_DC_ 218 Posted April 19, 2016 So I've mentioned a few times that I want to"mod" my Patek Worldtime to make the dial a bit closer to gen. So today I started the work and decided to document it in a new thread. There's a real chance I'll cock this up, so stay tuned for a laugh hahaha!! The plan is to take this... ... and get it looking a bit closer to this... So how will I do it?! Well obviously the hands need to be white, that's simple enough, but the challenge is the cloisonné dial. It's basically a semi translucent almost glass like enamel painted onto the dial and baked. So how to get this effect with basic paints?!? Well the first thing I noticed was that even on this white gold version the centre part of the dial is gold. So I decided to start by removing this part of the rep and making it gold. Then, I plan to paint it by hand with a mix of clear and gloss acrylic paints to give the glassy translucent appearance. That's the plan, so let's get started!! Here she is waiting for her makeover... First things first, off with the strap and out with the movement... And out she comes... So you can see here the dial is made up of several layers, the mid and city ring parts are mounted on a clear plastic dial which allows the 24hr ring to be visible bellow. It's all got to come off, hands first (using the screwdriver and clear plastic bag trick)... Off comes the top dial... Then the mid dial needs to come off. It's glued and has two pins which secure into the clear plastic dial, a quick push with a pointy screwdriver from the rear and a case knife to prise it off (using the same clear plastic trick as for the hands) did the trick nicely... Et voila... So now to spray the mid dial gold. I'm using Tamiya model spray for this... It initially looked a bit thick but soon settled down once I got it back indoors to dry out... I did the hands in the same way although these will need another coat I suspect... So that's where I'm at for now. Next up? Paint the dial using a very very small brush and these Tamiya Clear paints, possibly mixed with non clear in areas where I don't want as much translucency... Wish me luck!!! DC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Genesis 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Good luck DC! I'm sure it will be very interesting, can't wait to see the result. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WatchaholicMallorca 2 Posted April 19, 2016 Unbelievable ! The whole opperation you have going on there wouldn't be out of place in a Willy Wonka factory, I dont have the steady hands or patience to even attempt something like that, but bravo! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakethemouse 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Subscribed. This is exciting, cant wait to see it in its final form. Great start already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dudermania 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Quite an initiative mate. Let us know how it turns out! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wriggles 12 Posted April 19, 2016 So far so good. I hope you were good at art in school Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2hot2trot 4 Posted April 19, 2016 What a fantastic informative review DC. Can't wait for the next stage. Good luck mate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gazzla 23 Posted April 19, 2016 In before Africa looks like pizza. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stuvetjee 17 Posted April 19, 2016 That is soo sick DC! Such a awesome project! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kwt 11 Posted April 19, 2016 Good luck mate - great read so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantomtech 4 Posted April 19, 2016 This is fascinating! I will be following this closely, not that I will ever be able to do this on my own only because this is the most awesome Patek project yet in the rep world. Wish you luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spackjarrow 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Interesting! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeNnY 29 Posted April 19, 2016 Nice buddy ! Good luck and looking forward for the ending work ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genius 281 Posted April 19, 2016 Can't wait to see how the hand painted dial comes out, hope you end up happy with the end result Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GenTLe 1,490 Posted April 19, 2016 Brave man... Hope you'll not end up in buying a gen "world" to replace that one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Left Coast Guy 24 Posted April 19, 2016 Holy shit, that looks like one of the more daring mod attempts! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godfathar 1 Posted April 19, 2016 All I can say is "Balls of steel" Only the part where you were prying the world map off the plastic dial would have made me throw in the towel and off to Kenny it goes hahahahahahaha Looking forward to seeing the rest of the project materialize mate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spackjarrow 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Brave man... Hope you'll not end up in buying a gen "world" to replace that one Lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_DC_ 218 Posted April 19, 2016 Ok, so it's gone quite well actually, possibly still a bit of tidying up to do, might give it a dip in clear once it's all dry to give an even shine but I quite like the look, it feels like what a hand painted enamel cloisonne dial should look like. Prepared for painting... And away we go... Then to start that all important blue sea... After a bit more tying up around the shores and the edges... And in the sunlight... Would I get a job at Patek? Probably not, but it looks a lot more realistic than the horrible printed dial... can't wait to get it all back together!!! DC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Genesis 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Wow! It looks amazing! Great job DC! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dudermania 0 Posted April 19, 2016 Dude - you're frikkin amazing! Thats an amazing effort. You've got a watch that is highly personalised by you! Really inspirational! Can't wait to see you putting it all back together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genius 281 Posted April 19, 2016 Definite improvement over the old dial! Inspired decision to do that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mauricio612 0 Posted April 19, 2016 just wow, subscribed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites