Reluming a Watch Dial -(For the first time)

In this video I attempt to relume a watch dial for the first time. The dial is in poor condition and the lume is even worse. I take you with my on my journey and you can see all the steps I take to remove the old lume, clean and prepare the indices before applying the luminous mixture.
How did I do? well watch to find out.
I welcome all feedback on this one. If anyone has tips for me then I will definitely take them all on board.
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[@MyRetroWatches]

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[@ufonaughts8814]

Any advice on microscope!!got them on eBay for£30!!yours is£50 I believe?any huge difference??? please advise!!!

[@MyRetroWatches]

lee knowles my scope is not £50! They are on offer at the movement but over £100. I have affiliate links on my site Lee you can see various ones there myretrowatches.com/tool-sale-links/

[@pandoble]

absolutely helpful!

[@sreedhar2016]

Hi the easier and reliable and efficient way of cleaning and re liluming is first take a good non easy tearing paper and cut it a slightly larger circle than the dial itself. Then take the tracing of the dial on the paper with a pencil to make the index traces on paper. Then from the edge cut 12 small simple cuts just to the length of index. Then fix the paper on to the front side of the dial by folding the excess paper towards back of the dial by glue tape. Make sure your indices are exposed and open for cleaning. At this point place ultra fine sand paper on your table and rub your entire dial on the paper gently in slow circular motions. Clean and and finish lume application before you remove the paper. It's a safe fast uniform and risk free way for even polishing your indices

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you so much for this informative comment. Makes perfect sense now on flat indices like this dial anyway. The thought of rubbing against fine paper never occurred to me! I will certainly give this method a try on the scrap dial I have. Again thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me

[@gerryodonnell321]

@@MyRetroWatches I would assume, the acrylic paint would not be required, if the indices turned out to be silver and shiny

[@watchmebuildit]

I love the way that you ‘learn’ on camera. It is an amazing way to teach

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you.

[@MikeB_UK]

Because you have done this, you know all the flaws within it and are super critical. To someone just seeing the original state and the end result you have done a fantastic job and resurrected a scrap watch. Well done and thanks for sharing your time.

[@MyRetroWatches]

MikeB thank you for your encouragement

[@-Dash-]

The patience of a saint! Finished watch looks great. Love the case and dial colour.

[@kevintunney9885]

Id do it scraping from center of dial to outside. That way if you slip, less chance of gouging the dial up.

[@MartinHubbard1]

You have done a great job and should be pleased with the results, the more you do, the better the results will be, just like any hobby. Well done

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks 👍

[@troynasello2085]

Don't be too hard on yourself! You're a learning, my friend. The only thing I've lumed are hands, and between removing the old, cleaning the hands up and the applying the new lume properly so it looks even, using the capillary effect, is NOT easy. So I can only imagine that dial reluming is even tougher. Keep it up dude, you'll improve with every attempt until you've mastered it, just like all of those awesome skills you already possess. By the way, it looks great that second time around!

[@muzzaball]

Hats off to the king of lume - Mr Seiko, as you have demonstrated the effort and complexity that it takes to get it right. Good on you for going to the trouble and having a go. Cheers mate.

[@jackpurcell274]

If I saw that watch ,I wouldn't have given a nickel for it, yet you brought it back, relumed it twice and made it beautiful again. You are very talented. One thing though you and I have in common, we only see our mistakes, It looked great miles ahead of it was , condition wise. Loved the video.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you so much Jack.

[@teddd2009]

Fantastic job! Love the patina left on the dial! Vintage restoration as its meant to be.

[@4211Rob]

Man that's a beautiful watch! Excellent job all around and with the learning curve out of the way I'm certain future attempts will be even better. We all started somewhere and in Tennessee we don't use the word imperfect, we call it character. Thank you.

[@paulsteele6120]

When I was doing my engineering apprenticeship in the UK during the 1960's part of my training was to steer a drawing board, this included use of draughting tools of all kinds. One of these tools was a thin brass (or stainless) sheet into which various shapes has been punched out, these allowed one to erase small details in a complex drawing without rubbing out the surrounding good pencil lines. This might help in a situation like removing whatever from a dial and stop over cleaning. Just a thought?

[@tomsuett6463]

Good idea I was also an engineering apprentice in the very early 70s (just retired, don't time fly) I've got one of these in stainless, I'm gonna go and have a rummage, cheers mate 👍

[@spavliskojr]

As a graphic artist, i was trained early on in the same manner. Somewhere in my old stash of forgotten art suppies i have that eraser mask.

