# Polywatch GLASS polish review



## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

Normally I change glass crystals if possible, but if they are fancy (i.e not round) and may not be easy to get I bought some PolyWatch Glass polish to try.

It is about £15 a set, so not that cheap. I have done two glasses and I might have enough for a third watch. I might not. So it isn't as cheap as the acrylic polish which does loads of watches.



In the box you get a wooden stick, two syringes of paste (one repair and one finish) and a cleaning cloth. You also get instructions. You are better to read them in full, but basically you polish using the repair paste for 3 minutes, repeating if necessary, and then spend a further three minutes using the finish paste in the same method.

Before the effort



and after



The scratches are still there, but much better. So it doesn't leave a perfect finish, but if you can not get a glass then it could be considered as an option.


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## jsud2002 (Nov 7, 2015)

Looks like a good investment and certainly made the scratches less obvious.

Did you have to tape off the casing on the watch ?


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## Padders (Oct 21, 2008)

I have tried it too. It'll even work on sapphire but will take an order of magnitude longer to work. Yes I would mask off anything you don't want being abraded.


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

WOW!


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

jsud2002 said:


> Looks like a good investment and certainly made the scratches less obvious.
> 
> Did you have to tape off the casing on the watch ?


 yes, tape off any areas not being polished (including other parts of the glass!)



Padders said:


> I have tried it too. It'll even work on sapphire but will take an order of magnitude longer to work. Yes I would mask off anything you don't want being abraded.


 Blimey - it was hard enough on glass!


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

WOW. that may be similar to valve lapping compound.


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

vinn said:


> WOW. that may be similar to valve lapping compound.


 it is a not dissimilar feel, although I haven't lapped in valves since I was at college in the early 1990s


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

Isn't this similar to that polishing paste/cream/powder thing ? Has anyone tried any of that ?


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

That does seem amazing, dear Scott. May I just ask - not to be critical of you, please note - whether the actual photograph of the treated watch appears a bit less free of scratches than is the actual case. I only ask because the lighting in the first picture of the watch reveals clearly the scratches from wear on the metal bezel/case, whereas these are markedly absent on the photo of the watch with the glass polished. I am certainly not doubting your words about the effectiveness of the polywatch glass polishing kit, but I ask because that pic of the polished crystal seems like a miracle cure. Are there any indications as to the ingredients of the polishing kit, and is it wholly an abrasive or is their a chemical element to its properties.


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

I think it is just an abrasive Honor.

The photos were taken with the same phone, but different locations and lighting - the second photo is natural light and the first is at Cambridge services this morning. I haven't touched the case scratches (it's gold plated so neither would I!)


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

> That does seem amazing, dear Scott. May I just ask - not to be critical of you, please note - whether the actual photograph of the treated watch appears a bit less free of scratches than is the actual case. I only ask because the lighting in the first picture of the watch reveals clearly the scratches from wear on the metal bezel/case, whereas these are markedly absent on the photo of the watch with the glass polished. I am certainly not doubting your words about the effectiveness of the polywatch glass polishing kit, but I ask because that pic of the polished crystal seems like a miracle cure. Are there any indications as to the ingredients of the polishing kit, and is it wholly an abrasive or is their a chemical element to its properties.


 I think with any glass it will be the abrasive. a polish for plastic crystals could be chemical. vin


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

scottswatches said:


> Normally I change glass crystals if possible, but if they are fancy (i.e not round) and may not be easy to get I bought some PolyWatch Glass polish to try.
> 
> It is about £15 a set, so not that cheap. I have done two glasses and I might have enough for a third watch. I might not. So it isn't as cheap as the acrylic polish which does loads of watches.
> 
> ...


 $20 U.S.. vin


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## Padders (Oct 21, 2008)

It isn't snake oil for those of you feeling skeptical. The action is physical abrasion via micro particles of diamond dust, AFAIK there is no chemical action at all.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Thanks guys for those helpful answers. I hope and presume that because the micro-diamond particles are embedded in a glutinous sort of paste, and the job is hand-done and therefore slow, there is no ingestion or inhalation of said micro-particles. One aspect of micro-polishing tools like the Dremel that bothers me a bit is the thought of inhaling the dust involved in the polishing process. I know it may seem that I am being a bit fussy but my mind always harks back to the research I did into the history of cut glass, where the cutters died young from inhaling the dust from their labours at the cutting and polishing wheels.


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

I used to paint the crystal with clear nail varnish, then when I got scratched up, remove it and reapply a new coat.


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## A2orry (Apr 22, 2018)

Major improvement you said 3 minutes for each polish. Looks to me you spent 3 and half hours on it .only joking .


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## stdape (Mar 9, 2018)

Regarding the Dremel, you could wear a mouth mask. The finish is great on the polywatch, expensive but as an expensive watch worth it. Not a good thing for cheaper watches.


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## A2orry (Apr 22, 2018)

If I was trying this think I'd mask the bezel .you'd be a big bit psd off you made it worse.


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

I remember now. there is a mineral that has been used for years for polishing lenses. zinc oxide ? some oxide, available at the drug store, not 20 bucks. I should look that up. an optometrist used it on the glass crystal on one of my old pocket watches. vin


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## MyrridinEmrys (Sep 27, 2017)

vinn said:


> I remember now. there is a mineral that has been used for years for polishing lenses. zinc oxide ? some oxide, available at the drug store, not 20 bucks. I should look that up. an optometrist used it on the glass crystal on one of my old pocket watches. vin


 Cerium Oxide. :thumbsup:


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## Cassie-O (Apr 25, 2017)

I got a tube of this today. Still to try it, so will write back when I have tried it!


