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repmaster1234

Gilt Airking

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repmaster1234

It feels wrong for me to make a completed project post during such a sensitive time for the community, but I decided that if my post could at least brighten someone's day, it was worth making. So @paccbet, I hope this good news during this tough week makes things a little bit better for you. 

People who know me know that I love a weird project. I like to challenge myself and my preconceptions when it comes to modifying watches. So when Paccbet came to me with a picture of this watch, my interest was evidently piqued: 

NXJFp6b.jpg

The watch is the Gate/Silix cheapie Airking that everyone knows and loves. The story is that Mr. P somehow managed to wipe the printing straight off. He initially wanted me to try to redo the printing for him, but I gave him a better offer - to totally re-conceptualize the watch. He obliged and sent the watch for me to play with for the next couple of months. 

I knew I wanted to do something gilt, but with a dial that had silver indices and hands, I was in for a doozy. I thought about it long and hard, and came up with this plan of attack -

  1. Remove the indices and coronet
  2. Sand the sunburst from the dial, revealing the brass plate
  3. Put on a gilt decal
  4. Paint the indices and coronet gold with Testors metallic paint
  5. Replace the indices and coronet
  6. Reshape the tips of the hands to match the pointed vintage style
  7. Sand the hands to the bare brass and polish the surface
  8. Relume everything

I was a bit worried about the gold painted parts looking "cheap", but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I wanted the watch as a whole to have the sort of over polished, estate sale, grampy's old beat up watch vibe that you see so often when these come up on eBay, and the gold painted indices ended up looking sort of oxidized, so I think it works as a whole. No this isn't gen-spec in any respect, but it was originally a $40 watch, what more can you ask for? I'll be sad to let this one go, but I hope that I made this into a watch that @paccbet can be proud to wear every once in a while.

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R0070163712713f7f4ff0a3a.jpg

And of course, for the one and only @McGilli
R00701902ef463b4efe8613c.jpg

Thanks for reading :)

 

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Glaude

First of all

9 minutes ago, repmaster1234 said:

I decided that if my post could at least brighten someone's day, it was worth making

And I'm totally on board with that idea ! As, pretty much everyone else will, I'm sure !

This is an absolutely fantastic make over of this watch, beautiful results ! 
Just the right amount of vintage for me, done with taste and clean !

+ Excellent pics !

Bravo !

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blueoysterboy

Wow, Lovely watch.  Airkings have that oddly colored second hand.  Did you consider doing that mod?

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ape

This is absolutely gorgeous. You are a talent sir! Who cares about gen spec, it’s about design. Like hot rods and custom bikes. Very impressed 

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Luxuracer

An amazing transformation ... @repmaster1234    :clap:

It's incredible how you changed a 'cheap' watch into a classic vintage specimen. 

bravo.gif  

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McGilli

@repmaster1234

1. We are Elgin brothers I see. I will remember that for future reference.

2. Excellent photos - it really sells the watch - nice work there.

3. I'm super impressed - And I don't even like Rolex so I'm looking at it just as a watch and looking at it as a creative person. I don't have that patience. I have the attention to detail - in my mind - but I have a hard time waiting to get things done. Imagining the entire process you went through, impressive.

4. I've given up wearing Rolex etc for now. But - I think I'd be more inclined to wear a damaged/distressed Rolex like that (I don't care if it's a real model or not) - as opposed to a new shiny one that IMO is too attention catching and I don't like to try and pull off.

5, The eccentricity in me says 10/10. Couldn't be better.

Thanks for tagging me, I'd get lume tattooed into me if I could.

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onionbag

Well done fella. 

:)

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paccbet

Damn this went beyond what I envisioned to what’s gonna happen to the watch.  I just needed a tiny fix just so I can wear it again but clearly your proposition was a better solution!  

Thank you @repmaster1234 for going the extra mile! 

10 hours ago, repmaster1234 said:

I hope that I made this into a watch that @paccbet can be proud to wear every once in a while.

Wrong. I’m gonna wear it all the time :D 

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deju

That looks ace! 

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NCRich

That's really, really nice.  Great work!

Although I'm trying to figure out how @paccbet managed to destroy the dial in the first place.

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paccbet
21 minutes ago, NCRich said:

That's really, really nice.  Great work!

Although I'm trying to figure out how @paccbet managed to destroy the dial in the first place.

Shhh....... :giggle:

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GingerApple

@repmaster1234 I've got a load of shitty, old watches that need things doing to them. If I send them all across to you, could you have them ready by Xmas?

Amazing work!!!! Take a bow!!!!

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repmaster1234

Thank you all for the kind words, I am humbled. :blush: 

2 hours ago, paccbet said:

Wrong. I’m gonna wear it all the time :D

That makes me so happy to hear! I'll be shipping it to you tomorrow, hopefully you can understand my desire to wear it for one day before saying goodbye ;) I mean, I'll be um, "checking the timing." Yeah. 

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Thang

Very nice work.

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bobandshawn

Nice. I can never get all the indices back on the dial without effing something up...

B

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paccbet
5 hours ago, repmaster1234 said:

Thank you all for the kind words, I am humbled. :blush: 

That makes me so happy to hear! I'll be shipping it to you tomorrow, hopefully you can understand my desire to wear it for one day before saying goodbye ;) I mean, I'll be um, "checking the timing." Yeah. 

Take all the time you need, you definitely deserve it brother :clap:

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Jasonbaylee

Incredulous workmanship

Applause


"There are more than 1 road to Rome...."

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Luxuracer
36 minutes ago, paccbet said:
5 hours ago, repmaster1234 said:

Thank you all for the kind words, I am humbled. :blush: 

That makes me so happy to hear! I'll be shipping it to you tomorrow, hopefully you can understand my desire to wear it for one day before saying goodbye ;) I mean, I'll be um, "checking the timing." Yeah. 

Take all the time you need, you definitely deserve it brother :clap:

Keep it until ... next year ... Rep ;) 

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Buglicker

Looks great, one of my favourite watches is a bastardised DHgate Air-King... Wish I could make my own dials!

 

17 hours ago, McGilli said:

 

I'd get lume tattooed into me if I could.

 

@McGilli you can, sort of...

f6yZy.png

 

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McGilli
12 minutes ago, Buglicker said:

you can, sort of...

UV ink.... Damn... Of course.  Thanks for posting.... Pictures for though indeed...

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Luxuracer
16 minutes ago, Buglicker said:

 

@McGilli you can, sort of...

Thanks for the info ... @Buglicker

 

@McGilli ... Let's do it.
I am thinking of update/touch-up my tats.

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Balance

Sublime - Absolutely marvelous work. This type of work makes me want to experiment and up my game with watch repair / modding. 

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Logixa

Nicely done. Payment sent if 40 bucks! 

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BabaNJ
On 30/11/2018 at 07:13, NCRich said:

That's really, really nice.  Great work!

Although I'm trying to figure out how @paccbet managed to destroy the dial in the first place.

Same way i did.... Trying to remove a piece of lint off this gen dial. 

NVYPs.jpg

 

@repmaster1234 this a top notch work. I am gravitating to more vintage builds and this one is inspirational. Salute

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repmaster1234

@BabaNJ That hurts to think about wiping the printing off a gen dial. Thank you for the compliments, I love your work as well :D 

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