Wiz 0 Posted February 18, 2011 Today a little something about the basic of reluming: the sandwich dial, and a few tips to make it glow brigther. This is the perfect job if you're begining, because you can't really screw up A sandwich dial is a two-plate dial, the first plate being coated with luminous material and the second plate pierced through for the indexes and numerals. So the first step is to separate out these 2 plates using a sharp blade. Please be carefull never to manipulate a dial with your naked fingers. Store the top place in a safe place and fix the back plate on a stand. Here is mine it's, flat, made out of plastic, and there are 2 holes for the dial's feet. The dial needs to stay perfectly flat so it doesn't bend. It's now time to remove the old lume and the glue from the backplate. The best thing would have been a sandblaster, but as I don't own one, the next best thing is a ss brush on a dremel The plate might heat when using the ss brush. If it starts heating too much, just stop and wait untill it's cool again. Bench grinder with circular ss brush to make the finish uniform. Now a quick polishing to be sure the finish really is uniform. Polished back plate. Now the thing is that we can't leave the plate polished because we'll paint it, and there is a chance the paint won't hold on a polished surface. So again we need to take it under the ss brush. Now that the plate is clean, we need to apply glossy white paint. This coating will allow the light from the lume to reflect, and give the impression that it glows brigther. Here is my homemade painting stand. A piece of sponge, 2 wood sticks, and rodico Painting the dial with an airbrush. You'll need 2 layers at least. Allow 30-40 minutes between each layer. It's important to keep the plate horizontal while the paint dries. Painting done. And now, the lume! As always, I'll use w@tchlume pigments. 50% Gmax, 50% WG for the first layer, pure GMax for the second. Now let the lume dry half way and glue the plates back together. Complete drying may take up to 24 hours depending on your binder. Job done! Comparison: Relumed dial with spray painted back plate on the left, relumed dial with regular ss plate on the left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted February 18, 2011 Great work, wiz!!! Actually - absolutely outstanding. Instant sticky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cynikal.Mindset 1 Posted February 18, 2011 where's the sticky bun??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeNnY 29 Posted February 18, 2011 yea !! Great work ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wombosi 0 Posted February 18, 2011 Nice tutorial! Thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PEPO_TG 0 Posted February 19, 2011 I love that work! Looks amazing!!! Do you have any videos on any of your watch repair? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gianton 14 Posted February 19, 2011 Great tutorial, thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Del 4,459 Posted February 19, 2011 Very interesting tutorial - thanks for posting . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aren 27 Posted February 19, 2011 Great tutorial and photos. Wonderful job on the lume. It looks great. Thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tissotman 0 Posted March 8, 2011 excellent many thanks for that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snoopy_ 0 Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Where'd all the photos go? I can't see them? Edited March 23, 2011 by snoopy_ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WebWind 1 Posted March 23, 2011 Where'd all the photos go? I can't see them? All pictures are OK. Check your browser settings. BTW welcome to RWG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wiz 0 Posted March 23, 2011 Where'd all the photos go? I can't see them? Maybe photobucket is blocked at your work or something? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snoopy_ 0 Posted March 25, 2011 Wiz, You are right on the money... I didn't realize that. Some posts work, others don't, but probably the ones using photobucket are affected. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
machiavegli 6 Posted April 25, 2012 Like a torch. Absolutely. Nice job, nice pics, clear & concise instructions. Now all I need is the strength to risk taking my fave PAM dials apart Thanks, man! -Mach Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAGster 5 Posted March 8, 2013 Great tutorial!! I have a couple of questions: does it need to be glossy white the paint for the base plate? I am doing a re-luming for my 112 and used a mate white that I had at hand. And, I see your dial markers and numbers looks white, how did you achieve that? does it turn white when the lume power/binder mix get dry?. I am using C5 Green Superluminova on my re-luming job and when wet it has a strong green tone. I will leave drying all night (it´s about 9:30 pm PST) and I hope tomorrow I´ll see a whiter dried lume. Thanks!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Markrfc 3 Posted March 17, 2013 Nice wish i had the balls to try this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YJFarmer 0 Posted April 16, 2013 Nice wish i had the balls to try this. My thoughts exactly! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jms137 0 Posted August 4, 2013 Great tutorial, thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockzz22 0 Posted October 12, 2013 Thanks for posting this help me alot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevenreid 0 Posted April 1, 2014 Thanks for the info! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkz88 0 Posted April 14, 2014 Very beautiful,fantastic Thanks for sharing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites