The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Great job Rene/Craig!

In High School I took auto body repair classes and worked in auto body shops for about a year after graduation in 1962. Seems like another lifetime but I decided early on that I was not going to do that type of work the rest of my life. Anyway, the painting experience is something you never forget and applies to most kinds of spray painting.
Here is an outline of how its done with pics in sequence below:
1) hands removed
2) old lume removed - I always do this in water as some of it could be toxic
3) hands in lacquer thinner overnight to remove old paint
4) sanding the hands with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I hold all the small hands on a reaming tool and sand them on my thumbnail so as not to damage or bend them.
5) hands after sanding
More to follow in next post as only 5 pics allowed per post....

_________________
S. Craig Bergsma

Continued:
6) painting the hands - held on sharpened pins and match stick ends. This color is Ford Wimbledon White - https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+wi ... 20&bih=930
7) hands painted
removing (very carefully) paint from the tops of the small hands tubes or pipes as they are sometimes called
9) first lume mix in gray - this is a water based lume and the best way to mix colors
10) second lume mix in green

_________________
S. Craig Bergsma

thank you for sharing, Craig !

Continued....
11) gray and green mixed together to get the right shade. This is tricky because this mix always dries darker so I have to guess how much darker?
12) applying the lume. I use Scotch tape on the face of the hands and coat it with Plexiglas wet polish and dry the polish before attaching the hands. This keeps the paint from peeling off.
13) hands lumed and loose on the dial
14) DONE!
Its not that hard, just time consuming.

_________________
S. Craig Bergsma

Awesome job Craig, and a free manicure in the process

Thanks for sharing the process.

That just blows my mind and the reason I send my special projects to Craig. After losing a hand or two in the carpet I leave hands to Craig.

Awesome pics and posts ! , I am so glad its on its way , cant wait to see it 'in hand' or rather 'on the wrist'

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

Fantastic, the colour really compliments the watch case and provides a beautiful contrast to the dial. Thanks for that Craig

Craig did not touch the dial itself or the lume on the dial , that is afaik still original, he did however do a great job at matching the lume on the hands with the lume on the dial

_________________
"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

I don't do lume on dial hour markers. It is just too hard - one slip and you are screwed!

_________________
S. Craig Bergsma