[@spavliskojr]

They exist in the hobby world to as airbrush masks but in all kinds of shapes

[@rbmwiv]

I have been certified by DuPont since 94 for automotive painting and looking how everything flowed and turned out I believe that roughness helped with the application of the lume. Reason is that there’s certain paints that the first coat needs to be a dry tac coat, it’s pretty rough and you do it to promote adhesion. Just a thought from watching paint dry for decades.

[@Eric-kk5bn]

Interesting

[@garyggarner7738]

I wondered if you could replace lume. Fascinating! I used your link last night and placed a tool order! Again, Thanks so much for producing these videos and sharing your expertise with us! God Bless You!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you for watching and ordering some tools. I really do appreciate all the help you guys give me.

[@philedwards2213]

Another brilliant job Mike, such a change from the before to after photo’s. Great to see another Seiko saved. I admire your patience. Looking to lume my old Omega hands, as the original lume has long gone, just leaving the outer edges of the hands. Now I’m inspired. Really enjoy your honest videos. Keep them coming.

[@andre-dx4yw]

i did a dial once with bgw9 and i removed the indices and soaked them in solvent that removed the lume i then cleaned them stuck them back in the dial and applied the lume and did the hands. it was a great success

[@MrDparker69]

Wow what a fantastic job you have done. You have taken a watch that most of us wouldn’t give a second look at and transformed it into a fantastic looking item that I for one would be proud to wear. Great job. I’m learning so much from your videos. Thank you.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks for your comment and more importantly thanks for watching.

[@vapingwithjames3370]

I guess this is when I differ from most spending all that time and money to restore a timepiece I would simply remove the old gross dial and replace with one of the numerous new dials available although I would save the old dial so if I ever sold the watch it would be sold as complete and original. Interesting video. Thanks for sharing.

[@elund408]

having no experience with watches, but having some with cars etc. the smother the base the smoother the top, I would get a small amount of the smoothest wet or dry paper I could find, attach it to a piece of Popsicle stick and lightly sand the base metal, then again after each coat of white then add the loom. I would likely use fingernail polish for the white as it is inexpensive and made to flow easily with hand application.

[@bruces12]

Excellent idea...never thought of fingernail polish, but that's much better than the mixed enamel he's using.

[@darioswatchclub8]

Thank you so much! I relumed my fathers Watch. It's drying. I dont know If I made a great job. It's drying right now. But I/We did it! Tons of fun!

[@gavinmoore8024]

A great effort - and the white paint underneath idea is genius. From my decorating experience the prep of the index surface may well have a significant effect on the outcome so the suggestion of sanding prior to the first paint coat sounds a good idea to keep that as smooth as possible. It would certainly help the edges to flow more evenly. Not sure about the silver paint over white - worth a try from sure. What astounds me Mike when I watch your videos is how steady your hands are - I'm all over the place trying to fit screws with tweezers and really wouldn't have a hope of doing this where its rather a one shot thing. But I do enjoy watching how to do it. Thanks so much for taking the time to record it all.

[@spavliskojr]

white underpaint goes a long way to the brightness level.

[@rinzlerv22]

Wow, good job, i'm mexican, but i'm in this video for the Chanel Un Poco De Todo, and i love the video

[@MyRetroWatches]

Leonardo Castillo thank you for watching and welcome ! Yes I am happy Un Poco De Todo use my video.

[@Richie732]

I’ve relumed hands but never a dial so this was interesting to watch, looks good to me, you’re never going to get it perfect the first time. The finished watch looks great.

[@RockyBergen]

What I would do is do a very light coat of paint, burnish with that wood stick until it is flat. If there is exposed metal repeat. Then with the lume, I would do a light coat burnish, and apply a second coat. Often manufacturers go on about the number of coats of lume applied. The annoying thing is it would take some time to do. I am tempted to buy a junker and play around now too!

[@robertm8401]

I scored a lume kit on ebay for 14pounds, off RedRooster UK. I applied a very thick layer on a watch with very weak lume, and another watch with no lume at all. Happy to say my application outperforms(both in terms of initial brightness and length of glow) the factory applied Superluminova I have on other watches, due to the generous application. 😁

[@Wonky-Donkey]

I think keeping the paint thin and doing more coats would give you more consistent and smoother results. You did a great job on the watch. It looks really good.

[@rbmwiv]

My opinion is lume is a serviceable item sure some watches leave original but ones like one I will be doing this same thing to. First time on a dial that counts. I can lume hands and bezels really good and have gotten good on my practice dial. I was given a late 90 Tag aqua racer and the lume has fallen off the hands and the dial indices have turned black. I have never seen one do like this thing. The watch had stopped working and a piece of lume was stuck in the train wheels so I just used my blower and gently moved the wheels with a oiler and it started working again. Great video. Luckily my watch has little wells for the indices so after scrap it should just be fill and flow. Great job on that style indices. The white paint was a great idea.

