Reluming a Watch Dial -(For the first time)
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
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In this video I attempt to relume a watch dial for the first time. The dial is in poor condition and the lume is even worse. I take you with my on my journey and you can see all the steps I take to remove the old lume, clean and prepare the indices before applying the luminous mixture.
How did I do? well watch to find out.
I welcome all feedback on this one. If anyone has tips for me then I will definitely take them all on board.
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Any advice on microscope!!got them on eBay for£30!!yours is£50 I believe?any huge difference??? please advise!!!
lee knowles my scope is not £50! They are on offer at the movement but over £100.
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absolutely helpful!
Because you have done this, you know all the flaws within it and are super critical. To someone just seeing the original state and the end result you have done a fantastic job and resurrected a scrap watch. Well done and thanks for sharing your time.
MikeB thank you for your encouragement
I love the way that you ‘learn’ on camera. It is an amazing way to teach
Thank you.
Hi the easier and reliable and efficient way of cleaning and re liluming is first take a good non easy tearing paper and cut it a slightly larger circle than the dial itself. Then take the tracing of the dial on the paper with a pencil to make the index traces on paper. Then from the edge cut 12 small simple cuts just to the length of index. Then fix the paper on to the front side of the dial by folding the excess paper towards back of the dial by glue tape. Make sure your indices are exposed and open for cleaning. At this point place ultra fine sand paper on your table and rub your entire dial on the paper gently in slow circular motions.
Clean and and finish lume application before you remove the paper.
It's a safe fast uniform and risk free way for even polishing your indices
Thank you so much for this informative comment. Makes perfect sense now on flat indices like this dial anyway. The thought of rubbing against fine paper never occurred to me! I will certainly give this method a try on the scrap dial I have.
Again thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me
@@MyRetroWatches I would assume, the acrylic paint would not be required, if the indices turned out to be silver and shiny
You have done a great job and should be pleased with the results, the more you do, the better the results will be, just like any hobby. Well done
Thanks 👍
If I saw that watch ,I wouldn't have given a nickel for it, yet you brought it back, relumed it twice and made it beautiful again. You are very talented. One thing though you and I have in common, we only see our mistakes, It looked great miles ahead of it was , condition wise. Loved the video.
Thank you so much Jack.
The patience of a saint! Finished watch looks great. Love the case and dial colour.
Hats off to the king of lume - Mr Seiko, as you have demonstrated the effort and complexity that it takes to get it right. Good on you for going to the trouble and having a go. Cheers mate.
Don't be too hard on yourself! You're a learning, my friend. The only thing I've lumed are hands, and between removing the old, cleaning the hands up and the applying the new lume properly so it looks even, using the capillary effect, is NOT easy. So I can only imagine that dial reluming is even tougher. Keep it up dude, you'll improve with every attempt until you've mastered it, just like all of those awesome skills you already possess. By the way, it looks great that second time around!
I wondered if you could replace lume. Fascinating! I used your link last night and placed a tool order! Again, Thanks so much for producing these videos and sharing your expertise with us! God Bless You!
Thank you for watching and ordering some tools. I really do appreciate all the help you guys give me.
Man that's a beautiful watch!
Excellent job all around and with the learning curve out of the way I'm certain future attempts will be even better. We all started somewhere and in Tennessee we don't use the word imperfect, we call it character. Thank you.
Fantastic job! Love the patina left on the dial! Vintage restoration as its meant to be.
When I was doing my engineering apprenticeship in the UK during the 1960's part of my training was to steer a drawing board, this included use of draughting tools of all kinds. One of these tools was a thin brass (or stainless) sheet into which various shapes has been punched out, these allowed one to erase small details in a complex drawing without rubbing out the surrounding good pencil lines. This might help in a situation like removing whatever from a dial and stop over cleaning. Just a thought?
Good idea I was also an engineering apprentice in the very early 70s (just retired, don't time fly) I've got one of these in stainless, I'm gonna go and have a rummage, cheers mate 👍
As a graphic artist, i was trained early on in the same manner. Somewhere in my old stash of forgotten art suppies i have that eraser mask.
They exist in the hobby world to as airbrush masks but in all kinds of shapes
Wow, good job, i'm mexican, but i'm in this video for the Chanel Un Poco De Todo, and i love the video
Leonardo Castillo thank you for watching and welcome ! Yes I am happy Un Poco De Todo use my video.
I guess this is when I differ from most spending all that time and money to restore a timepiece I would simply remove the old gross dial and replace with one of the numerous new dials available although I would save the old dial so if I ever sold the watch it would be sold as complete and original. Interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
Well done for DIY... I appreciate the desire and patience to do this yourself, more satisfying at least in my mind than doing it professionally, especially from where this watch started, bravo!
