How-To: Achieving resin-filled indices by using EnviroTex resin

[PatronSaintofChainsaws 1]

This is the first of several tutorials that I'm porting over here. This is a slightly updated version of the same information that I posted over on HomageForum late last year.

 

One of the subtle touches to perform on a vintage PAM sandwich dial is to add a resin-fill to the indices. This serves to emulate the look of the center resin layer of the old 1940s-era 3-piece PAM dials, which had raised indices that stuck through the cut-out indices on the top section of the dial.

 

Here's a picture of a couple of vintage Panerai dials to demonstrate the look and the components that I'm referring to (pics jacked from the internet, so my thanks to whoever took them).

 

 

This is typically an expensive process to have applied to a dial professionally ($160 was the cheapest quote that I heard of), so taking the DIY approach will save you a great deal. The resin that I purchased costs around $10, and even the smallest quantity available is enough to do 30 dials.

 

The tools I used here:

 

• 1 EnviroTex Lite Pour-On High Gloss Finish (2-part epoxy resin/hardener w/ 24 hour set time), 4oz. or larger
  
• 1 Small disposable mixing cup
  
• 1-2 Stirring sticks
  
• 1-2 Practice dials (preferrably cheap)
  
• 3-5 Thumb tacks
  
• 1 Wine cork
  

 

Let me start by saying that this is a difficult modification to perform, and it's not easily reversed. If you're doing several modifications to a dial (painting, ageing, etc.), then this should be the last step you perform, or one of the last steps you perform. If you make a mistake while applying the resin to your dial, at best you're going to spend the next 20 minutes cleaning it off, and at worst you're going to have to completely strip the dial and start over from bare metal. This is why I suggest starting with one or more practice dials as a non-optional step in the process.

 

First, take your dial apart, as we'll only be using the top section of the dial here. Luming and reassembly aren't covered here.

 

 

Mix your resin as per the manufacturers instructions. In my case, I mix a small amount of resin with an equal amount of hardener. They suggest mixing for 2 minutes, and my experience has show me that you shouldn't mix too aggressively, or else lots of air bubbles will form in the mixture.

 

 

The resin starts out much too fluid, and we have to let it cure for around 2 hours before we're ready to apply it. Keep in mind that the resin used here has a 24 hour set time, so you'll need to adjust your timeframes as necessary.

 

After the first 30 minutes, the larger air bubbles that formed during mixing should have risen and mostly expelled. It might be a good idea to manually eliminate any remaining bubbles with a needle.

 

 

While you're waiting out the curing process, you'll need to mount the dial so that it can be moved/manipulated easily without touching the dial directly. Here, I used a thumb-tack to mount it to the end of a wine cork. You may have a better idea about how to do this...I just used what I had available at the time.

 

 

Once the appropriate amount of time has passed, take up some of the resin on one of the mixers. You'll notice that it will be slightly firm and sticky, and will stretch when pulled away from the mixed resin.

 

You'll need about as much resin as is pictured on the mixer in order to "fill" one of the smaller indices. Slightly more is needed to complete one of the larger ones, but don't overdo it. Also, try to avoid areas in the mixture where large bubbles have formed, as you want your indices to be as bubble-free as possible. Bubbles are your enemy here.

 

 

If you encounter any large bubbles on your mixer, you'll either need to wipe the resin off of the mixer and go back more more, or pop the bubbles before using the resin.

 

I used a small needle here, eliminating them as necessary.

 

 

I started by doing all the thinner indices first, and saving the largest ones for last. Keep the front of the dial facing up at all times during the process, as holding it upside down or at a steep angle may cause resin to run over onto the front of the dial.

 

Line up the resin just ahead of the index that you want to fill, then apply light pressure and wipe it over the hole. Keep the surface of the mixer aligned with the surface of the dial, and avoid pressing hard enough to actually touch the dial with the mixer...we only want enough pressure necessary to transfer the resin from the mixer to the dial. Once you're just past the filled index, pull the mixer away and inspect the front of the dial to make sure that there weren't any overruns. If the resin seems to be raised above the index, then you're applying too much pressure, and you'll want to adjust your technique.

 

 

Notice that you'll want enough resin applied to cover just above, below, and around the index. This helps to keep the resin in place and prevents it from collapsing away from the index.

 

Continue the previous step in order to fill each of the indices.

 

 

As you work, you may have a couple of places where holes form. This is especially true for the larger indices.

 

Simply take a blob of resin onto the tip of your mixer and dab it over the hole in order to fix it.

 

 

Continue applying resin until all indices are filled.

 

 

Once you're finished applying the resin, you'll need to store the dial where it won't be touched for as long as it takes for the resin to harden. Here, I used a small jar and rigged the cork so that it could hold the dial face-up until the hardening process was complete. I also covered the dial so that dust and debris wouldn't fall onto the resin.

 

 

When it's finished, it should look something like these dials.

 

 

After it has completely hardened (for greater than 24 hours, in my case), you'll need to sand off all excess resin from the back of the dial so that the dial isn't too thick once it has been reassembled. I won't cover this here because it should be relatively straight-forward, but I will suggest buffing and polishing the resin once you've sanded away the excess. The great thing about this method is that you can sand the resin layer VERY thin, so you can have resin-filled indices even in applications where you're using a short canon pinion and hour wheel. Here's an example of how thin you can get it.

 

 

A big thanks goes out to member Neuuubeh, who provided a lot of helpful information that made developing this method and this tutorial possible, and also to mir36 and Crockey for producing their previous tutorials.

[sconehead 5]

I've seen this before on the hommage forum,a great tuto Patron, thanks for sharing it here...

[GC 4,507]

Sir, you are a genius, thanks for the tutorial!

 

With all these phenominal tutorials I may one day feel

secure enough to open the back of my watch up...not today, but one day.

[dingle 57]

very nice PSOC................I will be modding before you know it..........

[AllergyDoc 40]

These are great additions to the "how-to" database.