How do you guys do this?

JwRosenthal

I did the lemon juice trick on two dials, the first was a lady Seamaster that was orange from years of funk- it removed the lume and lacquer but the lettering was fine and it came out like a gem. The second was a disaster- a water damaged Silver dialed Seamaster that had a modeled finish but wasn’t horrible- the lettering floated right off- it was awful. That one got redialed and eventually sold.
I have a good friend who does my spot cleaning (the Burgeron sticky swabs and Rodico) and relumes hands for me. It’s amazing how well a light cleaning can remove the funk, but you really have to know what you’re doing, go slowly and never be aggressive. This is not something to do on a watch you care about unless you are a total pro and go in with realistic expectations.

Thatguy

I'm a patient man, I mean, I was making a balance staff from scratch back at the school for 8 hours straight. 😵‍💫
Can't go home till you finished the task. 😵‍💫
Must get the measurements correct with tolerance like 0.12 microns.
One rushing, one measurement incorrect then you gotta do it all over again. It was when I discovered myself to be a little masochistic as the opposite I was enjoying it.

OllieOnTheRocks

Great advice - if you don't mind me asking - how much would it cost for a professional quality redial? Clearly this should always be a last resort but useful to know nonetheless 😀

JwRosenthal

The redial on the one I had done was through a watchmaker (he didn’t tell me where he got it redialed) and it was around $200. It was- decent, but not perfect of course.
Frankly, the ones you posted are lovely as-is and if the patina bothers you, then sell them as-is to someone who will appreciate them and hunt for vintage perfection. Pristine dialed do come up but be prepared to fight for it and pay a premium- IMO, the premium is worth it to know I have what I want.

JwRosenthal

Here is the before and after- I opted for a black dial when it was refinished. After the crystal came off I saw how modeled the finish was which is what made me want it redialed. In hindsight, it wasn’t really that bad and I should have just left it alone...but I was a newbie then

JwRosenthal

In terms of a careful cleaning- this is one of my favorite examples of what can be achieved by someone with a delicate touch without any damage to original finishes.

Before

After

STANDY

I use this recipe for all my dial cleaning.

10 drops of natural spring water
10 drops of lemon juice
3 unicorn tears

140dave

Soaking in polident is pretty standard for reselling pocket watch dials... yup, I think reply #1 was all this thread needed. (Except for Standy, thanks for the laugh!)

JwRosenthal

The Rolex is all original except for the replacement of the second hand with a NOS one. The dial and hands were covered in a thin layer of funk that made them look lifeless- that’s what was underneath.

sonicosa

I noticed the same thing, although it seems to be slightly bent on the right side in the before pictures. It’s slightly more uniform in the after pics by having both sides bent 😕

JwRosenthal

The topic of dial cleaning & refinishing has been covered in countless threads and the opinions are just as varied. Some say don’t touch anything, some say gentle cleaning with the proper tools is acceptable, some say do the full Monty. Bottom line, it’s your watch and do what you want. But be aware that any time you touch that dial there is risk of damage- serious damage, so be prepared for a total loss if you attempt any form of cleaning.