My Omega Pilot has a stain in the middle of the dial. What do you think, a "historical touch" that adds value or a bad stain? Any opinions?

 

Don’t touch it! Got the same one, n ice watch!

 

looks like someone try to clean the dial, but don't breathe the lume crumbles.

 

Leave it. Too much Oil during a service? I had that one with an Enamel dial, easy to clean..... kind regards. Achim

 

If all is working ok leave it.

 

You do? Can I see a photo, please!

 

Thank you! I was not aware of the importance of the lume crumbles!

 

You think this spot could be removed by cleaning the Dial? Do you have a photo of the one you used to have?

 

I’m just here to say how amazing Bill Evans was. Great avatar

 

The dial looks like it is not enamel but painted.
I wouldn't risk cleaning it.

On similar matte black Seiko dials (probably 50 years newer) - I've gotten away with dabbing them with polywatch, or similar cutting compound and then just wiping it off (not polishing it of course).

There won't be many who would advocate touching it here.

There is one guy - who if he is reading - would say DON'T PUT WD40 on it, because I suggested someone used a microscopic amount of wd40 do get rid of a stain.

 

Everybody Digs Bill Evans

 

Thanks for the suggestion! I believe I am just going to leave it alone.

 

If it’s oil Rodico will remove it with gentle dabbing, everyone who fiddles with watches should have some Rodico as it cleans grease, oils, dust the list goes on.. As said about the lume, be careful as Radium is radioactive and not the sort of dust you want to be inhaling!!

 

It's an amazing watch... do You anything on its history ?

 

Second from left, top row. To the right of the Helvetia (1935) and the left of the 1953 RAF. However, the dial was unreadable and the hands devoid of lume. Dial cleaned, not restored and relumed by me. Sorry for the tardy reply.

 

Yeah think lung cancer…

 

If you look around the numbers you see that there are some passages of unblanched paint, especially the interior spaces. To me that looks like the something was applied to consolidate the luminous paint and it might have leached out and saturated the surrounding dial paint. As someone above suggested, it looks like it could be some oil that is saturating the paint in the centre. Unless you know what you are doing with solvents and paint, leave it alone.

And as was also suggested above be super careful of the radium in the lume crumbs...we all know what happened to the workers who painted the lume on in the first place.

 

I have inspected the dial under high magnification...

IMO it is a considerably deteriorated black paint - seriously faded in most parts (result of ageing? aggressive cleaning?). What looks like a stain is likely the (near) originally preserved paint (deep black). You can see remnants also on the outer part of the dial - I have marked them red.

It seems that the dial might have been worse and has been partly restored. Parts of the minute track and also the seconds track look to me as if these parts were re-painted - I have marked these parts in white.



just a thought...

 

RADIUM DIAL NUMBERS & HANDS. CAUTION!
Look up Glow Girls who painted those dials.
There was a home owner i Cleveland Ohio, started to tear down a brick barbecue in his back yard.
The prior, deceased owner put bottles of Radium Paint in the structre.
The EPA came out with haz mat suits.... to clean up the site.
I would not touch one of these watches myself.
In the Outback, the Australian Government burried encased in concrete a whole lot of Rolex watches with Radium dials.
On another note, a US serviceman in the hot zone of Hiroshima or Nagasaki after the bomings brought a clock home.
He slept with the clock at his bed side stand for years. Like over thirty years. When someone tested it, it was hot.
It is all how the deck is dealt, I guess.
Mike

 

Beside the Radium do to degeneration it generates Radon gas which is not really healthy also would be best to store this watch on a good ventilated place.
And I dont suggest bedroom