How to paint a Watch Bezel

Hi Guys, this is a short video on how I paint a watch bezel to restore it back into use again.
I show how I remove the old paint and apply the new. This is a really simple job to be honest and anyone can take it on.
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[@MyRetroWatches]

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[@freefreepalestine360]

How much would you charge for the making of antikythera mechanism?

[@ahmadhafeez9814]

How you removed the bezel

[@miguelf7717]

The well known magic thumb method. Nice.

[@767fresh]

Nice work Michael. I've used that technique on the decorative incising/engraving on Ansonia enamel clocks (made from cast metal) cases. It works fairly well. I would remove the "over paint" with a silky type rag, i.e., one with a very small nap, after the paint had set for a while (hour). Any stubborn paint remaining could easily be removed with the same cloth dampened "ever so slightly" with acetone. I used this technique on the incising on golf irons, also, to make them look like new.

[@TheTothtamas]

Next a bezel painting with lume!

[@Mymatevince]

Those numbers came out lovely. I'm surprised the finger/thumb rub worked so well. Excellent video as always Mike :-)

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks Vince. Me too, I found out by accident really...

[@TheRyang39]

This video was supremely helpful. Watched a couple others that had terrible technique and messed up a few times before starting over this way. My bezel looks great. Letting first two coats dry for a day before giving it a final coat.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Happy to hear this video is helping people. thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@mokumerxxx435]

Hello friend, Did you paint your bezel numbers two times? If yes, then what: after 24 hours cleaning with alcohol and repainting second time ?

[@TheRyang39]

@@mokumerxxx435 I didn’t need alcohol - I globbed paint on channels, let dry for day, painted again, let dry, then removed excess with a toothpick. A little alcohol probably wouldn’t hurt.

[@TechGorilla1987]

It would be very interesting if you tried mixing the luminous powder that BigClive has been fooling with in to the enamel paint or opaque resin for a intense glow on the numbers. Cheers for your ability to edit music to match the volume level of your voice. Such a rare treat.

[@slyoldfox]

Thank you for the video - great technique and results. Stay safe and thanks for the entertainment in these troubling times.

[@apolloswrld1249]

Wow on my way to hobby lobby now thanks agin for tips 🙏 i called every where no one will do it

[@Joe-tl8cu]

I just use a black or white very thin sharpie or marker of some kind and do the same thumb rub works well.

[@cyber5677]

Do you mind if I ask which one? I was looking at the fine point end one as well...

[@TheTarrMan]

For that area around the lume pip try using a hypodermic needle/syringe to flood the recess. It will allow for better control of the paint and make a sharper paint line. In the United States you have to ask the pharmacist for a bag of syringes and they'll ask you what size you need. I think a 21 gauge would work but if you get something to small the paint will be to thick to suck up. It may also be helpful to lightly sand/grind the tip to a squared blunt end. These are great for oiling as-well but you have to be carful you don't use to much. Only suck up how mush oil you want to apply. One jewel at a time. (Cheap alternative to a automatic oiler.)

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks, that is a good tip

[@andrewbarnes5802]

I'd go with a wooden tooth pick, just make sure you thin the paint enough for it to flow in the recesses and corners

[@zaygezunt]

Welcome back Mike, we've missed you. One of the very few good points about this lockdown is more time for watches!!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Zay Gezunt thanks for your patience .. never like leaving it too long between videos but sometimes life just gets in the way of the hobby.

[@simflier8298]

Very nice! You made what looked like a complex job very easy to do😊

[@JKinAus]

Excellent work Michael. This brings back my childhood memory filling letters on my air guns with crayons. Obviously it’s illegal possessing air soft guns in Australia but I remember crayons worked brilliant. I’m not sure how it would stay on bezels which would rub agains sleeves…

[@apolloswrld1249]

This is what I was looking for thank you so much about to do my G shock blue for dolph 💙

[@Madnes99]

Thank you. I used Testers enamel flat white and it worked quite well.

[@Supercruze]

Would have never guessed to wipe the bezel with your thumb to remove excess paint. Thanks for the vid and the share.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Supercruze you would have to be an artist to free hand paint those numbers well. You can see how I learnt this method.. first attempt I messed up so wiped with my finger.... oh hang on that looks great!

[@rbmwiv]

I customize a lot of bezels by filling the indent’s with a lume and clear fingernail polish. My blue and green are both white in day but I have an orange and a gray day green blue glow. Done lost of dive watches and quit a few chronographs like a Daytona fill in the tachameter around the bezel. Luckily most I do are naked and I don’t have to remove any old paint.

[@iwctoys1]

I greatly enjoy watching your videos. You have taught me a lot. Thanks from Canada.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Terry Van thank you so much

[@johnmilner7603]

I used to use enamel paint for models but now use an ink pen from Staples and rather than use my finger to wipe off the excess I use a little bit of isopropyl alcohol on a cloth because the paint dries faster than enamel.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks for the tip.