Thank you very much!
@@MyRetroWatches Yes, I'm starting on a journey to clean and restore a vintage Longines pocket watch. Whew! I'm scared...but will motor on after a little more research, I think I have the overall concept down in how to do the breakdown by step
Wow what a fantastic job you have done. You have taken a watch that most of us wouldn’t give a second look at and transformed it into a fantastic looking item that I for one would be proud to wear. Great job. I’m learning so much from your videos. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment and more importantly thanks for watching.
My opinion is lume is a serviceable item sure some watches leave original but ones like one I will be doing this same thing to. First time on a dial that counts. I can lume hands and bezels really good and have gotten good on my practice dial. I was given a late 90 Tag aqua racer and the lume has fallen off the hands and the dial indices have turned black. I have never seen one do like this thing. The watch had stopped working and a piece of lume was stuck in the train wheels so I just used my blower and gently moved the wheels with a oiler and it started working again. Great video. Luckily my watch has little wells for the indices so after scrap it should just be fill and flow. Great job on that style indices. The white paint was a great idea.
A great effort - and the white paint underneath idea is genius. From my decorating experience the prep of the index surface may well have a significant effect on the outcome so the suggestion of sanding prior to the first paint coat sounds a good idea to keep that as smooth as possible. It would certainly help the edges to flow more evenly. Not sure about the silver paint over white - worth a try from sure.
What astounds me Mike when I watch your videos is how steady your hands are - I'm all over the place trying to fit screws with tweezers and really wouldn't have a hope of doing this where its rather a one shot thing. But I do enjoy watching how to do it. Thanks so much for taking the time to record it all.
white underpaint goes a long way to the brightness level.
i did a dial once with bgw9 and i removed the indices and soaked them in solvent that removed the lume i then cleaned them stuck them back in the dial and applied the lume and did the hands. it was a great success
Thank you so much! I relumed my fathers Watch. It's drying. I dont know If I made a great job. It's drying right now. But I/We did it! Tons of fun!
Id do it scraping from center of dial to outside. That way if you slip, less chance of gouging the dial up.
Another brilliant job Mike, such a change from the before to after photo’s. Great to see another Seiko saved. I admire your patience.
Looking to lume my old Omega hands, as the original lume has long gone, just leaving the outer edges of the hands. Now I’m inspired.
Really enjoy your honest videos. Keep them coming.
Good job. Great patience shown - and now you are better at it!
Great job. I think you can say its all done. With something that old you can always find something else to do but compared to what it was its 1000 times better.
Thank you. I was considering luming again and trying to get it better but I’ve just enjoyed the watch since rather than attempt it again
@@MyRetroWatches I have a collection of old Seiko's myself (mostly divers). I just enjoy their rough charm and the fact they work as well as they do after so many years.
I scored a lume kit on ebay for 14pounds, off RedRooster UK.
I applied a very thick layer on a watch with very weak lume, and another watch with no lume at all.
Happy to say my application outperforms(both in terms of initial brightness and length of glow) the factory applied Superluminova I have on other watches, due to the generous application. 😁
Awesome job, Mike! The watch has some real personality now. Some areas are shinny and new looking, others show the scars of life. We're always hardest on ourselves. And now for those 3am bathroom runs you'll be able to check the time. Great job.
Dan Lazer thanks you.
Love your channel. I started with the „cleaning parts“ video. Which was very helpful. but let me to the next question: how to clean the dial? Found that video of yours. Again great, but let me to another question: how to relume? And here we are.
Amazing resource to learn!
Thank you so much. Still lots more to cover .
having no experience with watches, but having some with cars etc. the smother the base the smoother the top, I would get a small amount of the smoothest wet or dry paper I could find, attach it to a piece of Popsicle stick and lightly sand the base metal, then again after each coat of white then add the loom. I would likely use fingernail polish for the white as it is inexpensive and made to flow easily with hand application.
Excellent idea...never thought of fingernail polish, but that's much better than the mixed enamel he's using.
I think the watch looks great. Such a big difference from what you started with. Thanks for the video.
Thank you. glad you enjoyed this video.
Very good video, Thanks. One sugestion is to try Mr color self levelling thinner and a Tamiya XF or Mr Color paint for the painting part, may solve your "level" problems.
Thanks for the tip!
Cool. You get better runtime with bigger particles. You don't need to mix it if you just apply some glue on the surface and sprinkle the powder on that. You can roll the surface with some wood to push it good in to the glue.
I’ve relumed hands but never a dial so this was interesting to watch, looks good to me, you’re never going to get it perfect the first time. The finished watch looks great.
