# Okeah... Polished Or Brushed? - Help!



## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Like the stubborn person that I am, I'm sticking with my Okeah. I though about selling it because it was nothing but trouble from the very beginning (CC problem during payment, long wait in customs, lost the 9 crown, chapter ring moving too easily, chrono hands not aligning, date broken...). The last thing was a dislodged pallet jewel and I've spent the whole Saturday afternoon fixing that. So I've figured I have putted too much trouble and time on this watch to just let it go.

Anyway, as some of you know, my biggest problem wearing it is that I could never find the proper strap for it. Blue makes it "too blue", black seems out of place and any other colour won't work. So I've decided to try a SS bracelet or a mesh.

My question to those that have tried it on steel is... what exactly is predominant finish of these cases? Sides and lugs are polished but the face has a brushed sunburst finish. I don't think it is as brushed as your regular brushed finish but still...

What say you? Brushed or polished bracelet?


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## Draygo (Mar 18, 2010)

Brushed. Every time.

But given your new-found finishing skills, you could buy polished, give it a go and - if you don't like it - just re-finish it


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Draygo said:


> But given your new-found finishing skills, you could buy polished, give it a go and - if you don't like it - just re-finish it


My fingertips are still recovering from that!!

Brushed is probably a safer bet, even if it doesn't match, it will allow the watch head to stand out on it's own. A completely polished bracelet also seems a bit to blingy for me.

Brushed it is, thanks Dave!! :thumbsup:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)




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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Try it on a NATO?









Not to sure on the brushed bracelet here. Mines on a dark blue strap with white stitching and I think it looks great.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Lampoc said:


> Not to sure on the brushed bracelet here. Mines on a dark blue strap with white stitching and I think it looks great.


Been there, done that... I've probably bought as many straps for this watch alone as all the others combined. And I just can't wear a blue strap... I know it's hard to understand but that's the way it is... I like to see them on photos, I think that a blue strap is the right way to go... but I can't wear them. Pretty much like the NATO straps you've mentioned.

My theory with the SS bracelet is that dial is predominately silver but the blue dominates. Maybe with a bracelet I can invert that...










That's a nicked photo of an Okeah on a Watchadoo (pretty much the same as the Super Engineer).

Hey, it has to work!!! Either that or I'm stuck with a watch I'm not willing to sell and not willing to wear!! :wallbash:


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Brushed & polished bracelet then?










p.s. you know I was just joking about the NATO


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## Vaurien (Jul 19, 2010)

Lampoc said:


> p.s. you know I was just joking about the NATO




Ivan e l'Okean di AVaurien, su Flickr


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Lampoc said:


> Brushed & polished bracelet then?


Too late, Super Engineer incoming. I actually think I got carried away there, I could have sworn it was a thinner bracelet, I was probably looking at the figures from some other bracelet. I suspect 4,7mm thick is way too much for this watch, plus there's the lug hight problem... We'll see in a couple of weeks. Untill then, it's going back to this old one:










I also got my hands fitting tool today as the one I had doesn't do well with those little subdial hands. So I'll be fixing the date, I never worked.



Vaurien said:


>


 :inlove: Kiiiiityy, kitty, kitty, kitty!

Ivan, is it?


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Brushed , & I think the bracelet is the way to go,

how much are they mate?

Cheers Martin


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

martinzx said:


> Brushed , & I think the bracelet is the way to go,
> 
> how much are they mate?
> 
> Cheers Martin


I'll PM you but they are relatively cheap for what they are.


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## Vaurien (Jul 19, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> :inlove: Kiiiiityy, kitty, kitty, kitty!
> 
> Ivan, is it?


Ivan (the FAT cat) wish you best things, buying your bracelet :thumbup:


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## Draygo (Mar 18, 2010)

Vaurien said:


> Kutusov said:
> 
> 
> > :inlove: Kiiiiityy, kitty, kitty, kitty!
> ...


Ivan knows a good watch/strap combination when he sees one :thumbsup:


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

i have this Zeno on a polished lumpy but don't wear it because of the shine,i like brushed i should de shine it,but it's hard work in it.










bowie


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Draygo said:


> Ivan knows a good watch/strap combination when he sees one :thumbsup:


I'm not so sure... Ivan doesn't look all that convinced, he's being very careful about it... 

