DSSD Pearl - Get rid of that pimple! The penny pincher method :)

[stewzzy 0]

Alrity so I am no modder but simply enjoy watches but have been dabbling recently with taking watches apart etc. and last night on a whim decided to try something I thought of whilst reading one of mike mcnairs old posts.

This is for people who dont want to send away there watch for a lume job or want to have a bit of fun changing their watch.

 

Anyway Since I have 2 dssds one is my project watch for learning how to take apart and mod etc so hey heres a little tutorial of how I've changed the pearl from a pimple to a flat top. Now I must disclaim do not do this if you are scared of damaging the watch as it might happen!! and this mod is by no way going to fool someone with magnifying scope lens or a rolex dealer but it looks pretty good.

but heres what I did anyway

 

so you will need for this mod: -

gloves or those finger condom things

needle end steel tweezers

a plate or dish

nail treatment base coat (clear nail varnish base coat) - yes thats right! cost me £1.00 and you will see the results.

A bit of bottle to take the plunge on your beloved DSSD

 

I would recommend getting a spare bezel to try it on in case you break something :( and if successful fire it into the watch.

 

ok so some of you are going to scream when you read this but hey I dont care its entertainment! Take the needle nose tweezers and pierce the pearl at a horizontal angle. as if cutting into the bubble part or the pearl. do this gently and if need be simply grind some of the pearl lume out. You want to just take off the top bit of lume in the pearl. basically your digging down into the pearl until there is enough of the metal edge showing that it doesnt look like a bubble.

 

I didnt actually consider putting this up here initially so I dont have a picture of my pearl before i started digging so ive used another dssd here to demonstrate the action. The second picture is after digging has been completed. This is why really fine needle nose tweezers are necessary. They wont pull out much lume and you can shape the dig with very fine actions.

 

 

the dug out pearl should look quite grindy as all the top smooth coat should be off. Use the end of the tweezers to simply finish it to look flush.

once you are happy with the depth of the pearl then you are ready to apply some magical base coat clear nail varnish

 

Use a plate or dish and pour some of the base varnish onto it.

with the end of the tweezers gather some onto the end and apply droplets into the pearl.

dont wait for the varnish to get tacky! apply straight away.

use a hair dryer on a light mode holding straight above to flatten the varnish and dry.

remember to only put small amounts in

 

once this process has been completed apply a second coat if it is uneven which it probably will be. if you have a slight extra amount in as I did then simply use the flat end of the tweezers to smooth over the top of the pearl. try not to lean heavy on it as you may scrape the finish off of the pearl.

dry for a second time and bask in the glory of a flat pearl that doesnt need popped like a spot!

and the lume will still work as you havnt taken it all out.

 

 

After the first coat

 

Finish off any excess by running flat edge along and combing it off. dont lean on pearl too hard as may scrape finish!

 

Finished article after a small bit of cleaning. I didnt wear gloves so I would recommend as its just less grubby when working on watches. lesson learned

 

Lume was weak on this watch anyways but heres the lume still there and working its daytime when i took these so finding it hard to get a lume shot with this camera.

 

Hope you've all enjoyed reading this little journey Ive been on, i had fun anyways. Unfortunatly when I took the pearl out and went to put it into my new flat topped triangle bezel the pearl stem which holds it in place is too long so Im going to cut it or something but ohh well thats another afternoon planned then

And sorry to anyone who has been offended at my mutilation of a dssd

[jeffw69 0]

Thanks stewzzy, I don't know if I am brave enough to try that on mine.

[mrs1986 0]

I have always been tempted to do this lol, now i have some lume material that the good friend Wiz send me to try so i may be trying this with my sub

[stewzzy 0]

Thanks stewzzy, I don't know if I am brave enough to try that on mine.

 

haha yeh jeff i know the feeling. its just because I have the spare that im just going for it.

 

I have always been tempted to do this lol, now i have some lume material that the good friend Wiz send me to try so i may be trying this with my sub

 

go for it! I will probably redo with proper lume material when I get some I was just itching to try this

[mrs1986 0]

Thanks stewzzy, I don't know if I am brave enough to try that on mine.

 

haha yeh jeff i know the feeling. its just because I have the spare that im just going for it.

 

I have always been tempted to do this lol, now i have some lume material that the good friend Wiz send me to try so i may be trying this with my sub

 

go for it! I will probably redo with proper lume material when I get some I was just itching to try this

Lol, i'm like this ha ha i just cant wait :P

[DFH 0]

You are one brave soul!! I have been putting off my attempt to redo the bezel pearl on my watch due to the fact that the dial and hands have had the lume antiqued to match the general appearance of the aged case and strap. My fear was applying too much or not enough lume, and that it would end up as a mis-match. Your method seems to offer the chance of doing it over and over til the mix and effect is correct- and gives me the confidence to perhaps try this myself!

 

Thanks for sharing this and congrats and a mod well done!

[mrs1986 0]

You are one brave soul!! I have been putting off my attempt to redo the bezel pearl on my watch due to the fact that the dial and hands have had the lume antiqued to match the general appearance of the aged case and strap. My fear was applying too much or not enough lume, and that it would end up as a mis-match. Your method seems to offer the chance of doing it over and over til the mix and effect is correct- and gives me the confidence to perhaps try this myself!

 

Thanks for sharing this and congrats and a mod well done!

 

I must warn people that i have done this mod in a normal, submariner, and while the result is good, you cant do it thousand times, cause the nail varnish will start to melt the lume material left and you will start to take it out with the varnish... I know, i have seen it...

[stewzzy 0]

You are one brave soul!! I have been putting off my attempt to redo the bezel pearl on my watch due to the fact that the dial and hands have had the lume antiqued to match the general appearance of the aged case and strap. My fear was applying too much or not enough lume, and that it would end up as a mis-match. Your method seems to offer the chance of doing it over and over til the mix and effect is correct- and gives me the confidence to perhaps try this myself!

 

Thanks for sharing this and congrats and a mod well done!

 

I must warn people that i have done this mod in a normal, submariner, and while the result is good, you cant do it thousand times, cause the nail varnish will start to melt the lume material left and you will start to take it out with the varnish... I know, i have seen it...

 

ohhh dear didnt know that :s . well I guess its an attempt or two to get it right! I will report how it holds up. I dont think you could do it over and over as you would end up wearing the lume down over time but its an alternative and thats it.