Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

I just bought this 1972 Omega Seamaster Cal 1010 which need a bit of tidying. 

The hands are partly lume, and part black paint. Is there a recommend black paint, or do I just use some black gloss ? 

Capture3.PNG

Posted

Looking at my 68 Constellation which has solid black hands but no lume and the same markers as your Seamaster and probably the same paint. It does appear to be gloss black but not a high gloss...slightly flatted. But then the paint is over 45 years old on my example.

IMG_8776.jpg

Not the best picture, but you can see that the hour hand is a smooth or gloss finish. but definitely not a brilliant gloss that you would get out of a can. I suppose you could use enamel model paint and thin it down so it would flow and lay very flat and that would take some of the brilliant out of the finish...I am afraid I do not have an exact answer for you, but hopefully someone will chime in with the correct formula that Omega would have used, be it lacquer or enamel and the correct amount of flattening. I think that a high gloss finish would look out of place against the ebony markers...curious as to the proper paint as well.

Ron

Posted

You will probly find that the black material is onyx.  Omega are quality watches and used onyx quite a bit fir hand inserts and indice markers.  

  • Like 1
Posted

Perfect question :)  As having a Chronostop i need to refurbish the hands on? Just a little? I was thinking of using matt black spray? But maybe Onyx is better? On the OP hands there are just a thin line of black? Very very hard to paint? Trust me i have tried. I think i ended up using some paper with printed lines on? The kind of paper u put in water and the transfer to a  small aircraft or car models.  

Posted
1 hour ago, Geo said:

You will probly find that the black material is onyx.  Omega are quality watches and used onyx quite a bit fir hand inserts and indice markers.  

Looking at the OP's hands it could very well be Onyx inserts. On my watch it is definitely paint. The markers are Onyx (whatever that is) as you can tell they are not paint. A closer look at the OP's hands would tell the story. If it is a material or substance, rather than paint would it flake off?or fall out in one piece?

Ron

Posted

Onyx is a type of agate stone and will be cut and polished to fit the hands and indices.  I did notice that yours has been painted, and I don't think that would be the original finish.

Posted

Learning new things is what makes this forum so great. :) After reading the excellent article by Desmond Guilfoyle of the Omega collectors site, it would appear that my hands are indeed painted. The hour and minute hands are solid gold and done in black duco which is a nitrocellulose lacquer from the 20's by DuPont I believe, the second hand which shows gold is plated, go figure. Otto Frei lists the original gold hub baton hands for my watch ref, 168.029 with the 751 movement Part number HAN4174 and the description is with black duco finish and this finish is also listed for most of the rest of the hands. While the indices are Onyx i do not find much reference that it was used on the hands. If it is any help in answering the OP's original question, the paint if used would be black duco. This was a nitrocellulose lacquer, not sure where to get this today though...

  • Like 1
Posted

I re-furbed a pocket watch a while ago and for the hands I found for the best results I rubbed them down with fine wire wool (000) then a thin coat of white metal under coat then a black gloss over coat.The make of these paints was"plasti-kote" & I purchased them from a hobby shop. The customer was very happy with the result.

Posted
9 hours ago, 94marconi said:

Learning new things is what makes this forum so great. :) After reading the excellent article by Desmond Guilfoyle of the Omega collectors site, it would appear that my hands are indeed painted. The hour and minute hands are solid gold and done in black duco which is a nitrocellulose lacquer from the 20's by DuPont I believe, the second hand which shows gold is plated, go figure. Otto Frei lists the original gold hub baton hands for my watch ref, 168.029 with the 751 movement Part number HAN4174 and the description is with black duco finish and this finish is also listed for most of the rest of the hands. While the indices are Onyx i do not find much reference that it was used on the hands. If it is any help in answering the OP's original question, the paint if used would be black duco. This was a nitrocellulose lacquer, not sure where to get this today though...

For supplies of nitrocellulose lacquer it might be worth looking at the Luthier industry. It was used prolifically for guitar finishes until the modern polymer lacquers were developed and is still the first choice for restoring vintage instruments.

