Ok, it started with a case that was PVD'ed by Jack at IWW, one of the last rep cases done there. A lello Crown was also PVD'ed (this will be replaced with a pvd crown from Palp when they are done)
Then I took a swiss 6497 movment with all the correct engravings.
Next, Davidsen supplied a AR crystal, 202A dials, Cannon Wheel Fix, and hands. THANK YOU DAVIDSEN FOR YOUR GREAT PARTS!!!!!!! Whithout them this watch wouldn't be as great as I think it is.
I took the dial and screwed it onto a dremel arbor between two felt pads. I then spun the dremel tool at low rpm and used a sharp file to trim down the dial until the case fit.
Next the lume and dial just looked to "good and new" to me when compared to the genuine article. (Bachendorf Jewelery had a 202A on loan for display so I got to see one first hand) but since I am not a fan of againg a dial to look abused, I wanted to make it look correct for this watch model, design, and age.
I spilt the dial and went to work on the lume. It needed to be a bit more grainy and aged looking without looking torn up. After much experimenting on a piece of white lexan with many different types and combinations of paint I struck upon one that I liked. I used the glow in the dark paint made for the underside of lexas rc cars. I found it is grainy texture is perfect and glows pretty well for water base. I then put two drops yellow, one drop orange, and on drop brown acrylique paint in a puddle of glow paint about the size of a quarter. It looks more orange in real life than the yellow it came out in the pictures.
Next I wanted the hand painted look and texture of the dial faces of the pre a. They are a slight bit more greyish and the grain is a slight bit heavier too. I got the EXACT look I wanted by doing the following.
4 light coats of clear mat water color painting sealant followed by ONE pass of window frosting (that is right the stuff that you make windows opaque and white with)
It took me a MONTH of experimenting with different combinations to find what I wanted. I screwed up with the first dial and made two passes with the frosting (because it looked good during my experiments of painting on quarters I had painted flat black) So I had to buy another dial from David and try again.
I then put one drop of the brown in a puddle of water to give it just a tinge of color and painted the lume on the hands to make them go from white/green to an off-white color.
I am VERY happy with the result and wish I could take some pics that would do it justice. I spent more money thatn I wanted to but am glad I did in the end.
I do have one more dial that I am working on that is going to come out even better than this one because I have gotten rid of the T SWISS T but it is going to be a while before I finish this dial.
Then I took a swiss 6497 movment with all the correct engravings.
Next, Davidsen supplied a AR crystal, 202A dials, Cannon Wheel Fix, and hands. THANK YOU DAVIDSEN FOR YOUR GREAT PARTS!!!!!!! Whithout them this watch wouldn't be as great as I think it is.
I took the dial and screwed it onto a dremel arbor between two felt pads. I then spun the dremel tool at low rpm and used a sharp file to trim down the dial until the case fit.
Next the lume and dial just looked to "good and new" to me when compared to the genuine article. (Bachendorf Jewelery had a 202A on loan for display so I got to see one first hand) but since I am not a fan of againg a dial to look abused, I wanted to make it look correct for this watch model, design, and age.
I spilt the dial and went to work on the lume. It needed to be a bit more grainy and aged looking without looking torn up. After much experimenting on a piece of white lexan with many different types and combinations of paint I struck upon one that I liked. I used the glow in the dark paint made for the underside of lexas rc cars. I found it is grainy texture is perfect and glows pretty well for water base. I then put two drops yellow, one drop orange, and on drop brown acrylique paint in a puddle of glow paint about the size of a quarter. It looks more orange in real life than the yellow it came out in the pictures.
Next I wanted the hand painted look and texture of the dial faces of the pre a. They are a slight bit more greyish and the grain is a slight bit heavier too. I got the EXACT look I wanted by doing the following.
4 light coats of clear mat water color painting sealant followed by ONE pass of window frosting (that is right the stuff that you make windows opaque and white with)
It took me a MONTH of experimenting with different combinations to find what I wanted. I screwed up with the first dial and made two passes with the frosting (because it looked good during my experiments of painting on quarters I had painted flat black) So I had to buy another dial from David and try again.
I then put one drop of the brown in a puddle of water to give it just a tinge of color and painted the lume on the hands to make them go from white/green to an off-white color.
I am VERY happy with the result and wish I could take some pics that would do it justice. I spent more money thatn I wanted to but am glad I did in the end.
I do have one more dial that I am working on that is going to come out even better than this one because I have gotten rid of the T SWISS T but it is going to be a while before I finish this dial.