[@bruces12]

Excellent video and perfect timing for me! I'm getting ready to paint a (silver) bezel on my Seiko Monster in black and was flumoxed as to how to paint the numbers and indicies. I'm also going to paint lume over the white numbers and this will give me a perfect background for that process. Thank you and I just subscribed.

[@ranaahmad1461]

@bruces12 did it work?

[@bruces12]

@@ranaahmad1461 I gave up and just bought a new bezel in the color I wanted.

[@stephenm5000]

Great video. I use exactly the same technique when restoring the adjustment dial of vintage safety razors (like the Gillette FatBoy, or Slim). Sadly though, many 'modern' pieces increasingly use screen printing, making the restoration using techniques like this null & void. Old is definitely best!

[@rbmwiv]

Mix your lume powder with the clear to the desired consistency and works excellent been doing that a few years. I have a bezel I am gonna lume the bezel on a watch that has a solid black bezel and has deep recesses of the numbers.

[@ajaychoudhary9817]

wow i did this on my casio duro and its turned out awesome

[@idletime]

Kool, thanks 😎 it's funny how surprisingly well the paint and wipe method Works in a variety of situations. And for that matter you can even color code your dezell with a couple different colors if you want for more functionality and it makes things a little easier on your eyes for quicker acquisition. On another note I really liked the music from the first time lapse and was almost hoping to hear a little Jim Byrnes as he's an incredible Blues musician.

[@dodgydruid]

Glad to see you are out and about doing stuff. I do exactly what you do but I use an oil based paint pen for my Vostoks although I got caught out when I saw two marking sets on a 060 cased Amphibia were missing so studiously painted 'em in to find out they were supposed to be en flute so to speak so had to pick all the little markings all over again hehe. Am wearing a Seiko tonite, arrived today a Epson branded piece with a very Hi quality quartz Seiko (not Sii either but Seiko marked) chrono and a super thick calfskin strap. Has the high hand function where the main second hand is the chrono hand and I like them as my Miyota powered Oskar-Emil has a high hand so will be doing a vid on this and some acquisitions etc.

[@spencer.watches]

I used Elmer's opaque paint markers for the bezel of my vintage Komandirskie. Worked beautifully!

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

Awsome. No tip but excited to see the hole video of that watch!

[@TerminusVox]

Two words: bamboo skewers. I cut them in two and file a point on with an Emory board.

[@andrewbarnes5802]

That was going to be my approach. Used a bamboo skewer this evening to mix and have a test paint to get the colour right. Took my car into the bodywork repair centre & asked the owner if I could get some touch up paint for chips, he presented me with two bottles, paint and a clearcoat laquer. Suggested application method, a wooden tooth pick.

[@vosos11]

Good job pal, much appreciated

[@marcc7743]

Thank you very for all your work. Very interesting as usual. From Scotland.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Marc C thank you. Stay safe up there.

[@plainclotheshorse224]

Great job. The numbers looked like new.

[@adrianbirkett594]

Thanks Mike, would have left the lume part black myself. Great tips.

[@victor58010]

Mike , please don't handle things after cleaning with IPA , you're undoing your work. Apart from that, well done , and thanks for the videos as usual most entertaining and appreciated.

[@walther9161]

Like grouting a tile floor I’d do the pip surround with red and probably would be the same process.. paint on and wipe off quickly

[@TheDkdazo]

I wonder if I can do this for my smart waych it has some marks from work. It's black but it's showing the base layer it white could be plastic not sure what it is made of its a Samsung watch 6

[@a.aguilar]

Nice! And welcome back and safe

[@BillMrWild]

10/10 Mike, well done.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Bill A thanks Bill

[@351xb1973]

For the fiddly bit of removing paint look at getting a set of dental picks. Nice work too by the way.

[@estebanlopez9236]

Dip a sewing needle in paint and dot it on slowly

[@watchdial.]

wow. wonderful!!!

[@Mars-zgblbl]

Gladys Knight had some pretty cool pips

[@alainmoran8560]

If you use a wooden block with a damp acetone tissue wrapped round it, you should be able to clean up the edges of the luminous part in the same way you did the numbers, but with the flat block you won't dip into the middle ... you might also consider using a sticker over the luminous dot that you can peel off once the paint has started to go off but before it hardens.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Alain Moran Alain!! How are you pal!? There are lots of ways I guess to do the Lume dot. I just didn’t put much thought into that bit. It was midnight! I prefer it without the paint on 12. Stay safe old friend.

[@alainmoran8560]

@@MyRetroWatches Yeah I'm good ... hiding out at the moment until this all blows over. You stay safe too buddy.