[@StefaanVdV1961]

I have to admire you for your perseverance, good work!

[@pappysauce7959]

Well done for DIY... I appreciate the desire and patience to do this yourself, more satisfying at least in my mind than doing it professionally, especially from where this watch started, bravo!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you very much!

[@pappysauce7959]

@@MyRetroWatches Yes, I'm starting on a journey to clean and restore a vintage Longines pocket watch. Whew! I'm scared...but will motor on after a little more research, I think I have the overall concept down in how to do the breakdown by step

[@TripleDDDD]

Love your channel. I started with the „cleaning parts“ video. Which was very helpful. but let me to the next question: how to clean the dial? Found that video of yours. Again great, but let me to another question: how to relume? And here we are. Amazing resource to learn!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you so much. Still lots more to cover .

[@markbyrum4743]

Good job. Great patience shown - and now you are better at it!

[@oilguygamer1744]

Very good video, Thanks. One sugestion is to try Mr color self levelling thinner and a Tamiya XF or Mr Color paint for the painting part, may solve your "level" problems.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks for the tip!

[@tomsuett6463]

Mike, I'm full of ideas today, if you got a piece of coke can, and with a craft knife cut a very thin slot the size of the indices put it over and use a bit of wet and dry you might just do it. Yes, before you all start, I do know how small we're talking about!!

[@danlazer8762]

Awesome job, Mike! The watch has some real personality now. Some areas are shinny and new looking, others show the scars of life. We're always hardest on ourselves. And now for those 3am bathroom runs you'll be able to check the time. Great job.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Dan Lazer thanks you.

[@drpeemac]

Thanks for teaching...

[@williamsmith3169]

Great job. I think you can say its all done. With something that old you can always find something else to do but compared to what it was its 1000 times better.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. I was considering luming again and trying to get it better but I’ve just enjoyed the watch since rather than attempt it again

[@williamsmith3169]

@@MyRetroWatches I have a collection of old Seiko's myself (mostly divers). I just enjoy their rough charm and the fact they work as well as they do after so many years.

[@ernied3123]

I think the watch looks great. Such a big difference from what you started with. Thanks for the video.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. glad you enjoyed this video.

[@dbzamora]

I’ll attempt to practice with an old dial and see if I can do it as well as you did. I read that modelers use a single strand from a thick brush to paint small details. Maybe that could be another method. Thanks for this tutorial Mike! Cheers!

[@kenquid8091]

I'm no expert but I'd be more than happy with that result. Well done you for all your hard work and patience.

[@rajeshkhanna748]

I have seen your work .it's great to see you work so well

[@freedomwatches2454]

So great learning from, and with you. By now someone has told you if you're more careful while mixing you can have little to no air inclusions. Plus I've found that extremely powerful lume can be purchased through chemistry/chemical laboratories. G'day mates Many blessings

[@Supercruze]

Great video Mike and admire your perseverance. I have re-lumed hands but have not attempted a dial yet.

[@daleyurk4369]

I think you should be proud of yourself Mike. Hell of an effort and the results are really pretty good. Especially as it's your first attempt. Nice job.

[@brianmccord8106]

Looks great! Thank you!

[@GSM007G]

Brilliant...Video " The Dogs" Bollocks " Mikey Mate!

[@georgschenkfilm]

Its good to see that i‘m not the only one struggling with the thickness of the lume.. i wasn‘t even able to make 12 little dots of the same size in my vostok dial 🙈

[@darthweeble7817]

I've been experimenting with using a cocktail stick on a scrap dial to do the dots. Seems to work ok - also tried with the dots on a margarine tub lid (clean). Seems to work ok. HTH :)

[@craig2100]

Brilliant video

[@charlesflint9048]

That is very nice work.So far I’ve bought a Bergeon lume kit, and re-lumed the hands on a really old vintage Muros watch, but I have much harder job now on an Omega Dynamic. Thanks for the video, I might make fewer mistakes now!, I will have to practice. BTW that is a wonderful job you did on the Seiko, very nicely done!.

[@jamesm.8392]

You did very good . . . considering.

[@Ucceah]

you can make a perfect little chisel /scraper this and many other jobs. i've used 3*0,8mm leaf spring, but a screw driver will do. the whole trick is to grind a convex and slightly rounded bevel to about a 40-50° edge, and strop or polish. that way you can carefully roll foward untill you feel the blade catch. (*= easily achieved by laying sand paper on a cloth, so it has a bit of give. precisely what you wouldnt on woodworking tools. )

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. I think lying it flat and sanding on fine paper is the best way given this has now been suggested to me by many here in the comments. Making a tool is a very nice idea indeed but I dont really have the equipment to do so.

