Reply With QuoteDoesn’t bleach destroy the seals? I know Chlorine in swimming pools takes a heavy toll of diving gear if not rinsed off.
I’ve done a few of these and they’ve always worked by running a bleach soaked cotton bud around the insert with some pressure. Not this one though.
It began life like this:
[IMG][/IMG]
So I sat it in a bleach bath for ten minutes and got to here:
[IMG][/IMG]
It was a bit darker than I wanted so I did another three minutes:
[IMG][/IMG]
And now it’s lighter than I wanted but hey-ho, if you don’t do you don’t learn.
[IMG][/IMG]
I’ll get another insert and do the ten minute colour so I’ll then have three; two faded and one fully indexed classic black.
Doesn’t bleach destroy the seals? I know Chlorine in swimming pools takes a heavy toll of diving gear if not rinsed off.
I think he only dropped the insert into bleachOriginally Posted by Manxdiver
Haha 🤣
Yes of course I didn’t drop the bloody watch into bleach 🤣🤣
Like that Omega it looks 10 times better as it was.
I don't see the point to this..it looked great as it was. I'd order another insert and leave it alone.
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I used to endlessly fiddle with watches - changing straps, brushing/polishing, poly watch and cape cod cloths - until I realised the way the watch arrived originally was probably better! I know this hobby encourages tinkering but I think I’ve moved on from that now
Sorry, but that's a mess.
The lume pip appears to have partially dissolved. The bezel is scratched & appears to have a split or other damage at the 45 min. marker.
Not for me.
______
Jim.
So...do you know how to unfade it?
The best a watch has ever looked was the day it left the shop on the day it was originally purchased. Unfortunately we now have a WIS culture that insists that a watch must be perfect on the inside but look like a bashed up mess on the outside. My local AD almost went down on his knees advising me not to restore my 1980 Rolex 1655. He was almost in tears.
It's not just watches, I got moaned at about 30 years ago for getting a percussion shotgun restored to almost new condition. The purist at the shoots just could not believed I had done it and carried on shooting with their knackered old guns that looked like glorified tat.
It doesn’t have to be for you. The lume pip fell out and I scratched the insert for a more ‘authentic’ look. I was just playing around for a bit of fun, it’s not like it’s a big deal really.
+1, looks ridiculous to me, this WIS culture of revelling in stuff that looks tatty is beyond me.
One clown asked me to age a Panerai dial by placing it in the oven at some specific temperature.......I politely declined. The only artificial ageing I`ll consider is when trying to match the lume on hands to an aged dial, otherwise it's a no-no.
Each to their own, but to my eye that bezel insert is now ruined.
I don't agree with this at all, a little bit of wear and tear can add a lot of character and brand new watches - Rolexes especially - can look a bit sterile and boring. To me new Submariners especially are a bit like Pringles, they all look exactly the same.
I'm not against artificial aging in principle, but using bleach to fade a bezel insert never seems to work properly. Doesn't give an even and consistent look like the real thing.
Aging a bezel is a bit of fun nothing more, on a relatively inexpensive watch I can’t see what people are getting the knickers in a twist about. They don’t have to wear it after all…
If someone likes it fair play to them.
I have tried it myself, it never replicates the look of a real aged bezel but it can look fine.
It is very easy to go too far though.
Bleaching makes the insert dull, the sheen is very rarely lost on an aged bezel, it’s still there but when bleached they tend to go a bit flat.
For what it’s worth I think it looks fine but I like my watches with a fair bit of patina, in some cases (such as the original look on this watch) I think faux patina lume and a brand new bezel and dial look odd.
I think the first attempt nailed it though.
A faded insert on the WMT and original faded insert on the 7016
The sub insert still has some sheen the WMT is complete dull and flat. The 7016 insert is grey and not blue as it appears in some pictures
Last edited by Sinnlover; 8th October 2023 at 11:51.
This is actually my favourite look:
[IMG][/IMG]
but new insert adhesive stickies arrived today so put the new one in:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Not my cup of tea.
Small aside to this… chuck the insert in an oven at 180C for 20 mins or so, it’ll kinda liquify the white pip which will cool to a creamy hue to better match aged hands/dials.
I’ve done it on several 5513 RSC replacement inserts
Not for me, don’t see the point.
Lots of knickers getting twisted here. It's a cheap watch (my watch) with an easily replaceable insert. It's a bit of fun to see what happened. The watch world is awash with modding these days, it's a huge industry with a massive following.
I think it looks great. Like you said, maybe a step too far on time but still good.
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