[@dennisc.1189]

Nice Technet to us, I would not have thought of that.

[@ianmargetts4940]

Great vid bro, we need some stuff to watch (sic) so I can get out from my mrs asking me to do things...like diy and sh*t...

[@snakemont]

Thank you for the Inspiration!

[@user-rt1hf8jr7l]

Clever idea.

[@reissthomas8676]

Hi there. Thanks for the video. How would you remove dried enamel paint from a non painted stainless steel bezel??

[@MyRetroWatches]

Probably acetone

[@universesorion6501]

Well done.

[@future_design23]

Nice content very entertaining and helpful thanks

[@TheWeardale1]

great video... got a question for you, i just bought an alpina startimer, model - AL-371NN4S6, but the hands are quite dark, I'd prefer them to be white like the newer - AL-372N4S6... I've contacted jewelers but they aren't interested in sourcing and replacing the hands.. so i though i could paint them instead... any tips etc?

[@Inkreptile]

I used to do this on hot wheels to make the grilles and such stand out more great video! I wich I had this kind of information some years ago (I have a Casio that is missing the paint on the outer case for the split button... I just shoved it in my drawer of failed projects 😩) well now I know what to do the coming few hours😁 Edit: I forgot to say that I didn't knew you could use enamel paint on resin cases I thought it would flake of or something

[@paulwilson3434]

very good job

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks

[@paulcaudle6275]

Awesome video!!

[@PpaStrmpf]

Liquid mask for modelling or liquid latex could help by the lumed pip.

[@andrewilson3346]

Brilliant!

[@tysmagic]

love this! Curious if we think it would work the same on a plastic like bezel that needs redoing? (tag formula style bezel for reference) or would it stick to the plastics too much?

[@MyRetroWatches]

It’s just paint so I’d think it would work. Like everything , it needs to be clean , real clean

[@ChrisBeckman]

Red would be great around the pip!, IMO

[@goonzjav]

do u think this would work on a G shock bezel using lume paint? I want to lume the writing on the bezel which is a rubber composite of some sort.

[@jayess7177]

Would that work with a metallic gold pant?

[@LondonStreetcoffee]

Great stuff

[@frankwies6297]

Thanks....very helpful....please may I ask details....Title, Album, musician of the Blues piece of music...Thanks

[@masterlordking]

we do this on guns all the time ,you can also use finger nail polish

[@stamatismanolikidis4407]

GOOD EVENING, CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR VIDEOS THIS VIDEO IS FOR THE NUMBERS, HOW IS THE REST PAINTED? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

[@hsvr]

What is the alcohol you used called? An can it damage paint?

[@MyRetroWatches]

Just 99% ipa alcohol. I’ve not seen it damage anything. It’s the same stuff most of us have been using on our hands throughout the pandemic

[@horsewithnoname3015]

Actually it's very good 😳

[@janssencheah8073]

hi nice & good video, May i know what paint is best? automotive touch up paint can be used?

[@MyRetroWatches]

I can’t offer advise. I’ve only done this twice and just used model enamel paint.

[@ambercarpenter7607]

I know this video is 3 years old butt it was the first one that popped up when I searched youtube...& I just have a question .. I have a friend who would like the bezel of their watch painted a lime green color it's a plastic-ey type of material also has some words written along the sides that they dont want painted over... I was thinking taping off the words with little pieces of tape.. a small paint brush and proper paint ... What is your opinion?

[@dodgydruid]

Was thinking, could you add lume powder to the white paint to give you night time phosphorescence but without turning the paint green in the doing so?

[@MyRetroWatches]

Ian Watson possibly . It’s not like that originally . It whether it would show through or be too covered in paint. Would be worth a try.

[@bars4413]

After painting, water resistant system will be staying?

[@MyRetroWatches]

yes.

[@virginiamartinez1639]

Hola tengo un reloj Momentum m1 y tiene la parte negra del bisel raspado, como se puede pintar, yo pensaba con esmalte de uñas🤔 , muy bueno el video

[@rick66649]

hi..any tips on removing chrome off a bezel...thinking of removing chrome on my vostok amphibia bezel.think it'll look good with the brass look ..cheers

[@heraathena1906]

Amazing

[@desireesanchez5378]

Hi, just watching this and curious is there a way to paint or print on a watch case?

[@MyRetroWatches]

No Idea sorry. You painting onto steel so whatever would work. It would eventually wear off

[@WatchDesigning]

Awesome. What paint do you recommend to paint watch hands in black

[@MyRetroWatches]

A modelling enamel paint. Usually a matt colour. I have painted quite a few hands and they always seem to come out nice.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Loom pit...I'd buy a bag of these shine in the dark stars for kids, the one made out of plastic you and stick on the ceiling. And saw off a piece, round it off, and put that in...

