OK, so I got my first vintage Panerai from Andrew on Thursday, and decided immediately that I needed to turn it into a vintage project. At first, I was thinking of getting a new dial because all it said on the dial was MARINA MILITARE. I thought it was a fantasy dial, until I did some research on the Panerai web site and discovered that they had made that exact model in the fifties, so I figured cool save some cash and not get a new dial. The dial itself looked washed out, and faded, right from the get go, and honestly I didn’t feel like opening it right up to do anything to the hands or dial. They looked vintage enough in my opinion.
Now, The case was WAAAYYYYYY to shiny to be a fifty year old watch, so after covering the dial with masking tape and taking off the straps, I went to a local engraver and got them to engrave BREV. ITAL. in the crown guard, and SMZ MM 082 on the case back as per a picture I had from our dear friends at Pannaristi. I did the engraving first because when I went to work on the case, it made the engraving look as if it was fifty plus years old, kind of almost rubbed out. To vintage the case I first hit it with medium grit emery cloth, then scotch brite, then fine grit sand paper. It came out pretty good, but still not just right, more on that later.
The stock strap was a piece of shit, so I figured any work would be an improvement. It had a huge buckle, so that was good. The strap was dry and looked like cardboard so I knew it needed lots of work. I first soaked it for an hour in leather conditioner to soften it up. After it dried for an hour I decided that I needed it to look like it was used during the war, so I took out my gun care kit. The first step was to crack open a shot gun shell and remove the powder. I then used some Beretta gun oil, and ran it along the edge of the strap, so that it soaked in and discoloured the leather along the edges. A few drops in the buckle holes did the same thing. I scuffed up the surface of the strap and using some oil on steel wool, soaked the strap itself, and really made it look old, and supple actually. I finished off the strap by rubbing it with a silicone gun cloth, to discolor the stitching and soften it further. I think it looked pretty good, in comparison to the reference picture I was using.
After all that was said and done, I decided that the crystal looked too new and needed some scratches in it. SO, since I was playing RUGBY this morning, with the boys, I decided to wear it for the duration of the game. Well, let me tell you it got some nice little scratches in it. I then brought it inside and rubbed it with rottenstone and steel wool to get some swirls. I then used some polishing paste to buff it down.
All in all I think it turned out pretty good. It actually looks about forty years old now.
Now for the pictures. Tell me what you all think.
Thanks…
Pietro
Now, The case was WAAAYYYYYY to shiny to be a fifty year old watch, so after covering the dial with masking tape and taking off the straps, I went to a local engraver and got them to engrave BREV. ITAL. in the crown guard, and SMZ MM 082 on the case back as per a picture I had from our dear friends at Pannaristi. I did the engraving first because when I went to work on the case, it made the engraving look as if it was fifty plus years old, kind of almost rubbed out. To vintage the case I first hit it with medium grit emery cloth, then scotch brite, then fine grit sand paper. It came out pretty good, but still not just right, more on that later.
The stock strap was a piece of shit, so I figured any work would be an improvement. It had a huge buckle, so that was good. The strap was dry and looked like cardboard so I knew it needed lots of work. I first soaked it for an hour in leather conditioner to soften it up. After it dried for an hour I decided that I needed it to look like it was used during the war, so I took out my gun care kit. The first step was to crack open a shot gun shell and remove the powder. I then used some Beretta gun oil, and ran it along the edge of the strap, so that it soaked in and discoloured the leather along the edges. A few drops in the buckle holes did the same thing. I scuffed up the surface of the strap and using some oil on steel wool, soaked the strap itself, and really made it look old, and supple actually. I finished off the strap by rubbing it with a silicone gun cloth, to discolor the stitching and soften it further. I think it looked pretty good, in comparison to the reference picture I was using.
After all that was said and done, I decided that the crystal looked too new and needed some scratches in it. SO, since I was playing RUGBY this morning, with the boys, I decided to wear it for the duration of the game. Well, let me tell you it got some nice little scratches in it. I then brought it inside and rubbed it with rottenstone and steel wool to get some swirls. I then used some polishing paste to buff it down.
All in all I think it turned out pretty good. It actually looks about forty years old now.
Now for the pictures. Tell me what you all think.
Thanks…
Pietro
