Wow . . . the watch looks great and thank you so much for sharing the story.

Can we explain what is happening? I assume that the black paint has faded over time, so what is the oil actually doing? Do you only dab the oil on the faded area?

I hope that this dial will remain in this beautiful condition, over the long term. Please show us new photos in 2033!

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

: I thought I'd share this with you, as it may come in handy..

: I remember that our friend Bullitt had a wonderful 1st gen 2446
: Autavia beautifully restored by Italian specialists Martini..
: and the dial had some sort of 'oil' treatment to protect the
: paint/dial and also darkened it back to it's black colour - the
: difference was amazing.. read Bullitt's story here:
:
: http://www.chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?md=read;id=55488

: Here are Bullitt's photos.. Bullitt, I hope you don't mind me using
: your pics?

: Before and After of the Martini dial 'oiling' process..
:

:

: .

: Now fast forward to now...
: I have a 980.006L diver that has some 'shadowing' on the dial..
: basically dark 'shadows' of the hands on the lightly faded dial,
: where the hands must have stopped for some considerable time. I
: don't know if this was caused by the watch being stopped in a
: shop window in sunlight, or it's from the lume material
: 'burning' the dial surface. Either way, it left shadows at 5:42
: on the dial. I had this watch for sale, but not had much
: interest, due to the poor dial. Understandable really.

: I thought that this dial darkening/oiling technique could work on
: my divers dial.. but I don't know of any specialist in the UK
: that uses this technique, plus I didn't know how it is done.

: My diver.. you can see the dark shadowing at 5:42 on the
: dial..

:
:
: .
: .

: The restoration...
: On Saturday I decided to throw caution to the wind, and have a go
: myself.. maybe a stupid decision, but I was intrigued to know if
: it would work, plus I decided that a replacement dial was
: probably needed anyway.. (if I could find one). I have a fine
: art background, so I'm not a stranger to a steady hand and fine
: detail, plus I have lots of equipment, fine sable brushes, etc,
: that I thought I could use...

: I used household '3-in-1 multi-purpose' oil.. and dropped a tiny
: amount in a small container. Despite all my brushes etc, I ended
: up using a tightly rolled up sheet of tissue paper, rolled up
: and twisted to a point. I dipped the end in the oil, dabbing
: away any excess on a sheet of paper. There really was a
: miniscule amount on there and tested it on the very edge of the
: dial. It did darken it, and.. so I tried it on a section with
: minute marking, seem to be all good, so after waiting half an
: hour, I took the plunge.

: I used the same technique...very lightly repeatedly dabbing the tip
: onto the dial is small sections, about 5mm square.. then gently
: 'blended' the oil into the dial surface with a cotton bud, which
: created an even finish and also removed any excess oil. I
: repeated this process over the entire dial, replacing the cotton
: buds as they got a bit 'fluffy' after a few uses.

: The results were amazing, giving the dial a very slightly off-matt
: satin look with the darker original dial colour restored. I took
: the photos below in natural light on the window sill, as you can
: see, there is no trace of the shadow marks on the dial. I left
: the dial un-cased overnight, and it was still the same.. I
: re-case the dial and it looks great. The only downside is dust
: specs.. usually a watchmakers 'blower' will get rid of dust, but
: the oiled dial required any dust gently wiping away with more
: cotton buds.. it's a careful and gentle process, but it does
: work. Please note, the patina on the lume isn't due to the oil,
: it was like that already.

: Here are the results, please excuse any dust specs!...

:
:

:
:

:
:

:
:

: Thanks
: Stewart
: - Heuerville