[@ZonaALG]

Do you think this trick will cut it for an Omega Constellation watch? I'm pretty lost at the topic. I've just discovered enamel but not sure if they're using something else on high end watches. Any advice?

[@MyRetroWatches]

I cant comment really. as far as I know its all just paint on most watches. What else could it be.

[@OriginalFinnish22]

Great Channel keep going !!! Subscribed !!!

[@jimmete53]

Great channel. Was wondering what cameras / microscope you are using to do the video.

[@TheRockerProjectx3]

So I can just use black angelus (leather paint) on the GG of my Gucci watch after I get it replated? Or do they need to do an enamel or something?

[@swish1onu]

would this method work on a ceramic bezel?

[@commentjedi]

Can you use a little Rodico on the pip to mask it?

[@russellharris5072]

Have you ever tried that with lume paint?You could A)lacquer over it later or B)mix the lacquer into the lume paint itself.Stay safe and well..................

[@adamb7460]

How neat that thumb wiping is! Great video. I was wondering if you could tell me how you would go about painting the bezel on a snxs79 and what paint I should use? I have a spare bezel coming in the post that I would like to get to a glossy black. Cheers!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Sorry I cant advise. if the bezel is steel and coloured then its most likely coated or anodized which you cannot replicate at home.

[@mCblue79]

I know this is an old video, but wouldn't just replacing the bezel insert yield better results since they're relatively inexpensive? Or am I missing the point?

[@MyRetroWatches]

It’s not an insert the numbers are stamped into the steel. Finding a new bezel for this model would be difficult.

[@markthompsoncpa]

Could you buy that part??

[@ole-kristianfossmann7682]

Great vid. Did u consider using a different colour on the top mark with the lume? What about yellow to mask the faded colour of the lume a bit ? Keep up the great work

[@paulmerrick3091]

Great video. What is the title of the background music?

[@aulyrora]

Is this seiko 5 snz038?

[@watch_a_mod354]

Hi Michael! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I plan to craft lacquer dials and i was wondering if using enamel and baking it would be the right approach. Why baking? i thought it would make the paint more durable and make the flush sanding possible. Usually when sanding metal with paint tiny metall flakes get pushed into the "soft" paint ruining the results. So baked enamel paint! Would love to get your feedback on this topic. thx

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks, If I am totally honest I have no idea. I just picked enamel paint for its durability and ease of purchase from any model shop. The paint will cure and harden over time anyway and no need to sand certainly on this bezel. Sorry I cant be of more help.

[@chrrlees]

What other kind of paint I can use on it? Wall paint? Steal paint?

[@MyRetroWatches]

Chrrlees Whitesand I just used enamel model paint.

[@funkykoval2099]

Hi. Is this possible to cover this lume dot with something round to have sort of stencil around for enamel?

[@MyRetroWatches]

I’m sure it is . Would be the only real way to do it really. I prefer without the paint on the top part.

[@JulioMo]

Have you done this with lume paint?

[@MyRetroWatches]

No just white enamel paint.

[@leonwangls]

Just waiting for you to paint the black part of the bezel. I love comedy.

[@MyRetroWatches]

?? Why is that even funny. Bezel is anodised.

[@cristobalosuna3106]

Hi, thanks for showing! I suppose this would work also on plastic bezels?

[@MyRetroWatches]

Cristobal Osuna I’ve never tried but it’s only paint so as long as the surface is clean I can’t see why it would not work .

[@fakenewsisthenews3542]

march 2020 coronavirus. LOL. Well, here we are a year and a half later....nothing's changed. Just day 537 of 15 days to flatten the curve. LOL

[@luisartist8476]

Only the numbers, what happens to the rest of the bezel?

[@MyRetroWatches]

Toys Joe well the bezel looks anodised so for me this is not an option to restore. If it was stainless steel I could refinish. Sorry

[@frankyw8803]

I was waiting for the skewered pinkie ..

[@dinhduylai3129]

Thank for the video, It does show me how to do it. May I ask the white paint you used is normal white paint or something special? And what paint should we use for the shiny black bezel? how to make it not mix with number while painting? Thank you so much!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Dinh Duy Lai can’t help you with the bezel as it’s not painted but treated , the black is impregnated into the steel either a coating to anodising . As for the paint I use like I say in the video model paint , enamel .

[@dinhduylai3129]

@@MyRetroWatches Appreciate your support so much!

[@johnrogers2253]

You have acquired good skills Mike.. what camera or editing are you using.. what work do you do. Thanks mike.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Film on my iPhone . Filmora is my editing software . My day job is running a company called Coventry Grinders Ltd

[@johnrogers2253]

Don't know how you do it.... good fun is what we all need. A good Laff. ⌚️⏰

[@necromecro]

How about the black part?

[@MyRetroWatches]

That can’t Ben done. That is either a coating or anodising.