Jump to content

Luminous paint - the world's glowiest glow

SorenHartmann
 Share

Recommended Posts

jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, SorenHartmann said:
I am about to paint my dial on my diving watch and want to use a strong glowing luminous paint?

Just curious, have you ever produced a dial before? How are you going to paint it, airbrush or perhaps traditional brush with a artist touch? What about the indexes, will you detach and then reapply these small fiddly thingies? Not to mention, having some sort of logo is often desirable, how do you plan to do that?

No matter how you will solve these  small issues or the choice of the paint with the greatest albedo, I look forward to to see the results of you work, good luck!

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
SorenHartmann New Member

SorenHartmann

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank you for your replies

No, I have not produce a dial before, so I will have a back up dial, just in case it goes wrong.

The logo I will download and add to the label together with the digits and the transfer to the dial. As per video: How to print a custom watch dial - watch building tutorial

The intended plan is as follows

  • Sand the dial to make it smooth
  • Mix LIT (luminous powder) with the acrylic base to make a paint
  • Apply the luminous paint all over the dial in thin layers several times
  • Apply the digits etc, by using the technic describe in the video below

Let me hear your thourghts

Thanks

:)

Soren

 

jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, SorenHartmann said:

No, I have not produce a dial before, so I will have a back up dial, just in case it goes wrong.
...

Let me hear your thourghts

I heartily recommend that you repeatedly practice all the steps involved on something of no  value, until you're confident with the skills and results achieved.

  • Like 2
yankeedog Distinguished Member

yankeedog

Posted
Posted

The idea then is for the  whole dial to glow. And for the hands and the dial not too? Do you intend to use non luminous  hands? I think that usual  luminous  dive watch hands could be a problem  to see.

  • Like 1
yankeedog Distinguished Member

yankeedog

Posted
Posted

Might  it not be better to have non illuminated hands so they would be in contrast to the dial  and therefore more visible?

Redwood WRT Addict

Redwood

Posted
Posted

Any idea how long the paint remains stable i.e its luminescence, It would be sad to spend all that time and find out after a couple of months it fails to glow  

 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • coreymsnow
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By coreymsnow · Posted

      Hah! Well, California will have to do. Lived in TX for a brief period back in the early 70s, though, so maybe that counts. 🙂 Funny you should mention making vacuum tubes- I've actually tinkered with that! It's REALLY tough to do, and I've never made one more complicated than a simple diode that barely worked, but I have played around at it. But there's just no infrastructure for vacuum tube fabrication. I can get a lathe and learn how to use it to make complex parts, and while it might take a while to learn- and money to get the equipment, of course- it is possible to do more or less "off the shelf". But vacuum tubes, not so much. There are a few folks out there doing some crazy cool work with bespoke tubes, but they have setups that are far beyond what I can manage in my environment and it's mostly stuff they built by hand. I also have been playing with making piezoelectric Rochelle Salt crystals to replace ancient vacuum tube turntable needles- nobody's made those commercially for probably 60 years. I'm a sucker for learning how to do weird things no one does any more so I can make things no one uses work again. (I think this is drifting off the topic of lathes, lol).
    • LittleWatchShop
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By LittleWatchShop · Posted

      You shoulda been born in Texas. Tough to make a vacuum tube though. You can substitute with a MOSFET eq ckt I guess. I was playing around making a pinion the other day. More to it than meets the eye.
    • zx6rfool
      Replacing crystal, do I need a bezel tool?

      By zx6rfool · Posted

      Well, turns out it was a fake bezel! The crystal is domed mineral glass and I was able to find a cheap replacement that should be here in two days.  I used my crappy little press to pop out the cracked crystal, Ill give the case a good cleaning in the meantime and do a once over on the movement.     
    • Mark
      Photos of your youth

      By Mark · Posted

      Early ‘90s Debenhams in Oxford Street at InTime Watch Repairs. The older guy was one of my mentors Mr John Campfield, fantastic ex-Omega watchmaker. Good times - black hair gone now! 😄
    • coreymsnow
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By coreymsnow · Posted

      Heh. Well, also I just want to be able to do it, for no other reason than it's interesting. Same reason I restore antique tube radios and ancient computers- like, from the 1970s.  Sometimes, the parts just aren't there and you have to know how to make them. Learning how is a challenge and can take months or years, but it's honestly the best part! You can't beat that sense of triumph when you do something that's really hard to learn to do and do it well.  
×
×
  • Create New...