I suggest going to YouTube and doing a search on ‘repainting watch bezels’. There is some excellent information there on material, and more importantly, methods.

As an aside, I have a watch that has a sandwich dial and the numbers 6, 9, 12 were ‘empty’ and did not stand out enough for me. I wanted to fill in the numbers with paint and ended up using a water based latex paint (protection of being sealed in the watch under a sapphire crystal, lol). I stumbled upon the above YouTube methods that made an apparently impossible job on a small watch dial achievable.

Hope you have success! Regards


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

As a follow-up, here is an example of the sandwich dial I was referring to. Not my photo, but I filled the 6, 9, and 12 with a paint that matched my indices and watch hands. It really improved the look and the readability for me.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Filling Bezel Markers

I should add that I have one on the bench (TAG Cararra) with a pressed-on bezel that I don't indent to remove. The plan is to seal the cracks both inside and outside the insert with liquid latex (purchased in a tube at the local Party Central). I've used it before on electronics and it makes for a dry-on mask that keeps stuff out of the cracks but is easily removed afterward.

 

Wondering if anyone has ever repainted engraved bezel markings and numerals when original paint wore off.

If so were you satisfied with the results? What type of paint did you use? Any other details would be helpful.

The process from @ExpiredWatchdog is correct.

I work on plastic scale models and already have a collection of enamel paints which I used to fill in the bezel on my Casio Edifice. I “serviced” the watch myself. Cleaned it, gave it a minor polish and filled in the bezel markings (it was a chrono - so plenty of markings). Looks as good as new now.

I would encourage you to try it if you’re handy with fine motor skills. [emoji106]

 

The Doxa guys have been repainting their bezel numbers for years. There has been a number of threads there with various methods on how to do this.

 

I would let my watchmaker take care of this as opposed to me giving it a try and making it worse........

 

I got the super small paintbrush and enamel paint at a local hobby store to repaint mine--pretty happy with the results.

 

See what you can find on YouTube.

 

I have in the past repainted my old Aquaracer steel bezel which is quite similar to the Seiko Monster above. I used black Hammerite paint which is a very tough durable and quite thick paint. The thicker the paint, the easier it will be to handle for small delicate jobs. Thin runny paint will spread easily making it difficult to handle
You dont need the hands of a brain surgeon but do take care not to get paint in the crevice between bezel the watch case.
You could do as i did, with a baby cotton bud, dab a tiny amount of paint into the engraved marks. Don't worry about the excess paint, just allow it to thicken for a few minutes and (very) gently wipe off the excess using napthalene (Zippo or Ronsonol lighter fluid) on a folded tissue. The excess paint on top will easily wipe off leaving paint inside the indentations in place which will slowly 'sink' in as it dries.
You could try artist's acrylic paint that comes in a toothpaste type tube from art shops. These are thick with the consistency of toothpaste which makes them very easy to handle using the same technique. Note that this type of artists paint will take ages to dry so I'd leave it 48 hours or more before touching it again. I've used this type of paint to customise the look of some of my golf clubs and it came out well, but the paint retains some of its volume so doesn't sink in as much as it dries.
Hope that helps, good luck!

 

@Archer has talked about the Omega process; that taught to certified Omega watchmakers. It's basically lacquer followed by wiping off the excess with a rag dipped in solvent. You can read it here Which paint or enamel is suitable for filling CNC...

One drawback to lacquer is that it will forever be susceptible to solvent attack. Enamels and epoxies are not (epoxy is a thermosetting plastic, not sure about enamel). That was my thought in trying to develop a process for epoxy. It only comes off with epoxy remover or an soapy water-bath ultrasonic at 60C for thirty minutes.