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Repairing Enamel Dials

deanloveswatches
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deanloveswatches Watch Enthusiast

deanloveswatches

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Hi All

I've bought a couple of broken Waltham pocket watches to help me get started on my new watch repair hobby

I've noticed that they have chipped and cracked dials - which is no big deal as I'm only interested in tinkering with the movements at the moment.

However , I was wondering if such dials where repairable ?

When I look in eBay, most of the 'spares or repair' old pocket watches have knackered dials and it would be good fun working out how to repair them.

I've tried googling around, but there seems to be almost no information about how to do this .

I've seen 'enamel paste' for sale that suggests it is used for such repair work

Does anyone have any experience with this ? Is there a good source of info on dial repair on the interwebs anywhere?

Cheers

Dean

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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I have repaired french clock dials using this kit purchased from Meadows & Passmore. However I have also replaced all of the numerals as well which this company also supplies in the form of  transfers for clock dials . Getting the same colour match between the old & new enamel is also a real challenge so I repair the cracks , etc., rub down the whole dial & spray with enamel paint then apply the new numerals & then spray over the top with varnish. I have seen articles where guys use the same technic as I use but hand paint the dials. You might be able to repair pocket watch cracks using this kit that are not near the numerals but the colour match will be the challenge.

 

 

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Andyclient Super WRT Addict

Andyclient

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An old watchmaker once told me he used epoxy glue mixed with humbrol model paint on chips It does give a nice enamel type finish but like clockboy says colour match is tricky , I would imagine this is cheaper that the kit if you just wanted to have a little go.

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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Yes should have mentioned this kit is approx. £40 but very little of the powder/resin mix is used per repair. The epoxy glue method might be worth a punt with very little cost involved.

I have not done one of these repairs for a long while. Just not practical considering the amount of time it takes to repair the dial & movement & the rewards are poor. Spending a week repairing a French clock & then making £20 profit is just dumb. But if a customer asks I can deliver but at a price alas !!!  

A quality pocket watch might be a different matter though.

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deanloveswatches Watch Enthusiast

deanloveswatches

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So what happens at a dial refinishing service company. I've seen the before and after pictures - they're amazing!

I guess they have a wide variety of techniques to return a dial to new condition - but again - nothing on the internet

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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I have seen that too but as you say nothing on the net. They have technics that they keep to themselves & you can't blame them really it's their living. However the results I got were very good so I am not far off the mark on how they do it.

Experiment on an old dial there are plenty of them on the bay you might be surprised with your results.

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cdjswiss WRT Addict

cdjswiss

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For enamel dials use white and black UV setting nail gel (much cheaper than the Cousins equivalent) all colours available to tint the white to a good match. Lots available on the web and on eBay. The cheapest solution for the UV lamp is the low power one sold for fake benk note detection. This will cure the gel in about 10 minutes.

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Michael WRT Addict

Michael

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If you have a dirty dial with hairlines you could make it look much better by buying some strong denture cleaner out of Boots. Undiluted, stick your dial in there and then rinse off. It acts like a cleaner and bleach and will help hide the hairlines.

NOTE : MAKE SURE THE DIAL DOES NOT HAVE ANY SURFACE PAINTING AND THE NUMBERS/TEXT ARE IN THE ENAMEL

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