you make another or you just have the one dial blank?
 

manodeoro

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Hello to you DIAL GUYS :)

I am just in the beginning of the process and I would like to share some templates I have recently made (the lume problem will come later).
My project is a "Miss Bond 6538 Big Crown" for my wife next birthday (Apil 2017) so the dial will be far from genlike but more hommage ... a sort of fantasy Bond sub (she's born in 1960 so the 6538 should be correct I think) :
- SUBMARINER becomes "SUB MARE NINA" ("Nina Under Water" in Latin) because she loves swimming and apnea diving and her nickname is Nina
- SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALY CERTIFIED (first version) becomes "SUPERLATIVE SWIMMER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED" (though she's not a competitor she could easily qualify for veteran chamionship)
- OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER (second version) becomes "OFFICIALY CERTIFIED MERMAID DIVER" (she use a mon diving flipper)
- 660ft/200m becomes "6600ft/2000m" with the "SWIMMER" version (her favorite distance) or "66fr/20m" in the "DIVER" version (her "old" diving record)
- The black background becomes dark green, with dolphins or water drops

But my purpose is not to wait for "cheers" or "boo" but to get some advices from well seasoned decal dial makers.
If you could take a look at my templates and tell me if you see any important defauts or details that will make the printing and/or the decal install impossible to do ... fell free to pull the alarm.

Here are the pics







 

MilgaussGV

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Have you guys thought of using a wax printer??


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ddubyat

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great work, each batch looks cleaner.

inspiring me to come up with my own custom dial
 

Bart Cordell

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Nice templates. But I don't think you will be able to print it on inkjet. Red text will be a mess, and background could be bad printed too. You will see on testing print ;)


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manodeoro

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Nice templates. But I don't think you will be able to print it on inkjet. Red text will be a mess, and background could be bad printed too. You will see on testing print ;)


[emoji632]
Hi Bart [emoji6]
I have tested on non glossy photo paper, both with a laser and a photo inkjet and it's not too bad (inkjet is better).
I think I'll try changing the red color to see if it's better.
I have also ordered some decal paper so I'll probably make a test "on real" next WE on a spare copper sheet.


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thinwhiteduke

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Hi Bart [emoji6]
I have tested on non glossy photo paper, both with a laser and a photo inkjet and it's not too bad (inkjet is better).
I think I'll try changing the red color to see if it's better.
I have also ordered some decal paper so I'll probably make a test "on real" next WE on a spare copper sheet.


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Cool project, @manodeoro. You have Golden Hands, indeed! Just a heads-up from experience: inkjet ink is not as stable as laser printer's ink, and they have a tendency to bloat a tinny weeny bit. Just make sure your decal prints are air-dried and cured VERY well before you mount it on the dial so this doesn't happen. By the looks of it, though, I think your decal prints are not intended to go the Bart Cordell negative relief True-gilt printing, so you shouldn't have a problem particularly with the SWISS portion. Good luck on your project!