Hi all. Have a 145.022-76 in for a bit of service and the shop is suggesting to stabilize the lume on the hands, they say it is beginning to crack a bit. It is not obvious at this point at all, no flaking or any holes in the lume but it’s 40+ years old so am sure they are right.

So, was looking for your thoughts on this in general. When buying a vintage Speedy, is having the lume in the hands stabilized a positive or a negative in your mind? Not talking relume, just stabilization. And does anyone do this as preventative maintenance before flaking or just wait until you can actually see an issue? Thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

The ‘76 in question, no point in a thread with no pictures.

 

I don't think there's much harm in doing it on the reverse side of the hands. When my watchmaker does it, I can't even notice any change from the front. So if it is starting to crack, it may be a good idea.

 

Stabilization under the hands (I think they put ‘binder’ there) to keep it from deteriorating further. You will not notice it, and it will look exactly as now (unless something goes wrong, which has not yet happened to me)

 

You often cannot see cracks with the naked eye. I put each hand on the microscope, and backlight the hand to do the inspection...









As noted, the binder is placed on the back side of the hand:



Done properly, you will never see it.

Cheers, Al

 

How long does the lume stabilizer last? Can it be reapplied if/when it wears out after time?

 

The binder is the clear material that lume powder is mixed with, in order to lume hands in the first place. I suspect it will last decades, but I see no reason why it can't be applied again if needed I suppose.

 

Just be wary that the hands can change colour with stabilisation.

I had an hour hand turn blue after it was stabilised.

 

The hand, or the lume? Your watchmaker must have used something very odd. I've had this done at least a dozen times, and I haven't experienced any substantial color change to the hands or the lume.

 

Sorry it was the lume! Not sure what he used but it was some sort of glue.

 

That sounds strange, I wonder what could have caused it, moisture maybe?.
I had the hands on this Autavia stabilised by my watchmaker about five years ago. I was reluctant at first, actually purchased a NOS hand set, very hard to find. In the end his stabilised hands matched the fade on the dial better than the brighter NOS and have had, touch wood, no issues since. BTW, the hands were orange to begin with

 

Here’s a before and after.

 

I’ve done it way more than that, and you can’t tell from the top of the hand.

If done properly, it won’t cause problems.

 

Had it done in the past on all my SM300s, as they were serviced. No problem at all, still no changes after 20 years.

 

The bigger question imo is stabilizing lume plots, which you can not obviously do from the backside.

 

I was wondering that to about lume plots on the dial. Has any one had luck stabilizing lume on the dial?

 

It's a much better option than having flaking lume get onto the dial or, worse, into the movement.

 

All I know is LAWW said "NO" to that; they do not stabilize lume on dials, just hands. That is only one shop but they specialize in those kind of services so if it could be done well I think they would do it.

 

It can be done, but has to be done carefully so extra stabilizer doesn't spread to the dial. It will often change the colour of the lume, making it slightly darker, and if the lume is very matte finished, it will probably look more shiny after.

 

Is the stain around the index on this dial a trace of stabilized lume intensity?

 

My view is that this is likely from water damage.