Superb piece of work,with the emphasis on work.I don't agree with those of us that believe in preserving patina and you being so close in to the details means that you worry about imperfections that the rest of the population wouldn't notice,if they notice your watch at all which in my experience is very rarely.Time to move on to another wonderful project and vlog.
Thank you so much for your comment. The devil is in the detail as they say. There are many parts on this watch I am still not happy with but then I think I always will be. To most viewing this would say its a good job all round but I know those tiny errors and it bugs me...
I know it's hard,but you have to try so that you can move all that talent to a new challenge."profit comes from what is there,usefulness from what is not there."(Lao Tsu-Tao te Ching)
What I would do is do a very light coat of paint, burnish with that wood stick until it is flat. If there is exposed metal repeat. Then with the lume, I would do a light coat burnish, and apply a second coat. Often manufacturers go on about the number of coats of lume applied. The annoying thing is it would take some time to do. I am tempted to buy a junker and play around now too!
I think keeping the paint thin and doing more coats would give you more consistent and smoother results.
You did a great job on the watch. It looks really good.
I have to admire you for your perseverance, good work!
I think the final result it was 7 out of 10. Good job mate and I really enjoy the video. Thanks for sharing and you have a new subscriber.
Nacho Valenti thanks for subbing ! Love your honest score too. It’s about where I put it also. Need to practice some more for the ascetics fo be spot on
So great learning from, and with you. By now someone has told you if you're more careful while mixing you can have little to no air inclusions. Plus I've found that extremely powerful lume can be purchased through chemistry/chemical laboratories. G'day mates
Many blessings
Commendable bit of courage to tackle this in the first place! I think considering the patina and age of the watch the luming is fine. The watch is no longer new and perfect so all is well to my eye!
Thank you.
I have been certified by DuPont since 94 for automotive painting and looking how everything flowed and turned out I believe that roughness helped with the application of the lume. Reason is that there’s certain paints that the first coat needs to be a dry tac coat, it’s pretty rough and you do it to promote adhesion. Just a thought from watching paint dry for decades.
Interesting
Its good to see that i‘m not the only one struggling with the thickness of the lume.. i wasn‘t even able to make 12 little dots of the same size in my vostok dial 🙈
I've been experimenting with using a cocktail stick on a scrap dial to do the dots. Seems to work ok - also tried with the dots on a margarine tub lid (clean). Seems to work ok. HTH :)
New subscriber to your channel. Extremely informative & entertaining. Thoroughly enjoying every minute. Thank you very much for taking the time and effort- much appreciated 👍
Thank you so much. Welcome aboard
I think you should be proud of yourself Mike. Hell of an effort and the results are really pretty good. Especially as it's your first attempt. Nice job.
I have seen your work .it's great to see you work so well
I'm no expert but I'd be more than happy with that result. Well done you for all your hard work and patience.
I'm working on trying my first resto project still but from a modelling use I wouldn't fret too much about that white paint, it just never really seems to want to behave itself no matter the brand, usually I'll need to flat it and use multiple layers toget the result I want.
Only other thing to try is maybe a detail brush, the works do (or atleast did a few months back when I last visited) a pack for about £2 so not too much an issue if it ends up being a one use, being softer they should allow you to spread the Lume or paint more evenly without using a lot so you may get a more uniform result or be able to go backand correct more easily.
Nice project!
you may have a look at the build of custom in ear monitors. They are UV resin build and the benefit from resins is they keep their shape when curing unlike solvent based paints. When your work is statisfactory just hit the UV light to cure it so no hurry to apply the resin.
greets! Erik
Great video Mike and admire your perseverance. I have re-lumed hands but have not attempted a dial yet.
That is very nice work.So far I’ve bought a Bergeon lume kit, and re-lumed the hands on a really old vintage Muros watch, but I have much harder job now on an Omega Dynamic. Thanks for the video, I might make fewer mistakes now!, I will have to practice. BTW that is a wonderful job you did on the Seiko, very nicely done!.
Your most welcome, l have read the contributions of your other subscribers and they all have some good ideas..mix and match ideas seems to be the way to go.good job on the watch by the way.goodvluck with future projects.david UK.ps.sorry about the spellings in my last message(predictive text can be a pain)
We all love predictive text on occasions!
👍
well done Mike a real rewarding video,i enjoyed it YOU GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BRAVO
Chris Panagopoulos thank you sir
I’ll attempt to practice with an old dial and see if I can do it as well as you did. I read that modelers use a single strand from a thick brush to paint small details. Maybe that could be another method. Thanks for this tutorial Mike! Cheers!
