# Acrylic Polish Pictorial



## pg tips

I was polishing up an acrylic and I thought Iâ€™d do a picture story to show how I do it. Most of you regulars will probably have similar methods but I thought it might be useful for newbies and lurkers.

The watch to be fettled is the boys Timex non date that Neil sourced for me.

In the Beginning










I start by looking in which direction the majority of scratches run, you want to start by going across the scratches as much as possible. DO NOT GO IN CIRCLES. Looking at this watch the best direction that goes across most of the scratches looks to be from 8 to 2.

So very carefully, taking care not to scratch the bezel or case, take a small piece of 400 grade wet and dry paper, use it dry and gently rub back and forth in the chosen direction. Every 10 seconds or so stop, rub off the dust with your thumb and check to see if you need to go deeper, you want a nice even sanding across the whole crystal so no scratches are visible. Sometimes you will see deeper nicks as they stand out white (like at 1 below).










If this is the case then go a little further on that spot until it has gone. On domed crystals you may have to run the wet and dry around the edge to remove scratches.

Once you have a nice even finish you need to move up to 1200 grade wet and dry. Sand at 90 degrees to the direction you used the 400 so in this case from 11 to 5. This shouldnâ€™t take long, again use your thumb to remove the dust and check for a nice even sanding.


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## pg tips

Now to polish.

I use good old household Brasso and a Vileda cloth folded twice on itself (so itâ€™s 4 layers thick).










Place the cloth on a hard level surface and pour a small amount of Brasso in the middle.










Now place the watch face down in the Brasso and vigorously rub back and forth (again no circles).










There is no need to press the watch hard down into the cloth, in fact you could crack the crystal doing this so just keep a light pressure and nice and fast back and forth. The fast rubbing actually melts the surface of the acrylic which is what gives it such an even polish when finished.

Pay particular attention to the edges, you may have to move the watch to an angle of 45 degrees to do this. Keep going all over, as long as you go back and forth you can go in all directions, i.e. 12 to 6, 9 to 3 etc until itâ€™s had a good polish up. Then get a dry cloth and rub away the left over Brasso and you should have a nicely polished good as new crystal.

The finished crystal

this picture isn't the best as I've taken it under artificial light but it shows how good the polishing is. YES IT IS THE SAME WATCH!










Hope this has been of help.


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## pg tips




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## jasonm

Wow...Great job Paul!!









We should put all these 'Tips tips' in one place...


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## ESL

Nice post PG.

Always scares me a bit to see the 400 grit "after" shot.


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## pg tips

ESL said:


> Nice post PG.
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 I remember the 1st time I did it george after reading about this method. Though Oh my god what have I done, but once you've done a couple you get a feel for it and can knock em out in a few minutes.

Mineral grystals are possible (as Bry has shown) but take a hell of a lot more sanding and elbow grease!


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## Stan

That's one hell of a good job PG.









I discovered Mer is good for a final buff up today after polishing me G10 crystals.

It's safe on plastic, at least that's what it said on the bottle.


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## hakim

Wow!









Great post PG. Thanks!


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## Guest

Top man PG!

Fantastic job on the Timex.

That will be an invaluable resource for newbies and even many old hands.


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## Roy

Well done Paul,


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## bry1975

Excellent Job Paul









Have you polished any mineral lenses, the first one for me was Torture









Regards

Bry



Roy said:


> Well done Paul,
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## pg tips

I've done a couple of minerals Bry (didn't I show you that Richo qtz?) but as you say torture. Have to be flat (don't even attempt a domed one) and lots and lots of back and forth. Might be easier on a belt sander but I'm not that brave and I never did get a perfect finish.


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## Mal52

Top Tip PG

Great result

Cheers Mal


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## bry1975

Paul,

I didn't know you refurbed the Ricoh. Did you use Ce02 to polish the mineral? Domed crystals aint to bad actually, just gotta use machine power

How is the Ricoh for accuracy, bet it keeps good time?

Regards

Bry


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## pg tips

Just an add on if you get just the one scratch you don't have to go over the whole crystal with the Wet and Dry, Just sand at rightangles to the scratch, if it's not too deep you can get away with just the 1200.