Posted
9 hours ago, 94marconi said:

Otto Frie lists Mikepilk's hands as black duco part No. HAN-4145

Well found !  Not quite the same pattern and I need silver. 

The ones I have aren't in great condition 

I found a set on ebay, not genuine but look good :

 

20161227_101133.jpg

Capture.PNG

Posted
1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

I'm late on this one. I always used Airfix or Humbrol the sort of thing you use for plastic kits. Never had any problems.

I grew up in the age of Airfix, and Humbrol was my first thought.

Posted

Those hands from ebay sure look sharp. If they are not the same then they are very close, and I don't think anyone will notice if restoration accuracy is not required. :)

Posted
53 minutes ago, 94marconi said:

Those hands from ebay sure look sharp. If they are not the same then they are very close, and I don't think anyone will notice if restoration accuracy is not required. :)

I've ordered a set. I always try to get original parts, but with hands, as long as they look OK, I'm happy to use them.

 

Posted
43 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

I've ordered a set. I always try to get original parts, but with hands, as long as they look OK, I'm happy to use them.

 

Those hands are aftermarket hands. Ain't that good? Found them very difficult to put on ? The hour hand was okay but second hand become to large and is moving around?  The minute hand was a disaster and would sit properly on the pivot. My movement was a 1022 . And haven't figured out what to do with it yet? 

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Thanks for this post MikePilk, I just came across a similar problem with an Omega 1022.  The problem I had was the seconds pinion spring was bent out of shape and did not even engage with the wheel properly, so the seconds hand was not moving at all. (no power loss though :) I removed the automatic module so I could access the spring and work on it. Once I bent it back close to the right shape, I experienced the same problem you reported about power loss.  Many tweaks later, and the seconds hand is moving properly again, with amplitude back to good numbers again. Cheers
    • After cleaning up the pivots, I made bushes on the lathe. At this point I've pressed in 6 bushes (3 sets) and the wheels turn smooth. What I can also tell you, is that I'm not looking forward to final assembly. Getting the pivots aligned seems to get exponentially more difficult with each wheel that is added.
    • Islands are interesting places to live depending upon their size and other factors. This is a bigger island and it has a bridge to get there at least on one end. It's also big enough that you don't have to go someplace else to get things typically. It can be a problem if you get a job in Seattle though. Yes I've known of people who commuted from the island to Seattle for a job and I don't quite remember how many hours it took but it took a long time. So basically islands are nice if you don't have to leave very often.
    • Thanks @JohnR725! Everything you say makes a lot of sense and is encouraging to read.
    • isn't it nice to have a decent case open or when the case doesn't want to be opened? In the case of a Rolex watch that supposed to pass specific water resistant testing you probably do need to tighten the back down. But they shouldn't be tightened so much that they risk stripping the threads out. Then the other problem that comes up is the gaskets can start to disintegrate and then getting the back off can be quite a challenge unless you have a really good tool and perhaps some penetrating oil to loosen things up. Yes really nice case marking. When I was in school we were taught to mark the cases and  the American watch and clockmakers Institute even had a? So if you joined at one time they would give you an identification number. They were explaining or giving an example of if the watches ever found in you have a unique number they can perhaps figure out the history of the watch or identify the body it's attached to for instance not that that probably comes up that often. So you got a unique number and even made a special metal stamp that you can purchase. It wasn't a super big aggressive stamp but still it left a mark in the back of the case. Then I heard from people at work on Rolex watches they were using a felt pen indelible but later on they decided that was bad because apparently the ink could release  chemicals although it seems like once it's dry that shouldn't be an issue. Then of course today was nice is you can keep computer records sealed have to mark anything at all I personally find it's best to leave no reference behind that you were even there. Especially when you have a beautiful watch that has no markings at all and now it has your scribbling all over it not good typically if there is a typical and watch repair?  a lot of minor repairs you don't need to do a complete servicing. But beyond a certain point you're going to have to take apart a lot of stuff you're going to disrupt the lubrication even if it looks perfect right now and yes you might as well just go ahead the service the whole thing. also in a watch like this where a lot of things seem to be going on the complete service would be better then you'll know exactly where you stand versus dealing with unknown mysteries for prior repair.
×
×
  • Create New...