Mike, I'm full of ideas today, if you got a piece of coke can, and with a craft knife cut a very thin slot the size of the indices put it over and use a bit of wet and dry you might just do it. Yes, before you all start, I do know how small we're talking about!!
Very interesting. I enjoyed watching!
Very nice work. Thank you for the interesting and helpful contetnt.
Looks amazing well done mate .
Thank you! Cheers!
Very nicely done, good video Mike :-)
Glad you enjoyed it mate
@@MyRetroWatches maybe u should have tried to pop the bubble with a pin?. just sayin lol.
I heard it’s better to paint the markers white before applying the lume. Because then there’s less need for pigment, which compromises the strength of the lume
I was wondering if it might help to have a bright UV torch shining on the indices as you apply the lume. It might still be overpowered by the light needed to allow viewing under the microscope, but worth a try I would have thought. It's possible the white undercoat might still react to the UV also, in which case it would be difficult to differentiate the two paints.
This video came in a timely manner, as I have been thinking of lumeing the hands on a wall clock, and I had no idea how I might do it. Thanks 👍
Laz Arus that is a good idea. In hindsight I think that would have worked to show how even it went on.
I have an acebeam uc15, great pocket light and would also work well for this I think. It has a pretty strong UV diode in it.
you can make a perfect little chisel /scraper this and many other jobs. i've used 3*0,8mm leaf spring, but a screw driver will do. the whole trick is to grind a convex and slightly rounded bevel to about a 40-50° edge, and strop or polish. that way you can carefully roll foward untill you feel the blade catch.
(*= easily achieved by laying sand paper on a cloth, so it has a bit of give. precisely what you wouldnt on woodworking tools. )
Thank you. I think lying it flat and sanding on fine paper is the best way given this has now been suggested to me by many here in the comments. Making a tool is a very nice idea indeed but I dont really have the equipment to do so.
I have an omega that needs relume ... I tried to see videos here but there are quite a l few information about it...nice video!
Love the guitar jazz. Cool to see you learning as you go. Yes, brush strokes will improve the paint smoothness.
J Co thank you. Glad someone commented on the music too. My choices were very eclectic !
@@MyRetroWatches The Army youtube uses that dance music in their fitness videos :D
Some masking tape around each index to protect the dial? Just a thought?
I wonder if soaking the dial for a couple minutes in a non-corrosive solution to soften the lume would make it easier to remove using pegwood. Maybe even a bit of vinegar? I'm a hack who'd reach for the xacto knife from the get go.
And I think the best lume jobs involve mixing it much thinner, letting it flow out like paint, and then reapplying several coats.
Brilliant...Video " The Dogs" Bollocks " Mikey Mate!
I believe you did an awesome job on this piece that most would consider a dead head!
Congratulations on the finished product and can’t wait to see more from your channel.
@nashvillewatch
Great video friend, it's a hard and beautiful work! Congrats
Great job , for glue i use TAMYA extra thin cement,or something like this tamya cement,
A suggestion. Get some electronics Solder Paste stencils. You'll probably find some solder pads that fit perfectly over an index. You can then sand and clean and paint as needed and you'll get even coating to the edges.
Thanks, I will look into that.
can you use your finest sanding stick to gently sand the paint then to clean up and flatten the new lume once it's dry?
Great job ! I've been following this project fora while now and I'd say you did a great job at restoring it ... too bad you accidentally scraped of part of the internal bezel ...
Anyway I'm planning on reluming a AM 6309-7040 dial (it's a ± perfect copy ) because it has green lume
Awesome video. Most of all the part when you decide to do it again. Great work!
I hope watchmakers did it in my area but I think this is quite a specialized service.
Mario Palacio thank you sir. I L still contemplating a 3rd go and maybe silver paint.
Thanks for watching and happy your enjoyed this one.
Good job for a first attempt 👍 Don't believe I have enough patience to accomplish that feat....
Nicely done my friend 👍👍
Brave attempt well done 👍😁
Hi Michael, I work with acyrilic with my job. A very thin layer of. White should do it, but keep it flat. Acyrilic is like a plastic coat, it should be used sparingly. Adrian.
Adrian Birkett thanks. I was thinking perhaps enamel paint next time but it takes 2 days to cure.
Great job, as ever common sense, wins every time with old watches
If the indices are the highest point on the dial, could you turn the dial upside down and gently rub against a whetstone to remove the old lume? To apply the new lume maybe put some thin cardboard around the indice before applying ?
oops around each index for the second sentence. derp.
someone else has mentioned this in the comments. Its a brilliant idea and not something I even thought about but the logic is sound. I may try this on the "practice" dial.
You did very good . . . considering.
