Removing radioactive paint on vintage rolex

[ravenhome777]

Hello,

I was reading today about radioactive paint on vintage rolex watches. I told my watchmaker that I was concerned about the health risks associated with this radioactive paint. He said that he could remove it, and replace it with modern-day paint. I had a couple questions about this.

One, would it effect the value of the piece? Assuming it was done skillfully, artistically, and true to the original watch face (same color, ect).

Two, would it make it safer to wear? Would the radium still be throughout the watch causing a health risk, or would removing the paint pretty much take care of the health risks?

Is there anything else I should consider with updating the paint. We'd leave the rest of the dial as it is, just update the paint. There is a nice patina over the face of the dial.

Thanks!

[05carbondrz]

You will lose about 50% of the value.If your worried about it I would just sell it and buy a Tritium Watch.

[roh123]

Let’s see what you have and take it from there.

[Tools]

You would have to eat the dial (inhale or ingest the radium) for any serious health risk, so as long as your watch remains intact you are unlikely to see any affects.

[ravenhome777]

https://ibb.co/dCj2CU

[ravenhome777]

What if I had the original paint scraped off, and replaced it with Tritium which is the same color as the original paint?

You can still see the original lume on the "6". It looks like the color was pretty close to the color on the hands.

[roh123]

Dial is already refinished so do what feels best. Value will not be compronized as it is not the original lume to begin with. Are you sure it is radium and hot?

[ravenhome777]

Really? How can you tell it has already been refinished?

I'm not sure it is radium and hot. I could have my watch maker put a Geiger counter to it and see.

If it wasn't radioactive, and someone has already refinished it, then then would be pretty sweet actually. I like how the numbers are a bit deteriorated. To me, that looks vintage and original even if it isn't. I could live that that look, as long as I'm not going to get cancer from it. :-)

[Vlad]

Originally Posted by roh123

dial is already refinished so do what feels best. Value will not be compronized as it is not the original lume to begin with. Are you sure it is radium and hot?

+1

[MILGAUSS88]

Originally Posted by Tools

You would have to eat the dial (inhale or ingest the radium) for any serious health risk, so as long as your watch remains intact you are unlikely to see any affects.

Well, I guess I will have to stop licking the dials to tell if they are original or not.
I wish someone had told me sooner.

[R!$]

Originally Posted by ravenhome777

Hello,

I was reading today about radioactive paint on vintage rolex watches. I told my watchmaker that I was concerned about the health risks associated with this radioactive paint. He said that he could remove it, and replace it with modern-day paint. I had a couple questions about this.

One, would it effect the value of the piece? Assuming it was done skillfully, artistically, and true to the original watch face (same color, ect).

Two, would it make it safer to wear? Would the radium still be throughout the watch causing a health risk, or would removing the paint pretty much take care of the health risks?

Is there anything else I should consider with updating the paint. We'd leave the rest of the dial as it is, just update the paint. There is a nice patina over the face of the dial.

Thanks!

Pics please.

[sillo]

Originally Posted by R!$

Pics please.

He posted a link a little further up so I'll just embed it

[R.O.L.E.X]

Just sell the watch as the dial is refinished. Feels a lot nicer in the long-run.

[77T]

As far as refinishing the Arabic hour numbers, it could only improve the dial. A while ago (who knows how long ago?) someone butchered a refinish job.

Value won’t change up or down IMHO since it should have traded at a discount with the existing dial already.

Last thought on your last question - make sure to ask if his dial work would be better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ravenhome777]

Being that I am new to the watch world, could someone explain to me how I can identify that a dial has been refinished? To me, this looks original, but there must be some tell-tale signs that signify to you that it has been refinished.

I see that there is still some lume on the #6. Did the radioactive paint eat through the re-applied lume? Most of the #s look quite corroded.

Do you think it could have been refinished in a way to make it look corroded like that? Maybe only apply paint to certain areas of the numbers?

Also, the lower right corner paint is totally missing. To me that looks like it was from corrosion from the radioactive paint. Something happened there. To my eye, it looks interesting. One of the reasons I was attracted to the watch.

I purchased the watch, but I am returning it due to other issues. Well, I guess radioactivity was one of the issues.

Thanks

[Tomas Eriksson]

Originally Posted by ravenhome777

Being that I am new to the watch world, could someone explain to me how I can identify that a dial has been refinished? To me, this looks original, but there must be some tell-tale signs that signify to you that it has been refinished.

I see that there is still some lume on the #6. Did the radioactive paint eat through the re-applied lume? Most of the #s look quite corroded.

Do you think it could have been refinished in a way to make it look corroded like that? Maybe only apply paint to certain areas of the numbers?

Also, the lower right corner paint is totally missing. To me that looks like it was from corrosion from the radioactive paint. Something happened there. To my eye, it looks interesting. One of the reasons I was attracted to the watch.

I purchased the watch, but I am returning it due to other issues. Well, I guess radioactivity was one of the issues.

Thanks

That is not "corrosion from the radioactive paint", it is moisture/water intake that has caused the dial damage.

But that is less of concern, is it a genuine Rolex at all?

[ravenhome777]

It is a genuine Rolex. On the inside of the case it says "Oyster Watch Company" and RWC. It says Rolex on the other side of the movement. It's a Canadian Rolex. During this time period, they were kind of mixed up with other companies such as Aegler and Gruen. I think Rolex eventually purchased Aegler, but at this point they were just partners. That is one of the reasons I purchased the watch. I thought this early history was interesting.

That's interesting that you think it is water damage. So maybe at some point the gasket for the crown wasn't sealed properly and water got in and went to the bottom right corner.

[ravenhome777]

I also found this example on the web:

https://ibb.co/hE4r99
https://ibb.co/cky199

If you look closely, it looks like the area around the numbers have corroded the white paint.

Are we thinking that my numbers should have been totally black like this example, if it were original?

[ravenhome777]

Also, I'm not entirely sure the op post about having to "lick dials" to have a harmful effect from this paint is entirely accurate. I was reading the following website, and he says that even if you inhale a tiny fragment of dust while working on one of these watches, there is a very real potential for lung cancer:

http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/luminous.php

I think the op post was tongue-in-cheek of course, but I think this paint may be a bit more hazardous then we're letting on.