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Vintage enamel Dial repair technique experiment #1

FLwatchguy73
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FLwatchguy73 Super WRT Addict

FLwatchguy73

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Recently purchased a pocket watch with a chipped dial. You can see the copper substrate. This is unsightly and distracting. As an experiment i dug out a damaged old dial I had and a small bottle of white nail polish. After about 3 coats I gave it a light wipe with a shop towel wetted with acetone. It only took a couple very light swipes to achieve the look I wanted. All in all it looks pretty good. Yes there are a couple bubbles close up but it's nearly impossible to see from a normal viewing  distance. My next goal is to see if I can find a black pen with a fine enough point to attempt to restore the black minute index lines. I consider this an open experiment, I want to try other dials with other colors of enamel besides white.

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Edited by FLwatchguy73
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watchweasol Distinguished Member

watchweasol

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Hi  thats quite an effective repair job..  I have seen a ceramics expert use an artists brush that was so thin it must have had most of the hair pulled out re lining a damaged clock dial I think it was with Indian Ink. did a brilliant job.

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FLwatchguy73 Super WRT Addict

FLwatchguy73

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40 minutes ago, jdrichard said:

Great work. Now I need to buy white nail polish; darn


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LOL! I was getting the "WTH" eye while i was in the nail polish department.:D

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FLwatchguy73 Super WRT Addict

FLwatchguy73

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2 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi  thats quite an effective repair job..  I have seen a ceramics expert use an artists brush that was so thin it must have had most of the hair pulled out re lining a damaged clock dial I think it was with Indian Ink. did a brilliant job.

Thank you. Even if I decide not to restore the minute track at least it isn't so distracting and it's subtle enough that the casual glance or an untrained eye won't spot it. I have another dial with a more off white, eggshell sort of color that needs attention. I'll have to see if I can find one close enough to it as fingernail polish flashes very quickly and you don't have much working time. Definitely not enough time to mix colors to get it close .

  • 4 months later...
EnamelDial Member

EnamelDial

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On 5/23/2020 at 2:01 PM, FLwatchguy73 said:

LOL! I was getting the "WTH" eye while i was in the nail polish department.:D

Pebeo 150 porcelain paint is better than varnish

024120-Pebeo-Porcelaine-150-45-ml.-120-Powder-White.jpg

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KarlvonKoln Distinguished Member

KarlvonKoln

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Following this thread.  I like the look of the repair.  I have used Bergeon powdered repair enamel.  It only comes in brilliant white and is rather pricey.  I have had to repaint Roman numerals before and I used black drafting ink and a 000 (triple ought) brush, which I had to thin down even further with a wee bit of plucking. 

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