X-acto knife w/ chisel tip blade. Hold it perfectly level on the indices and almost flat.
Possible to sand it smooth with 2000 grit paper turn the dial upside down onto a flat glass surface and make a figure 8 motion, even pressure. Think "hand lapping a cpu die"?
Great entertaining and pedagogical video, thank you! wouldn't a plastic tool be better so not to scratch the dial ? And what about the toxicity potential of the lume? How can one go about it when removing radium lume from vintage watches? Thank you again
Cristobal Osuna thanks for watching and commenting . Yes agree that a plastic tool might work , on this occasion it just required something sharp enough to cut through it. A screwdriver to my goes against everything near a dial but steady hand was required .
Seiko lume does not contain Radium so it’s perfectly safe. I’m not sure when the cut off point was in history where they stopped using it , I will have to google that.
I'd personally not touch this. I've just finished reading, "The Radium Girls " and what they suffered was horrific. The half life of Radium is 1600 years so it's still pretty nasty even in small amounts. What My Retro Watches is doing is fine (and a very, very good job). But no Lick, Dip, Paint or scrape and inhale with radium.
Problem is the corrosion and unevenness of surface. I suggest making a very small sander with tiny piece of sandpaper
Brilliant video
Great job. 👍👏👍
Have you thought of using a sowing/pin needle to help get the corners more safely?
What kind of Acrylic paint where you using? Was it modeler's paint and if so what kind? I think the lumpiness of you paint prevented the loom from flowing well onto the indices?
It’s almost impossible to get a perfect re-lume. Excellent video, well done for all of them.
I’m going to try with a smaller oiler and two pack paint (vehicle) as the paint has a chemical reaction to dry so stays the same with no reduction of solids.
This should hopefully give uniform smooth surface to apply the lume.
I’ll try c3 lume to see if it any better and let you know.
Again thanks for addictive videos.
Mike.
Mr Jolly thanks. Glad you enjoyed this one.
hello sir, maybe you should use one of those microgrinder/sander for jewelery to flatten the indices or 3000 grit sand paper (must be very patience and very stable hand) then i think it will be more smooth finished outcome for the paint and the lume afterward. i myself don't have steady hand and the right tools for this mod. thank you again for this great video. have a nice day. :)
Thank you.
@@MyRetroWatches you aare most welcome sir. have a nice day.
An UV light would make the paint glow as you apply it but your technique seams to work just fine.
You make this look so easy pal
alan776600 it is 😅
Great video a nice job, congrats :-) I've painted a crap load of really nice custom built models but I've never done anything with watches, however I was pondering doing something similar to this myself a few days ago. As I was watching you do this I was thinking to myself that it may be possible to get some blue painter's tape or frog tape and lay down some tape lines ride along the edges of the emphases to Shield the watch face and keep the paint where it needs to be. Or possibly use something like three-by-five cards as border Shields or Edge guards on on the emphases as you paint them
I am open to suggestions on this , it was my first attempt and so far I have not had the occasion to do another. There have been many good comments with tips so when the time comes I will be reading all of them again. Thanks
Nice job mike.
スイス時計も良いけど、セイコー５スポーツは安価でしかも丈夫です💪
自分も夜光塗料の塗りかえ試してみます👍
ありがとうございます。
Enjoy your efforts. Could you have used a pencil erasure to smooth the indices before painting? Just a thought.
Keep at it.
Some use PVA glue to form the base for lume. It is also white, but it has a greater binding ability than paint when it comes to luming.
I think it looks very good. Overall the transformation of this watch is remarkable.
On the first go, with the irregularities around the edges, it could be the transparency was caused be the degraded irregular egde of the indice itself. If the edge and corners aren't "crisp" or sharp then this affects how the surface tension of the liquid allows it to flow evenly along them.
Also, I've noticed in reading about some of the lume monster microbrands they state that 12 or 15 layers of c3 or bgw9 have been applied. It must be the case, I guess, that the layers are applied much more thinly.
At any rate, no doubt it easier on a brand indice.
Thanks for your comment. I am hearing this about more layers. Not sure how that can be done with my setup given when you see how I applied it to put another layer over it would make it too tall. I have an idea on what to do with the indices to get them flat again from some of the comments left on here.
Is it possible to ' sand ' the first coat of enamel and then do the luming ?
You could maybe try uv curing resin to mix the lume into.This would give a longer working time as a fluid and when you were happy with the individual mark you zap it with a uv source to cure it off.I use this method to build up heads and eyes on fishing flies and you can get some nice effects with different colours and textures being built up rather quickly.Hope this helps you in future ventures.
David McInnes that is a good tip David. Thank you for this