Restoring discolored dials - any suggestions?

[Sejoler]

Any thoughts, suggestions or solutions as to how a discolored dial can be restored?  I've seen a number of dials on older watches that have become discolored with age.  Particularly on light-colored dials, or metallic-finish dials.  Especially the metallic dials, whether silver, or in some nice metallic color, like blue, green or red, after 30 or so years, the shellac, or lacquer, or whatever resin was actually used as a presumably protective coating, has started to yellow, in some cases approaching a sickly shade of brown.
 
The reason I'm asking is that I think it would be nice to restore such a dial, rather than wiping it clean and re-doing it all from scratch.  Particularly when some of what would be getting wiped off is information you'd rather keep on the dial, like "Automatic", or "21 Jewels", or "150 m", or whatever.  The alternative, like I said, would be to wipe it clean and refinish the dial.  It's possible enough to re-do all the printing, but it'd also be a bit of a pain, not to mention that it probably would not match the original lettering.
 
I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on this.
 
TIA!
 

[pollyc]

The discolouration that effects old lacquer appears to run right through the lacquer and from my experimentation can not be removed.


I tend to leave lacquered dials well alone now in respect of cleaning them because they are so delicate and it's easy to end up in one of those 'oh why did I try that' type of situations.  Just a gentle soft cloth (lens cleaning cloth) and a bit of spit only.


If a dial is undamaged apart from fading I like it, and just leave as is.  Looks better than a badly cleaned one


Mike

[Sejoler]

Mike,
 
Thanks for the input.  I was afraid it might be something like that, but I was kind of hoping against hope that there might be some "magic bullet" out there.  Like a drop of chlorine on the tip of a cotton swab, maybe, or some similar solution.  Seems more and more the only solution is good ol' elbow grease and sweating bullets trying not to demolish an old dial in the process of making it look presentable again.
 
BTW, say Hi to Polly, and tell her I enjoy your (and her) posts!
 
Thanks again,
 
Victor