Super Luminova c3 applied at home!

[OldeCrow]

lume job :biggrin:

sandwitch dial c3 super luminova

dial template for luming

painted dial face installed

they make a lume pen that feeds lume to a pen after this I am tempted to try the pen and see if it helps. I think I'll try a syringe for the next dial and see how that works.

 

[crumpdaddy]

is that stuff radioactive

 

[Edge]

:lol:

NO!

 

[OldeCrow]

I hope not cuz my pant leg is glowing in the dark from wiping the brush on it

No its not radioactive superluminova is an organic "something or other" that I could explain better if I had not been sleeping in chemistry

 

[ehtolcad]

care to share some more info on where you sourced it?

and is this the 'supposed' c3 or the 'real real real' deal?

 

[Up4anything]

did you make that template or was it purchased somewhere?

Anyway, looks great!

 

[OldeCrow]

its genuine c3 right from TriTec RC

Three davidsan dials one is seperated and striped of paint to be used as a lume template for the rest of the dials that way when the black dial face is installed everything lines up and no chance of getting lume on the painted faces.

 

[bam rock]

Was this your first experience with the lume? It looks really good! Major improvement. 2 questions:
1) Was it difficult to do? Harder/Easier than you thought?
2) Are you luming the hands as well?

 

[OldeCrow]

I'm not planning on luming the hands cuz they are also davidsan hands and they have very nice super lume on them already..

Even with a sandwich dial it was still harder than I thought. My first impulse was to mix the lume too runny and it was useless. Better to be too thick, as long as you’re fast you can get it all on before it’s too dry to use.

I mixed small batches using the little cup in the inside of the cap as a measuring tool and one small drop of the lacquer that seems to be pretty useable. I waited a few minutes between coats of lume (covered the mixing bowl while I was waiting too so the lume wouldn’t dry) and did three or four coats (can’t remember)

That above mentioned cap full of lume powder could probably do two or three dials in the hands of a skilled painter but I am a troll so I got one dial out of it. The second dial will probably go easier than the first as my skills improve and I learn to waste less lume.

It’s easy to try to apply too much lume too, when its wet the glow is uneven and my first impulse was to keep adding coats of lume until it looked even but it actually seems to even itself out as it dries because this morning it looks like a perfect c3 lume job and the glow when charged is much more uniform that I thought it was going to be.

I probably don’t need the template either but it seemed like a good idea ahead of time.
Now that I have had some practice with the brush I think I can just lume the dial back by drawing over the existing lume and then putting the dial back together when the lume dries.

All in all the sandwich dial is probably the single best dial for a DIY because you don’t have to “stay within the linesâ€

 

[ehtolcad]

@oc

the idea of the syringe would be great for a rolex dial when you just need to do a 'dot'. very cool idea - hadn't thought of that

 

[takashi]

don't use a syringe. The lume will dry up inside the needle (wasted... ) I have tried this method. Stick to fine needle method.

PS: don't add the solvent too much. Go fast and steady (without much solvent, the lume will be concentrated very fast <-- this will cause uneven lume surface).

PS PS: Reluming hand is another story.... It's tough, I have learnt nothing after ruining more than 10 hands + 1 gram of C7 s.lume). I can't get it thin enough.

 

[OldeCrow]

don't use a syringe. The lume will dry up inside the needle (wasted... ) I have tried this method. Stick to fine needle method.

PS: don't add the solvent too much. Go fast and steady (without much solvent, the lume will be concentrated very fast <-- this will cause uneven lume surface).

PS PS: Reluming hand is another story.... It's tough, I have learnt nothing after ruining more than 10 hands + 1 gram of C7 s.lume). I can't get it thin enough.

@czarczar
No I don't think I will be doing anyone elses dials any time soon I'm just learning to do this myself

@takashi
Thanks for the info! as luck would have it I didn't have time to get a syringe
I have lumed two sandwich dials now!
For the second dial I mixed the lume very thick, almost too thick to brush on. as far as I can tell it just used more lume and fills the sandwich more with not much more luminosity. the moral of that story is slightly thinner and several coats of lume gives even application with less build up and just as much lume.

I have a new found respect for people who are confident enough to charge for this service!

From Left to right
1. EL 111h, palp ver1 crown, canon/hour wheel fixed
2. Sanitized build, swiss 6497, c3 superlumed davidsan dial, exclusive_discount_uk(ebay) case, extra set of ho hum hands from another seller I used so I could wear it!
3. second c3 super lumed dial waiting for me to get a case to put it in!