I would never consider having a dial repainted but I am open to cleaning a dial up by removing the old varnish and having it revarnished. This is a very common practice in the art world and is not seen as materially changing a painting and does not affect value. In fact, it is often encouraged for older pieces. Do you feel the same rule applies to watches? Initially I was worried that these dials had been transfer printed but all these dials dating from the 1940s appear to have been screen printed. I would not suggest removing the varnish from a transfer printed dial. These are my attempts at cleaning some dials before and after. They have not been revarnished yet and I would welcome any hints or suggestions for this step.
The materials used were a boiling water dip for 60 seconds, earbuds and toothpicks. I try to avoid chemicals but have had results from very dilute washing up liquid with boiling water. Also as you can see, the top two dials appear to be dented. These were caused by the previous owner attempting to remove the dial without removing the fixing screws at the side of the movement. I read somewhere that these can be removed or improved by an eraser tipped pencil pushing out the indentation. You may also note a change in the colour of the dial. I believe that this is due to the reflection of light which would have previously been diffused by the original varnish. The appearance should more closely resemble the original once varnish is reapplied. Any suggestions for revarnishing techniques would be welcome.
Very nice results! This would make a watch far more wearable for me than the discolored, moldy appearing original state. Could you provide a bit more detail as to how and when you use the earbuds and toothpicks? Well done!
Watchguy UK had a tutorial on his website and he used an airbrush similar to what model makers use to spray the varnish on the dials: http://watchguy.co.uk/cleaning-and-preserving-original-finish-on-dials/
You use the earbuds to rub off the remaining varnish once you see it starting to detach from the dial in the water. You take the dial out of the water and pat it dry. Make sure the buds are moist. The toothpicks are used for the bits of varnish that are in the crevaces of the numbers and logo. Also for some stubborn dirt marks you can use a soft white eraser but it leaves behind a slight residue so be sure to wipe that off again with a damp bud. Also try to make sure the toothpicks are wet as that softens them a bit.
Aah. Makes sense then. I need to grab up a few beater watches to play with. I’d love to disassemble and reassemble one, but I’d sure not want to practice on anything worth more than about a hundred bucks.
So I tried my technique again on another dial. This time it was a bit of a disaster. The “omega” logo and “swiss made” lettering slipped off. They seem to have been transfers like you used to get on airfix model plane kits. I couldnt understand why the numbers and minute track were still intact so decided to look at the dial under 60x magnification (i was an idiot and should have really done this beforehand). It would appear that this dial had been embossed by a template and printed/painted with the minutes and hours . Youll notice that in the process of cleaning the bottom of number “12” was lost. This was due to the embossing not being deep enough and the paint not adhering sufficently. Maybe this info would be of interest to someone. I’d also like to recommend the tool I used to see at this magnification. It was a currency detector microscope and they only cost about £5 on amazon just do a search. They are pretty cheaply made being an all plastic construction but its a useful tool to have.
That last one isn't bad enough for me to want it cleaned. Boiling water sounds severe. I tried cleaning an old Mondiane dial that was green with filth. I started with baby oil, that achieved nothing. Then I went to water; it took off all printing & only half the filth. I left it at that.
Oh the pics dont do it justice. The varnish was flaking off the dial in bits and if I hadnt removed it it would have clogged up the mechanism eventually.