...and Anna, is he really that fat?



bowie said:


> i have this Zeno on a polished lumpy but don't wear it because of the shine,i like brushed i should de shine it,but it's hard work in it.


Yes and no... (I seem to be giving these sort of highly enlightening answeres recently  ). The brush process is quite easy and straightforward. A couple of passes over a green Scotch Brite pad is enough. The problem is that with a lumpy, each link is curved so you it's a bit more complicated. The way I did it with the pilot-style bracelet was by starting with the surfaces between the links. You can fold the bracelet and brush those segments one by one. You end up with the top side because that will get rid of the irregular hairlines you'll end up with from the first phase.

There's not much to it, the only thing to know is that you want to make a full passage of the bracelet surface over the pad on a straight line. The easiest way to achieve this is by holding the pad to a table with a double sided tape. That way you have a steady brushing base and both hands free to control the movement.


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## Vaurien (Jul 19, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> Draygo said:
> 
> 
> > Ivan knows a good watch/strap combination when he sees one :thumbsup:
> ...


Much more! Now he's 5,2 kg heavy.











Kutusov said:


> bowie said:
> 
> 
> > i have this Zeno on a polished lumpy but don't wear it because of the shine,i like brushed i should de shine it,but it's hard work in it.
> ...


That's VERY interesting! The use of double sided tape.... I wouldn't have thought it, by myself :duh:

Thanks for all these useful tips :good: ... and... I could thank you, teaching how to weigh a fat cat.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Vaurien said:


> Much more! Now he's 5,2 kg heavy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That IS a fat cat!! I love cats and had cats since I was a kid (well, if you know cats, you'll also know that the truth is that they own you...). I haven't had one for a few years now since an ex took the cat with her :thumbsdown: . But I think the heaviest cat I've had was 4.5Kg and I though he was fat! The way I weighted them was by placing them on a kitchen scale 

Oh, and Anna... I didn't thought about the double sided tape either, that was a tip I found on some forum while goggling on how to do it, so no credit to me  All I can tell you is that it is a great tip and you'll be very impressed with the results! It's a great way to refinish a very scratched brushed watch.

You can also use a fibreglass pen (scratch pen as some ebay sellers call it) for small marks and tinny areas. I don't think it works all that well, plus the pen leaves hundreds of tinny fibres flying around and when they eventually land on your skin, those shards hitch like hell! And I bet they do wanders to your lungs too because you'll end up inhaling most of them...


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

thanks kutusov for how too do the job,might have ago in the Xmas hols will have to do the watch also but don't want to scratch the glass.

bowie


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

bowie said:


> thanks kutusov for how too do the job,might have ago in the Xmas hols will have to do the watch also but don't want to scratch the glass.
> 
> bowie


Doesn't seem hard not to scartch it... You can remove the bezel and that will leave you a lot of space between the side of the case and the crystal. You can also mask the crystal with tape in case you slip. One thing though... the method of brushing the bracelet won't work with the case. As the case is round, you'll end up stopping your motion half way through to get a better grip. It's better to cut a little square and work with it free. The important thing to remember is that you can not stop half way through (I haven't done cases but it seems to me that having the case fixed and the pad free is the way to go... basically the reverse set-up from brushing a bracelet).

The bezel can also be done that way but make sure you remove the insert first... and there's no money back from me if you end up with a watch that seems to have been run down by a buffalo stampede


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

The bracelet is here and... it doesn't fit  I was afraid of that... this reissue cases and their lugs are a pain! First of all, the lugs aren't even and in some areas they are more 19mm than 20mm. Doesn't matter with a strap but with a bracelet... :wallbash: Second, those raised things on top of the lugs... seems the bracelet might be too high for that.

The watch is on dry dock anyway, so the bracelet is the last thing to deal with. Will give me loads and loads of fun tapering it with a Dremel though :butcher: 

BTW, those Super Engineer bracelets are excellent!! Really solid and heavy and very well finished! ...shame I'll have to put my blacksmith skills to it


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