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## stdape (Mar 9, 2018)

Yet to try this. I noticed on the watch after done, looked like a scratch between the 9 and 10, until i looked again was a hair from your arm


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## Salt (May 20, 2018)

will this work on arclyic crystals too?


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

Salt said:


> will this work on arclyic crystals too?


 normal polywatch is for acrylic crystals and it does a great job


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## rubbatiti (May 5, 2018)

I've used Autosol before on some really badly scratched crystals. Works well too.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

rubbatiti said:


> I've used Anusol before on some really bad....... Works well too.


 I concur!

:biggrin:

:thumbsup:


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## sumogg (Aug 8, 2021)

Cassie-O said:


> I got a tube of this today. Still to try it, so will write back when I have tried it!


 I know its a 3 year old thread, but I am curious to know if you tried it and it worked? - I am looking at buying this for a scratched up Casio DW-1000 and wanting to know if it will work.

Thanks


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

sumogg said:


> I know its a 3 year old thread, but I am curious to know if you tried it and it worked? - I am looking at buying this for a scratched up Casio DW-1000 and wanting to know if it will work.
> 
> Thanks


 I use Solvol Autosol, works brilliantly.


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## sumogg (Aug 8, 2021)

Alpha550t said:


> I use Solvol Autosol, works brilliantly.


 Does that work even for mineral glass? I've used Polywatch normal for plastic/acrylic (which generally works well) but I haven't tried this Polywatch Mineral Glass polisher.


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

sumogg said:


> Does that work even for mineral glass? I've used Polywatch normal for plastic/acrylic (which generally works well) but I haven't tried this Polywatch Mineral Glass polisher.


 I tried the Polywatch glass polish on light scratches on a 1970s Certina quartz watch. I followed the instructions and had several attempts, but I don't think it made any difference at all. Mind you, I don't know what type of glass is in it, but I'd be surprised if it was anything special.


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## sumogg (Aug 8, 2021)

spinynorman said:


> I tried the Polywatch glass polish on light scratches on a 1970s Certina quartz watch. I followed the instructions and had several attempts, but I don't think it made any difference at all. Mind you, I don't know what type of glass is in it, but I'd be surprised if it was anything special.


 Yes - thats what I am half expecting if I was to buy this stuff. I'm no glass expert, but I epxect it might work better on some 'softer' glass materials, but equally it could be useless against other glass 'types'. I just don't know if this will be effective against my Casio. Its only a 10 quid on Cousins so I may just take the plunge and see.


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## Cassie-O (Apr 25, 2017)

sumogg said:


> I know its a 3 year old thread, but I am curious to know if you tried it and it worked? - I am looking at buying this for a scratched up Casio DW-1000 and wanting to know if it will work.
> 
> Thanks


 Sorry, only just noticed this. Polywatch didn't do anything for my scratches.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Cassie-O said:


> Sorry, only just noticed this. Polywatch didn't do anything for my scratches.


 It only works on plexi glass or acrylic or whatever it's called these days. It brought the plexi up a treat on an old GMT I had, looked like new.

For glass and possibly sapphire and the like some sort of diamond paste with a bit of effort will work, better if you have a motorised cloth buffer, which we had, or a dremel.

We used this at work, you can get cheap ebay stuff but having tried it it's not a patch on the proper professional metalographic kit. There was a lot of watches and various other items polished during lunch breaks.

:laughing2dw: :laughing2dw:










You can get it right down to 1micron which on steel will give a mirror finish.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

As an asides for anybody that's interested you can buy the diamond polish in ready made suspension solutions which doesn't need lubricant.

https://www.buehler.com/diamond-suspensions-and-paste.php










Another professional supplier we used was Kemet


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Cassie-O said:


> Polywatch didn't do anything for my scratches.


 [IMG alt="CUSHTY!" data-ratio="75.13"]https://44.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpw091SkeN1qj9s1io1_400.gif[/IMG]

May I suggest...

[IMG alt="Germolene Antiseptic Cream (30g Tube) | PharmacyKwik" data-ratio="100.00"]https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0221/2572/products/Germolene_30g.jpg?v=1568918930[/IMG]

You're welcome :thumbsup:

:tongue:


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## Mart (Sep 2, 2010)

You can get various grades of diamond paste off the bay. I've used them before to polish crystals. Long winded job.


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## Bricey (Apr 7, 2021)

Good results, but as I gave up and sold an acrylic covered watch with a scratch as I made no noticeable improvement in 5-10 minutes of scrubbing with poly watch (and was already bitching about my thumbs) I think I'm probably not the target audience.


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## Richard734 (Jul 17, 2019)

AutoGlym Super Resin polish, and/or Glass Polish. SRP is my go to to fix stuff  works on plastics, painted surfaces etc. Fills the gaps with 'resin' which then polishes up lovely.

I 'Think' the glass polish is an abrasive, but I must admit I am out and i cant remember the last time i used it.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

If your hardened crystal is flat and stands proud of the case/bezel, get a piece of plate glass, put the paste on the glass then lap the crystal (watch head face down) on the plate glass/paste. It makes the process more uniform than doing it with a cloth and fingers. As always, practice/try anything like this out on something that doesn't matter first.


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