New (to me) Aerospace

[JDS (Ohio)]

I just received an Aerospace with enamel bezel from Paul (many thanks dude!).  It's probably not going to get a whole lot of wrist time, as I'll baby it due to the inability to get replacements for anything I bang up on it.  Notice how nice the condition of the bezel is?  That would be impossible to replace. 

The crystal has some small marks, which may be "buff-able".  There are some marks on the bracelet endpiece, but nothing so bad I can't deal with it, but if I ever see a set of those up for sale ...

Though the camera can't pick it up, I can actually see a faint glow on the hands and markers; the tritium is from the 60s after all.

Anyway, I'm truly liking the latest addition.

[jmh86325]

Fantastic Dial/Bezel color combo 

[jon p]

    man,what a beautiful GMT!! excellent condition and a like new bezel, what a find. is that the stretch bracelet? that bezel is probably worth $250.00 if you could replace it!!  WEAR IT and enjot it, just dont bang it against anything. so that is called the enamel bezel? i always call mine "the plastic insert bezel", and the painted metal ones "enamel".those are REALLY hard to find with ANY of the paint left, they chipped so bad and owners just took off the rest of the paint. GMT rocks, i am so lucky to have found a gold/ss with original full length bracelet a few years ago, that will never happen again, especially for $250.!!!

[incountry]

Great looking GMT; the bezel colors are a perfect frame for that rich looking black dial!  Enjoy it.   

[JDS (Ohio)]

.... so that is called the enamel bezel? i always call mine "the plastic insert bezel", and the painted metal ones "enamel".those are REALLY hard to find with ANY of the paint left, they chipped so bad and owners just took off the rest of the paint. GMT rocks, i am so lucky to have found a gold/ss with original full length bracelet a few years ago, that will never happen again, especially for $250.!!!

Well, I always assumed it was enamel; it doesn't look like plastic to me though.   I have a gray enamel bezeled Sea Wolf too, but the bezel edge on that one is brassed (like almost all of the ones I've seen).  Maybe Butch can shed some light on what it really was.  The bracelet is indeed the "stretch" model too, something else that is unobtainium these days. 

[Butch]

Acrylic.   

[JDS (Ohio)]

Acrylic.   

Really?  I wouldn't have guessed.  Then it's plastic after all.  I doubt that makes it any more "repairable".

[Offshore]

The material of choice in many early diver/GMT bezels was bakelite, some even still use it  today.
I assumed that is what these were.
I have almost the same one,



and it gives every appearance of that same bakelite finish to me.
Offshore

[Ultra-Vintage]

Very true, there were multiple early diver's that used Bakelite.  However, bakelite was not meant to take the beating that often comes with being part of a dive watch that truly gets used as it was designed to be used.  Bakelite cracks and chips much more easily than acrylic.  Have you seen how the original Rolex 6542 bezels look now?  The majority look like absolute crap.  With acrylic, the durability is better and we can refresh the surface to lessen the appearance of wear.  However, I would recommend leaving that to a professional as they are more familiar with protecting the overall integrity of the bezel and its colored design.

[JDS (Ohio)]

Maybe this is a question for Butch: how do they manage the text/numbers on the acrylic bezel insert, and the bicolor?  Is it printed on top of the acrylic surface, or is the surface first printed THEN sealed under a clear acrylic layer? 

I'd break out the microscope to get a better look, but my Aerospace is at home.

[Butch]

I was waiting for that!

Here is what I THINK they did with them. I think they poured the acrylic into a mold with the raised portions for the indices and triangle (SW & GMT). Then I think they did the 3 step paint (2 paint, 1 lum?) process, and damned if I know what kind of glue the used to put it into the bezel. But it looks to me like after they glued it in place they then crimped the sides of the top of the bezel inwards. Why do I think this?

Years ago I did have a SW bezel insert fall out in my hand. No shit. As it was in pretty sad condition I decided to restore it. I used lighter fluid to clean off all the paint, then I re-did the indices in one color, the triangle in another, and then painted it all over with the light blue. It looked really nice when I flipped it over and looked at it from the front. Then when I went to epoxy it back in and as soon as I put the glue on it all the paint ran off it onto the floor. <heavy sigh>

So, I cleaned it all off, repainted it in the 3 colors and sat there and thought about how to glue it back in without ruining the paint job. I finally used Elmer's White Glue. Worked like a champ and I still have it somewhere around here.

Now, before you start messing yours up, I have never been able to get one out of the bezel since and I have quit trying.