[@vanlifenomad]

Great job, as ever common sense, wins every time with old watches

[@user-rt1hf8jr7l]

Very nice work. Thank you for the interesting and helpful contetnt.

[@electrobob1]

Nice project! you may have a look at the build of custom in ear monitors. They are UV resin build and the benefit from resins is they keep their shape when curing unlike solvent based paints. When your work is statisfactory just hit the UV light to cure it so no hurry to apply the resin. greets! Erik

[@russellharris5072]

Superb piece of work,with the emphasis on work.I don't agree with those of us that believe in preserving patina and you being so close in to the details means that you worry about imperfections that the rest of the population wouldn't notice,if they notice your watch at all which in my experience is very rarely.Time to move on to another wonderful project and vlog.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you so much for your comment. The devil is in the detail as they say. There are many parts on this watch I am still not happy with but then I think I always will be. To most viewing this would say its a good job all round but I know those tiny errors and it bugs me...

[@russellharris5072]

I know it's hard,but you have to try so that you can move all that talent to a new challenge."profit comes from what is there,usefulness from what is not there."(Lao Tsu-Tao te Ching)

[@Lee-zn4mf]

Looks amazing well done mate .

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@doctorrobert60]

Commendable bit of courage to tackle this in the first place! I think considering the patina and age of the watch the luming is fine. The watch is no longer new and perfect so all is well to my eye!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you.

[@blackjack8957]

Someone already mentioned or not, I prefer these things but everybody has own preferences. 1. Masking before removing lume. Masking tape should not be too sticky. 2. Use paper cutters or a tiny wood craft knife, a.k.a. a design craft knife. 3. Acetone or nail polish remover might be handy.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. this was my first time doing this so many lessons learnt and some good advise was left in the comments here also.

[@stevevanderhorst5234]

Looks fine for a beater watch

[@tilica5353]

Great job , for glue i use TAMYA extra thin cement,or something like this tamya cement,

[@Inkreptile]

Great job ! I've been following this project fora while now and I'd say you did a great job at restoring it ... too bad you accidentally scraped of part of the internal bezel ... Anyway I'm planning on reluming a AM 6309-7040 dial (it's a ± perfect copy ) because it has green lume

[@dwitney46]

Your most welcome, l have read the contributions of your other subscribers and they all have some good ideas..mix and match ideas seems to be the way to go.good job on the watch by the way.goodvluck with future projects.david UK.ps.sorry about the spellings in my last message(predictive text can be a pain)

[@MyRetroWatches]

We all love predictive text on occasions!

[@dwitney46]

👍

[@paulpayne9291]

Very interesting. I enjoyed watching!

[@nachovalenti]

I think the final result it was 7 out of 10. Good job mate and I really enjoy the video. Thanks for sharing and you have a new subscriber.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Nacho Valenti thanks for subbing ! Love your honest score too. It’s about where I put it also. Need to practice some more for the ascetics fo be spot on

[@johnrutherford4276]

New subscriber to your channel. Extremely informative & entertaining. Thoroughly enjoying every minute. Thank you very much for taking the time and effort- much appreciated 👍

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you so much. Welcome aboard

[@dickieboy007]

excellent work... very interesting... well done..

[@lastwordindicator]

X-acto knife w/ chisel tip blade. Hold it perfectly level on the indices and almost flat.

[@biliouevdokia]

well done Mike a real rewarding video,i enjoyed it YOU GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BRAVO

[@MyRetroWatches]

Chris Panagopoulos thank you sir

[@cosmalas7742]

It's tricky. I've done it on a few of my watches. What I like is I look at my wrist and say to myself "I done that, imperfections n all"

[@darioswatchclub8]

Thank you for this one.

[@robertjordan7323]

I think it looks great.

[@Segafishy]

I'm working on trying my first resto project still but from a modelling use I wouldn't fret too much about that white paint, it just never really seems to want to behave itself no matter the brand, usually I'll need to flat it and use multiple layers toget the result I want. Only other thing to try is maybe a detail brush, the works do (or atleast did a few months back when I last visited) a pack for about £2 so not too much an issue if it ends up being a one use, being softer they should allow you to spread the Lume or paint more evenly without using a lot so you may get a more uniform result or be able to go backand correct more easily.

[@Mymatevince]

Very nicely done, good video Mike :-)

[@MyRetroWatches]

Glad you enjoyed it mate

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

@@MyRetroWatches maybe u should have tried to pop the bubble with a pin?. just sayin lol.

