Color Matching Old Lume

[Woolshire 0]

Wondering what everyone’s method/material is for color matching very old lume on watch hands. I don’t want it to glow, just refill the hour hand to match the old minute hand, as the radium “paint” is gone from the hour hand.

[MechanicMike 118]

Tough one.  You're going to have to experiment, mix and match different colors to get close.  Use hobbyist Testor enamel .

[thebosston 1]

I have seen videos of guys reluming the hands with a neutral white lume and then applying small amounts of coffee on top of the dried white lume. The results were good, but they went for a light brownish color. Maybe if you repeat that process several times, you may reach your desired color. But as disclaimer: I have never done it by my self, so do your own research on that coffee-aging-topic

[Woolshire 0]

Thanks for the responses so far. I was wondering about flat enamel. Anybody use anything else to get the match? If the enamel doesn’t turn out right, is it easy to remove from bottom on hands?? Also, will the Testors gap the opening in the hand, or does it need to be thickened somehow?

[Woolshire 0]

I think I answered the thickness question. Testors is thick enough to bridge the gap. Now need to work on cleaning the excess on the ribs of the hand on the underside. Lacquer thinner, I’m guessing

[nickelsilver 1,118]

A hard thing to replicate with old lume is the texture, they are never smooth, usually with a grainy look. I've used ground up colored chalk, mixed with lacquer, to get the look. Lately I've been using UV glue as well with good success. It takes a few tries to get something that isn't too much chalk, which is hard to work with, or too liquid, which makes it hard to bridge the gap. Also, with lacquer, it does shrink as it dries, which can be good or bad depending on what you want. The UV glue stays the same.