Helvetia in need of TLC

[Cad101]

So as usual I'm doing my usual bay browsing and came across a very dirty oily greasy Helvetica . I think it must have lived in the bottom of a garage repair pit for most of its life. I'll be stripping cleaning de-greasing and polishing for many a day to come I'm sure but I'm sure she will live again. At the moment the movement is totally stuck fast I'm going to clean it first as is to remove any dirt before stripping so peeps wish me luck.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Cad101

[jeffc83]

Good luck with that one!  I can't wait to see how the dial comes out myself:)

[StuartBaker104]

Just a wild guess, but you may find the odd rust spot on the pivots and in the keyless works.

Maybe you should look out for a donor watch to get some spare movement parts... a spare dial... and maybe a spare case?

S

[Cad101]

I have a few parts in my spare bits tubs so if anything's too fr gone hopefully can replace it .

[jeffc83]

@Cad101 What caliber is that movement? (I can also check my stockpile of donors just in case you need anything)

[bobm12]

Good luck Cad, that's a classic which I've always liked! Small seconds at 6, numbers on the dial italics like (I don't know how it is called) and Dauphine hands, gold on white dial...simply love it!

Cheers,

Bob

[Cad101]

Bit of an update on the state of the watch. It seems to have been submerged in some sort of green swarfega type liquid how long for I have no idea but it has glued itself to every surface. I spent last night gently ungluing parts from each other and removing as much crud as i could with pegwood, at the moment the parts are having a 24 hour soakbin lighter fuel to see if that softens up the green stuff any. The dial may be beyond saving I may just strip it and 're colour it but it will most likely lose its name whivh is a shame.

Mick' 

[Cad101]

Update time well what can I say that was a challenge after about a thousand sticks of pegwood 3 soaks and a sonic bath or 3 I've finally got her up and running bad seeing that little heartbeat spring to life was one of my greatest achievements as a watch repairer so far. Now let's see what I can do with her face.

 

[Cad101]

By the way the word "bad" should have been "and" the watch isn't running bad in fact its running very well indeed  Mick

[Marc]

That is a transformation to boast about.

Heaven only knows what ordeals the poor watch has had to endure to end up in that state but hats off to you for a job well done; the end result looks excellent. 

Good luck now with the cosmetics.

[Cad101]

The Dial

I was hoping to save the name sometimes it's under the old varnish but alas it was printed on top so after boiling water to remove the varnish it removed the name too. So I stripped it back to base metal band started again.

First I gave it a base coat of white primer.Then built up layers of white until I finally gave it a coat of light cream.then a bit if scribing for the seconds sub dial some black dots and a couple of coats of varnish.job done I'll post the finished watch later.

Mick

[Marc]

Given what you started with that is a brilliant job. 

I wonder if it is worth trying the water slide transfer printer paper for the name. If you can find a nice clean image on the www, tidy it up and size it appropriately on the pc, then print it out and apply...  worth a try maybe.

What kind of paint did you use? 

[buzz12]

That's amazing Mick! Can I ask, what paint and varnish did you use? I have loads of naff dials that will require that sort of work if they are to be of use.  Really tidy job... well done.

[Cad101]

Finished result.

Not bad and I think very wearable. With regards to paint I use games workshop acrylics good quality paint then a sealing coat of purity seal also games workshop then a couple of coats of Testors dull coat varnish to finish. Now wheres that none running elgin i won.

[Cad101]

Oh btw the only things i had to replace were the crystal and sub dial second hand which disintigrated while removing it everything else I cleaned.

[StuartBaker104]

I have to say I am astounded at your patience, and by the way the green goo preserved everything else. I was really expecting much rust and gnashing of teeth!

S

[Cad101]

Yes the goo was a god send really there wasnt much rust at all just a tad in the keyless works and a bit on the balance and pallet oh and i had to dress the screws it was just the amount of work to remove the crap.

[frenchie]

quite a brilliant result you have here !! I have an Omega in my list of things to fix that has green crud all over it well, looks almost exactly like the crap you had to deal with. Wonder what that stuff is...

[Cad101]

I have no idea but its a swine to remove .You have to soften it first but that turns it to a kind of glue that just sticks even more . I went through 2 tins of lighter petrol to get rid .

[RyMoeller]

That looked like the Everest of watch repairs- an amazing job well done!

[Cad101]

So I've ordered some water slide decal paper of the bay to give Marc's idea a go I never even gave that a thought.

I'll let you know the results in a few days.

[Geo]

Excellent work Cad101, I'm well impressed with what you have achieved.  Many thanks for posting.

[bobm12]

How do you guys get templates for:

Waterslides dial printing?

What software is most adequate? Maybe a free one? Gimp...for windows?

Have you ever used airbrush techniques in a dial? How?

Also, how do you prepare different dials to modify/restore? Lume application?

Thank you in advance,

Cheers,

Bob

[Cad101]

This will be my first attempt at water slide printing I've found a few good images of the Helvetica name plus a standard dial on the web if you type watch dial png a few good images pop up plus there are a few clip art ones now all I've got to do is figure out the scale from what's on the laptop to what's actually printed 

[Cad101]

Why does my tablet always insist on correcting my spelling to Helvetica instead of helvetia its very annoying