[@TheoSloat]

An UV light would make the paint glow as you apply it but your technique seams to work just fine.

[@freedomwatches2454]

Thanks for being AWESOME AND AMAZING!

[@ChrisBeckman]

I believe you did an awesome job on this piece that most would consider a dead head! Congratulations on the finished product and can’t wait to see more from your channel. @nashvillewatch

[@mfbruno]

Great video friend, it's a hard and beautiful work! Congrats

[@jco1298]

Love the guitar jazz. Cool to see you learning as you go. Yes, brush strokes will improve the paint smoothness.

[@MyRetroWatches]

J Co thank you. Glad someone commented on the music too. My choices were very eclectic !

[@eduardosuarez2414]

@@MyRetroWatches The Army youtube uses that dance music in their fitness videos :D

[@islandterror5198]

Good job for a first attempt 👍 Don't believe I have enough patience to accomplish that feat....

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

I heard it’s better to paint the markers white before applying the lume. Because then there’s less need for pigment, which compromises the strength of the lume

[@innovativeentertainment4412]

A much easier way to remove lume is to acetone on the back of the dial where the marker feet are located. Then pop them out and soak in acetone until the lume dissolves away. Then apply the markers to rodico and paint them gloss white (enamel). Then when they're dry, place them back into the dial. Then turn the dial over and glue them back into place with clear nail polish. Then lume them

[@MyRetroWatches]

good idea. I was hesitant with acetone as these Seiko markers the chrome I dont think is real metal and the worry would be the acetone fetches the plating off.

[@fabiosilvestre5096]

I have an omega that needs relume ... I tried to see videos here but there are quite a l few information about it...nice video!

[@iridium213]

Water based ready mixed watch luminous, of different shades, is available..and is easier to apply and take off, if it doesn't go on right the first time

[@pentachronic]

A suggestion. Get some electronics Solder Paste stencils. You'll probably find some solder pads that fit perfectly over an index. You can then sand and clean and paint as needed and you'll get even coating to the edges.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks, I will look into that.

[@mariodavidpalacio]

Awesome video. Most of all the part when you decide to do it again. Great work! I hope watchmakers did it in my area but I think this is quite a specialized service.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Mario Palacio thank you sir. I L still contemplating a 3rd go and maybe silver paint. Thanks for watching and happy your enjoyed this one.

[@andrewgrace4410]

She looks damn good, maybe scraping or using a fiberglass brush to smooth the unpainted numbers would have led to a more uniform look, but overall really good restoration 👌🏾👌🏾

[@Emilmarch]

Not a pro or not even amateur but what I'd do, under the microscope, I'd cut the pegwood tip matching the indices width and also a fine sandpaper, 3000 or finer, matching the same width of the pegwood, and lastly cut a hole on a piece of plastic in the shape of indices to protect the dial when sanding. Once polished or rust removed move on to the luming.

[@Phoenix_cataclysm_in_2040]

Some use PVA glue to form the base for lume. It is also white, but it has a greater binding ability than paint when it comes to luming.

[@adrianbirkett594]

Hi Michael, I work with acyrilic with my job. A very thin layer of. White should do it, but keep it flat. Acyrilic is like a plastic coat, it should be used sparingly. Adrian.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Adrian Birkett thanks. I was thinking perhaps enamel paint next time but it takes 2 days to cure.

[@TheButosi]

スイス時計も良いけど、セイコー５スポーツは安価でしかも丈夫です💪 自分も夜光塗料の塗りかえ試してみます👍 ありがとうございます。

[@bio-plasmictoad5311]

Looks brilliant

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

the watch looks great BTW

[@jamessmith6402]

Brave attempt well done 👍😁

[@sonnymoorehouse1941]

Problem is the corrosion and unevenness of surface. I suggest making a very small sander with tiny piece of sandpaper

[@tonyr.5111]

Great job. 👍👏👍

[@maporcazozzaful]

very good

[@marcustahoun]

It looks great.

[@mrjolly8680]

It’s almost impossible to get a perfect re-lume. Excellent video, well done for all of them. I’m going to try with a smaller oiler and two pack paint (vehicle) as the paint has a chemical reaction to dry so stays the same with no reduction of solids. This should hopefully give uniform smooth surface to apply the lume. I’ll try c3 lume to see if it any better and let you know. Again thanks for addictive videos. Mike.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Mr Jolly thanks. Glad you enjoyed this one.

[@alan776600]

You make this look so easy pal

[@MyRetroWatches]

alan776600 it is 😅

[@andbarwick]

Great video enjoyed watching