[jon p]

                  butch, thanks for the great info, i think you must be the only guy to have an insert just fall out! i have seen a lot of this bezel that have lost color on the back side but were  still in the bezel frame. post a pic of the one you repaired. i have fixed scratches on the OUTSIDE by polishing with mothers mag/aluminum wheel polish. it works great on stainless steel AND plastic crystals.

[Butch]

I could not tell you which one it is. I matched the paint so it looks like all the rest now.

[JDS (Ohio)]

It sucks that there is no one at the current Zodiac who could or would tell us how it was done, and how to restore them.

[Butch]

Ahh, that knowledge disappeared 3, if not, 4 owners ago.

[incountry]

Jon,
Here's another product that does well on plastics and acrylic surfaces.  In the past I have used PlastX from Meguiar's automotive for cleaning and polishing plastics and acrylics. It is not overly abrasive so you don't run the risk of damaging the surface.  It's good stuff. Thanks for the info on the bezels guys.

 http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g12310-plastx-clear-plastic-cleaner-polish/
   

[JDS (Ohio)]

Ahh, that knowledge disappeared 3, if not, 4 owners ago.

About what I thought, sigh.  It puts me in mind of a song:

Upon this street where time has died.
The golden treat you never tried.
In times of old, in days gone by...

A little Cream for your coffee.

[jon p]

incountry, thanks for the info! i have tried some mothers plastic polish, works pretty good but it IS a LIQUID and more messy to use than the mag wheel polish which is a paste. it is always good to try something new. right now i am looking for something to polish out the scratches on a remington apache black/chrome nylon 66 .22 rifle i just bought. the stock has a lot of over 40 years wear marks on it. i had some old turtle wax chrome polish and it did a good job on the plated metal receiver/barrel. oh well, i guess i shouldnt spend time on guns on a watch forum!!

[incountry]

Jon,
Nice....Nylon 66; brings back memories.  My friend had one, it had the white diamond inlay in the forearm.  We had a lot of fun plinking with it until we made the move from tin cans to shooting the neighbor's racing pigeons!!!  Good luck with yours and stay out of trouble.

[JDS (Ohio)]

Jon,
Nice....Nylon 66; brings back memories.  My friend had one, it had the white diamond inlay in the forearm.  We had a lot of fun plinking with it until we made the move from tin cans to shooting the neighbor's racing pigeons!!!  Good luck with yours and stay out of trouble.

I remember reading that those were popular with Eskimos, "back in the day", for shooting darned hear everything.  I bet that they had to be REAL precise if used on a bear.

[jon p]

john, yep, right in the ear!!  the nylon rifles are very dependable, require little to no maint.and are accurate. now days they are also very expensive to buy!! i feel lucky to have the 2, one black and one brown.

[JDS (Ohio)]

2?  Cool.  I think I've only ever seen the brown version, never the black.

[jon p]

    just picked up a GREEN stocked nylon 77 apache at my local gun shop today. a rare find, only made 1987-1989 and was special made for and only sold at K-MART stores back in the day. i would say its in 80% condition. it is 10 shot magazine fed where the nylon 66 was tube fed through the butt stock. this was a great find , i really dont think they knew exactly what they had!! i kept the ole "poker face" and got them DOWN 50.00 . when i walked out the door then the big grin hit my face.

[JDS (Ohio)]

You did make a score!  Not only had I never heard they'd made that version, I don't think Cincinnati area K-Marts still had guns in the sporting goods sections by the late '80s. 

[jon p]

i used to buy most of my ammo at k mart in the late 1970s-1980s, they had the best prices. these little nylon rifles sure are sweet shooting  .22s, short, light and VERY accurate. they look sharp and very unusual, mine always attract a lot of "what is that" attention at the indoor range!! a lot of younger shooters have never seen one since they stopped making them in the late 1980s. they are a good beginers .22 since they only weigh about 4.5 pounds and have excellent sights. thanks for your intrest, JOHN!!!

[incountry]

The next thing that you'll have to bring to the range is a Remington XP-100 in .221 Fireball.  That will have them looking!

[jon p]

  looked at one a few days ago, asking price was $500.++! it is an interesting "PISTOL" for sure.expensive hard to find ammo! sounds like you KNOW your guns.

[Butch]

Let's move back to watches guys. Thank you for understanding.

[jon p]

        sorry bout that BUTCH, we just got carried away on a different subject!! john, incountry,  check out rimfirecentral.com and nylonrifles.com . MY BAD.

[Butch]

No bad, no worries, thank you.

[JDS (Ohio)]

No bad, no worries, thank you.

Jon, I'll check it out.

Butch, my apologies, I found the subject interesting as those were pretty much contemporaries.