Decal printed dial

[manodeoro]

I've found some references to replicating spider crazing in woodwork. Maybe something helpful here:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Fine_Crackle_Finish.html

I know that method but never tried.
I asked a good friend who is a painter (artist) and use that method on his works and he said he never achieved to get crackles tiny enough to be the right size for a watch dial.
But ...
Yesterday evening I was driving back home after a long WE at the sea and I had a sort of "epiphany" and I said "wow !!! that could work and it seems nobody ever tried".
Now I just have to search my drawers for a dial I can ruin, try the method I thought about then ... tell you if it worked or not :hehehe:

 

[Holla09]

View attachment 103505 View attachment 103504 Finally finished my first printed dial watch project. Thanks for sharing these Bart!View attachment 103506

 

[Natas78]

Anyone happen to hava a hi-res straightup close up of a DAY-DATE dial?
Doing a custom one but couldn't find good sharp text (black text) online...
Thank you in advance!

 

[Holla09]

View attachment 103946 Finally got it put back together

 

[cosmic2000]

Very fine work! [emoji106]

Gesendet von meinem SM-N7505 mit Tapatalk

 

[JackJ1980]

I didn’t realize this thread was still going. Awesome to see so many others trying it. Amazing work from many people.

 

[manodeoro]

View attachment 103946 Finally got it put back together

May I ask how you did that ?
Did you sprayed some gold paint on your dial (and hands) before putting a clear decal ?

 

[manodeoro]

I didn’t realize this thread was still going. Awesome to see so many others trying it. Amazing work from many people.

This thread will never stop :bounce: ...too much crazy members trying crasy things

 

[manodeoro]

Anyone happen to hava a hi-res straightup close up of a DAY-DATE dial?
Doing a custom one but couldn't find good sharp text (black text) online...
Thank you in advance!

Hi @Natas78 ... could you be more specific and tell wich model of dial you need for your mod ?
SWISS, T SWISS T, T SWISS MADE T, SWISS MADE ... there's so many sort of DD dials so if you could post a pic of the one your modding it would be easier to try to help :smile:

View attachment 104065

 

[Natas78]

Hi @Natas78 ... could you be more specific and tell wich model of dial you need for your mod ?
SWISS, T SWISS T, T SWISS MADE T, SWISS MADE ... there's so many sort of DD dials so if you could post a pic of the one your modding it would be easier to try to help :smile:

View attachment 104065

Hi, well I went on a hunt yesterday and found an ebay listing with good hi res pics so it’s done!
Making a custom DD 36mm for my wife, with purple sunburst stick dial and blue lume


Sent from the depths of my creative imagination...
Sincerely - Natas78

 

[Holla09]

@manodeoro I put gold leaf on the dial prior to putting the clear decal on. That was something Bart did before he started gold plating. The hands were silver so I painted them with testers paint before adding lume. For a first project I was very surprised and even more surprised I was able to get the thing back together again.

 

[manodeoro]

Hi, well I went on a hunt yesterday and found an ebay listing with good hi res pics so it’s done!
Making a custom DD 36mm for my wife, with purple sunburst stick dial and blue lume


Sent from the depths of my creative imagination...
Sincerely - Natas78

"purple sunburst stick dial and blue lume" ... you MUST show that when finished
Do you start with an already "purlpe sunburst" base dial or do you build it from scratch ?

 

[Natas78]

"purple sunburst stick dial and blue lume" ... you MUST show that when finished
Do you start with an already "purlpe sunburst" base dial or do you build it from scratch ?

Hi, I sure will
I bought an economy silver dial dd, dismantled and now doing the dial myself, plated the markers and crown gold first, then stripped and gold plated dial, did the purple coating, now curing, next reworking the case and bracelet. Possibly also adding a sapphire crystal and a swiss 2836-2, wifey don’t want no crap [emoji23]


Sent from the depths of my creative imagination...
Sincerely - Natas78

 

[manodeoro]

Hi, I sure will
I bought an economy silver dial dd, dismantled and now doing the dial myself, plated the markers and crown gold first, then stripped and gold plated dial, did the purple coating, now curing, next reworking the case and bracelet. Possibly also adding a sapphire crystal and a swiss 2836-2, wifey don’t want no crap [emoji23]


Sent from the depths of my creative imagination...
Sincerely - Natas78

Really nice modd ... I really hope you'll show us the final result, with or without wifey's wrist :hehehe:

But ... there is still a mystery here ...

If by "sunburst" you mean what we, Frenchies, call a "soleillé" then the question is :
"how did you do to strip the silver dial without removing the sunburst/soleillé structure ?"

View attachment 104173

or ...

Do you mean something like the "sunburst varnish" applied on some guitars/mandolins ?
then I would suppose the purple coating has been applied with a color gradiation ?

View attachment 104175

 

[Natas78]

@manodeoro there is indeed some sort of soleillé finish on the dial, but being a cheapie it wasn't flawless and didn't withstand cleaning very well.
So I applied the finish again myself on the lathe, then polished and plated it.

 

[manodeoro]

@manodeoro there is indeed some sort of soleillé finish on the dial, but being a cheapie it wasn't flawless and didn't withstand cleaning very well.
So I applied the finish again myself on the lathe, then polished and plated it.

So you did a "soleillé" ?
If YES then :clap_1:

 

[Holla09]

Just finished my 1675 printed dial project. Getting better results with each try.
View attachment 104909 View attachment 104908

 

[gamba66]

@manodeoro there is indeed some sort of soleillé finish on the dial, but being a cheapie it wasn't flawless and didn't withstand cleaning very well.
So I applied the finish again myself on the lathe, then polished and plated it.

I got a genuine silver daydate dial with this sunburst pattern, maybe I will put it up for sale in parts section

Did you consider using a genuine one for this project?

Imo the whitegold markers, fine print and detailed window and daycutout all fall short on a fake dial

Please post pictures btw

 

[Bart Cordell]

Happy to see there is some progress here. Congrats guys !

 

[Natas78]

I got a genuine silver daydate dial with this sunburst pattern, maybe I will put it up for sale in parts section

Did you consider using a genuine one for this project?

Imo the whitegold markers, fine print and detailed window and daycutout all fall short on a fake dial

Please post pictures btw

Yes a gen dial is superior in many, many ways but also expensive. It’s my first try on a DD dial, but I’ve got more than 100 dials under my belt so that experience might come in handy [emoji16]


Sent from the depths of my creative imagination...
Sincerely - Natas78