Found this Omega in a car that had been sitting in a forest for at least 20 years, what is it?
Clearly seen some moosture, but the case seems to be in very nice shape, all the corners are quite sharp. Original branded crown too.
View original on sopuli.xyz
Not nearly as bad as I expected
Looks like it's a 2990-1, but I can't find a picture of one without a Seamaster or Ranchero text. Also, the balance is moving freely. I think there's a chance it could be repairable.
It's the watch you bought twenty years from now, just before hopping into that car and getting sucked through a time vortex
It’s this Omega you found in a car that had been sitting in a forest for at least 20 years.
Is that 285 under the Omega sign on the movement? Calibre 285 from 1952 according to the serial number. That's gonna be a heck of a restoration job :)
Yup. I haven't yet touched it, I'm thinking of the best way to deal with what is very likely radium dust on the dial.
I have a decent Geiger counter these days (well, technically a dosimeter) for that. But in case of doubt, my recommendation is to submerge the dial in IPA, use Q-tips to wipe off the lume, flush IPA and double-wrap Q-tips before they dry then in the trash. It's quick and safe that way and you probably want to relume anyway.
Took me longer than I'd like to admit before I realized you were not referring to beer...
Borrowed a geiger counter from a friend and it is indeed radium. I'm just wondering how to even take the watch apart, the stem is stuck and probably something else too, and some of the lume has come off the dial. I thought about submerging the whole watch under water and removing the dial submerged, at least the dust can't go flying.
Submerge in IPA instead. It's less likely to damage the watch further. Or just go outside and put on a respirator :)
(after you remove the pallet fork, that is, that's the only part that can be damaged by IPA)
I'm worried about IPA damaging the already fragile looking dial. I've learnt to not use anything but water on dial fearing damage.
I've never seen IPA put anything but fats and greases into solution. I like IPA because it's hardly a stronger solvent than water (do not estimate how strong a polar solvent especially distilled/demineralized water is!) and no risk of corrosion.