Hello everybody,
as many of you know (for me it was a "discovery") the DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) is an industrial coating with a black / gray brown color that is applied to components subject to friction to improve their smoothness and hardness characteristics.
But it can also be used as an aesthetic finish and has the characteristic of increasing scratch resistance and, obviously, of coloring the treated surfaces respecting the underlying finiture.
It can be applied with different treatments including PVD or plasma.
The amount of carbon applied is a few microns and cannot be increased much because the tensions of the coating would cause it to detach.
It has been a while since I wanted to have my Zf AP 15500 black dial covered with DLC, I like a lot. But the treatments proposed by the TDs have never satisfied me because, at least from the images, I have never been able to understand the quality of the DLC they offer.
So I decided to try to have a steel watch treated that I purposely took from a TD, by an Italian company specializing in plasma-applied DLC. I choosed the plasma method because it's supposed to have a longer durability (but only the time will says that).
After some weeks of thinking, I decided and I shipped my watch. It came back treated last week.
Here following I would like to share pics with you, 'cause I'm really satisfied by the job done, even if the costs weren't cheap and some risks have to be done.
The color is absolutely stunning: a black / anthracite / slightly brown who revels the underlying steel with shiny parts on polished surfaces that contrast with the opacity of the satin finishes. Against this background, the polished screws, the indexes and the hands stand out like lights in the dark.
It's quite difficult to understand from pics the real life effect of this treatment.
Impressions and comments will be welcome, as comparisons with other DLC treatments of those who want to post images here.
as many of you know (for me it was a "discovery") the DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) is an industrial coating with a black / gray brown color that is applied to components subject to friction to improve their smoothness and hardness characteristics.
But it can also be used as an aesthetic finish and has the characteristic of increasing scratch resistance and, obviously, of coloring the treated surfaces respecting the underlying finiture.
It can be applied with different treatments including PVD or plasma.
The amount of carbon applied is a few microns and cannot be increased much because the tensions of the coating would cause it to detach.
It has been a while since I wanted to have my Zf AP 15500 black dial covered with DLC, I like a lot. But the treatments proposed by the TDs have never satisfied me because, at least from the images, I have never been able to understand the quality of the DLC they offer.
So I decided to try to have a steel watch treated that I purposely took from a TD, by an Italian company specializing in plasma-applied DLC. I choosed the plasma method because it's supposed to have a longer durability (but only the time will says that).
After some weeks of thinking, I decided and I shipped my watch. It came back treated last week.
Here following I would like to share pics with you, 'cause I'm really satisfied by the job done, even if the costs weren't cheap and some risks have to be done.
The color is absolutely stunning: a black / anthracite / slightly brown who revels the underlying steel with shiny parts on polished surfaces that contrast with the opacity of the satin finishes. Against this background, the polished screws, the indexes and the hands stand out like lights in the dark.
It's quite difficult to understand from pics the real life effect of this treatment.
Impressions and comments will be welcome, as comparisons with other DLC treatments of those who want to post images here.
