Refinishing a Rolex Explorer II bezel - a pictorial

[Omegary]

DimGR I tried to reply to your PM but your inbox is full.

Essentially you let the paint dry a little then wipe off the excess from the flat of the bezel with a cloth. The numbers are recessed so if it's done carefully the paint in them won't be disturbed. Hope that makes sense.

Cheers,
Gary

[shoppy]

An amazing post, I love threads like this it's like black art fascinating and very exciting. I'll know where to go for my daytona, rolex wanted a large wedge of money for a new bezel.

[DimGR]

DimGR I tried to reply to your PM but your inbox is full.

Essentially you let the paint dry a little then wipe off the excess from the flat of the bezel with a cloth. The numbers are recessed so if it's done carefully the paint in them won't be disturbed. Hope that makes sense.

Cheers,
Gary

thanks for that

is it models paint you use?

[AlexM]

An amazing post, I love threads like this it's like black art fascinating and very exciting. I'll know where to go for my daytona, rolex wanted a large wedge of money for a new bezel.

Daytona would be a trickier proposition due to shallower bezel engravings but they can be done relatively easily. Also no lapping required as it's polished steel.

[nickyboyo]

Great thread sir. Thank you very much for time putting it all together. Very informative, and once again reaffirms my belief that watchmakers are among the top tier of skilled workers.

[higham5]

Great thread sir. Thank you very much for time putting it all together. Very informative, and once again reaffirms my belief that watchmakers are among the top tier of skilled workers.

Not only skilled but the investment in the right capital equipment, that lapping chuck looks a work of art !

[BigTel]

Excellent thread, really interesting. Thank's for sharing.

[Ivan Melbourne]

great thread Gary,

years back I did an engineering apprenticeship, which involved some lathe work & setting things up using DTIs, flat levels etc so i know for a fact that the level of skill it takes to shape metal properly by hand has to be seen to be truly beheld (my mentor had been in the game for 50 yrs)

I really enjoy the way your threads are very fly-on-the-wall / de-mystifying for watchmaker tasks and show us all exactly what's involved

thanks for sharing

50 years of honing the skill.
Reminds me very much of a story told to me by my old watch repair mentor.

He was asked by a young man if he would show him how to turn a balance staff on the lathe.

No problem he said ....come in Sunday morning when its quiet and I will show you.
The lad duly arrived and the watchmaker shown him the process, using a balance staff for an alarm clock so that it was easy to see and follow the process.
He then sat the lad down at the lathe and let him have a go himself.

Afterwards the watchmaker complimented him on his first attempt and then said

Now go away and practice for 30 years.

So yes there is a lot of time spent in honing such skills ......if only I hadn't wasted my youth

Ivan
iwcforme

[PeterM]

Brilliant, brilliant thread Gary.

I missed this when it was posted last month so am really pleased that it has been bumped back up.

This is exactly the sort of thing that I joined up to read and learn from. The patience, skill, application and eye for detail involved is so beyond me, that I am in awe.

I just wish that I could contribute to the forum at this level.

Please keep posting when you have the time.

[Omegary]

thanks for that

is it models paint you use?

No problem Dimitris and yes modelling paint is used, in this case it was Humbrol matt black enamel.

Cheers,
Gary

[rehunk]

Not only skilled but the investment in the right capital equipment, that lapping chuck looks a work of art !

That lapping chuck is called a "Bobino". Bates of Switzerland produce their own version http://www.bates.ch/en/produits/horl...oires_mach.php which can be seen briefly in this excellent video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUTBS...ature=youtu.be



Many thanks to Gary for sharing these and to Rocco for his excellent work.

[Omegary]

Thank you Ron. I knew it wasn't called a chuck but I couldn't, for the life of me, remember its proper name

Thanks for the video too, it's a good demonstration of just how much work goes into refinishing a watch. Obviously in large organisations like Breitling each stage tends to be done by a different specialist. In smaller independents it's all done by the same guy who's also servicing your watch. Their depth of skills and expertise really is impressive, as I've said elsewhere they are true craftsmen. Think about it, they have to have a broad grasp of mechanics and engineering, be a metallurgist, understand chemistry, have a fantastic eye for detail and be incredibly dexterous. It takes years to become a competent watchmaker and I can fully appreciate why.

Cheers,
Gary

[rehunk]

Yes Gary absolutely! That is a point well made. I have a great admiration for the independent watchmakers of this world. The skilled and honest ones at least.

[kenici]

Apologies for resurrecting such an old thread but kudos to the starter for sharing so beneficial information

[Scrubnut]

I could read pieces like this all day long. Thanks for sharing.

[Finners]

Fantastic thread, very interesting. Must remember this for when my Explorer needs fettling.

[SteveR]

my favourite thread so far - i like stuff like this
totally unrelated but does anyone know why the thread sequence is up side down on all the posts i read?!?

You need to change it in the forum settings

[demonloop]

You need to change it in the forum settings

Buntyhayes is no longer of this parish. Under that name anyway.

[Mainspring]

That's a very informative thread - great to see those fly-on-the-wall shots. As a previous poster mentioned, this does go some way to demonstrating the level of work in re-finishing.

Thanks very much for sharing.

[Shakir Khaja]

Superb post, very informative. The outcome of the reverb on the bezel is superb.

[Regular]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.