I have a Noob V7 BLNR. Needless to say the insert markers and numbers look pretty bad on it. Worse than they look on V9, but V7 had a more reliable simpler movement and was much cheaper. Right out of the box numbers just had that unappealing dirty white color, with some darker blemishes, so I decided to do something about it. I tried Oil based Silver Metallic Sharpie first, and then Molotow 227HS - here's my experience with both:
I got the oil-based ultra fine tip silver metallic Sharpie (I think it's important to get the oil based one, as it's more weather resistant). Applied it by using the tip of the marker to draw into the numbers and dots. I thought I would avoid the paint spilling around the numbers this way, but even with the ultra fine tip this wasn't really possible - it was spilling around the numbers all the time, so I just went with it. Filled in all the numbers and dots, let it dry overnight. Next morning, I tried wiping off the excess paint with the wet toilet wipes like I've seen someone suggest doing for the molotow marker. To my surprise, it did not really work. Oil based sharpie seems to be a real trooper in terms of rubbing/weather resistance. I could barely remove anything even by scratching with my nail through the wet wipe. Same deal with the paper towel that I dipped into some water. It just couldn't remove it with water, which I thought was a real positive. In the end, I had to use the q-tip doused in rubbing alcohol (70% did the job fine). By lightly touching the bezel, I tried to make sure the alcohol doesn't get into the numbers and dissolve the paint that was there. It worked pretty well, but I could see that the top triangle and some numbers were not quite smooth and even, so I did another coat on them to try and even them out. It mostly worked fine, and I was much happier with how it looked now compared to the original look. Still, the problem with the Sharpie is that the metallic particles are quite large, and it's visible even with the naked eye in the sun - and very easily visible in all the macro photos. I was expecting this, it kinda sucks, but I still think overall look was much better than the dirty white I had before.
On the photos, Molotow paint seemed to have much nicer, softer look, with notably smaller metallic particles, which I of course liked. Ordered the 4mm tip 227HS from Ebay, and when it arrived, I removed the sharpie using q-tip with the same 70% rubbing alcohol. Then I applied the Molotow, using the method described here - make a pool of paint on a plastic surface, dab the q-tip into it, and paint around the insert. This worked incredibly well, the coverage was so smooth and even, and I applied maybe two coats one right after another, all within the 5 minute timespan. Let it dry overnight, and next morning I tried removing the excess paint again with the wet toilet wipe. To my surprise, Molotow removed *very* easily with the wet wipe, and based on this, I think it might be much less weather resistant than Sharpie. I'm not sure if these wet wipes have any alcohol in them - I'll check when I get back home - but they were barely effective against Oil Sharpie. In the end, Molotow does look noticeably better, but I do worry that I'll have to reapply it more often than I would Sharpie. Then again, I never really expose any watches to water, and rarely have to touch the GMT bezel, so we'll see how long it lasts. I also don't think applying multiple coats is necessary. It might make it more weather resistant, but it would almost for sure not be possible to keep this smooth and even finish like I have now.
So in the end:
Oil Sharpie: Probably more weather resistant - water doesn't do anything to it, must be removed with alcohol. Looks much better than stock Noob V7, but larger metallic particles give it a harsh look, especially in the sun.
Molotow: Smaller metallic particles make for much softer, smoother, more gen look. However, it's easily removed with wet toilet wipes (almost worryingly easy) so I'm not sure how long before I'll have to touch it up. I'm keeping the Molotow for sure though - this look just can't be denied.
Will post photos in a couple of hours. I see that most people have applied Molotow to their Subs, so it will be nice to have photos of the GMT2 also.
I got the oil-based ultra fine tip silver metallic Sharpie (I think it's important to get the oil based one, as it's more weather resistant). Applied it by using the tip of the marker to draw into the numbers and dots. I thought I would avoid the paint spilling around the numbers this way, but even with the ultra fine tip this wasn't really possible - it was spilling around the numbers all the time, so I just went with it. Filled in all the numbers and dots, let it dry overnight. Next morning, I tried wiping off the excess paint with the wet toilet wipes like I've seen someone suggest doing for the molotow marker. To my surprise, it did not really work. Oil based sharpie seems to be a real trooper in terms of rubbing/weather resistance. I could barely remove anything even by scratching with my nail through the wet wipe. Same deal with the paper towel that I dipped into some water. It just couldn't remove it with water, which I thought was a real positive. In the end, I had to use the q-tip doused in rubbing alcohol (70% did the job fine). By lightly touching the bezel, I tried to make sure the alcohol doesn't get into the numbers and dissolve the paint that was there. It worked pretty well, but I could see that the top triangle and some numbers were not quite smooth and even, so I did another coat on them to try and even them out. It mostly worked fine, and I was much happier with how it looked now compared to the original look. Still, the problem with the Sharpie is that the metallic particles are quite large, and it's visible even with the naked eye in the sun - and very easily visible in all the macro photos. I was expecting this, it kinda sucks, but I still think overall look was much better than the dirty white I had before.
On the photos, Molotow paint seemed to have much nicer, softer look, with notably smaller metallic particles, which I of course liked. Ordered the 4mm tip 227HS from Ebay, and when it arrived, I removed the sharpie using q-tip with the same 70% rubbing alcohol. Then I applied the Molotow, using the method described here - make a pool of paint on a plastic surface, dab the q-tip into it, and paint around the insert. This worked incredibly well, the coverage was so smooth and even, and I applied maybe two coats one right after another, all within the 5 minute timespan. Let it dry overnight, and next morning I tried removing the excess paint again with the wet toilet wipe. To my surprise, Molotow removed *very* easily with the wet wipe, and based on this, I think it might be much less weather resistant than Sharpie. I'm not sure if these wet wipes have any alcohol in them - I'll check when I get back home - but they were barely effective against Oil Sharpie. In the end, Molotow does look noticeably better, but I do worry that I'll have to reapply it more often than I would Sharpie. Then again, I never really expose any watches to water, and rarely have to touch the GMT bezel, so we'll see how long it lasts. I also don't think applying multiple coats is necessary. It might make it more weather resistant, but it would almost for sure not be possible to keep this smooth and even finish like I have now.
So in the end:
Oil Sharpie: Probably more weather resistant - water doesn't do anything to it, must be removed with alcohol. Looks much better than stock Noob V7, but larger metallic particles give it a harsh look, especially in the sun.
Molotow: Smaller metallic particles make for much softer, smoother, more gen look. However, it's easily removed with wet toilet wipes (almost worryingly easy) so I'm not sure how long before I'll have to touch it up. I'm keeping the Molotow for sure though - this look just can't be denied.
Will post photos in a couple of hours. I see that most people have applied Molotow to their Subs, so it will be nice to have photos of the GMT2 also.
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