Then use the brasso. I've not tried Mer Stan but like every member of the male population over a certain age I have some in the garage somewhere so I'll give it a try.

Polywatch is very good if you just want to give it a quick buff up if it's dulled down a bit. It will not remove deep scratches on it's own though. Roy is the cheapest supplier of polywatch in the world, I think!


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## jasonm

> That will be an invaluable resource for newbies and even many old hands


How about it Paul? Worthy of being 'pinned' I reckon


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## pg tips

Well that's up to the boss, the problem with pinning stuff is eventually you end up having to scroll down pages to get to the live threads. Annoys the tits off me on other forum when I see a whole page of pinned threads.

Maybe a hints and tips Forum?


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## Roy

Hints and tits Forum ?


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## jasonm

Bints and tits?


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## devs

Hi all just thought I'd post a couple of before and after shots of my recent purchase that I'm trying to bring back to life... As you can see its quite an improvement thanks to PGs great tips 



















Cheers,

Devs


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## pg tips

WOW! Way to go Devs! That's made me really chuffed knowing that the time I spent in putting together the tips has helped you bring that f300 to life!


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## pugster

nice job devs ,easier than trying to polish a mineral glass aint it


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## devs

Yeah cheers PG I found it really helpful and am very happy with the results! Its almost back to life now just a question regarding its battery but I'll post that on another thread.

pugster


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## fredbloggs

Great description.. though I doubt that the friction of moving the watch back and forth will "melt" the acrylic.. you need about 270degF to start melting it..... and about 115-240Â°F to soften it..

I think..


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## pg tips

just what I read elsewhere Freb, mind you the speed I rub I'm suprised I haven't put a hole in one yet


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## hotmog

This is the kind of thing I wish I'd known about 30-odd years ago! My father scratched the acrylic on his brand new Explorer 1 (Â£310 from Leslie Davies) within a couple of days of getting it, when putting the bins out one night. He was absolutely mortified, and lost confidence in it to such an extent that he agreed soon after to swap it for my Tudor Ranger II + Â£50. I soon came to accept as a fact of life that, due to the nature of its material and its prominent position on the watch, the crystal inevitably attracted scratches. Knowing no better, I would resign myself to having to wait 3-4 years for its next service before I would again be able view the watch restored to its pristine glory.


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## pg tips

I have a colleague who flies light aircraft in a club, he caught me polishing a timex the other day and asked what I was doing so I explained. Ah that would explain the brasso type smell in the plane after it's been serviced he said, they use a similar method to get the scratches out of the acrylic windows!


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## raketakat

Have you finished your watch box Paul







?

I must have missed it







.


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## pg tips

No Ian too busy with other things I'm afraid.


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## deano42

PG

I hear the call of Blue Peter calling you...first the IKEA photo box and now the Brasso crystal polishing.!

Thanks for the tutorial

deano


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## devs

Whats this photo box I keep hearing about any links?

Need to take a look


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## pg tips

they mean this devs CLICK HERE

so far I've filled it up but done nothing else, it needs lining and varnishing


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## devs

Good work mate - I'll hold off on that one though untill I've got a few more watches together 

Good Luck.


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## Nalu

devs second "after" photo reminds me of a method I use to find residual subtle scratches: look at the watch in sunlight from an angle. Even small scratches will cast a shadow on the dial (esp white or silver) that can help you spot them.

Great post, PG!


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## Barryboy

Interesting post but I', not sure I'd be brave enough.....


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## williamsat

Thanks Paul, tried this for the first time today, it worked great with fantastic results.


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## grey

pg tips said:


> Now to polish.
> 
> I use good old household Brasso and a Vileda cloth folded twice on itself (so itâ€™s 4 layers thick).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Place the cloth on a hard level surface and pour a small amount of Brasso in the middle.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now place the watch face down in the Brasso and vigorously rub back and forth (again no circles).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There is no need to press the watch hard down into the cloth, in fact you could crack the crystal doing this so just keep a light pressure and nice and fast back and forth. The fast rubbing actually melts the surface of the acrylic which is what gives it such an even polish when finished.
> 
> Pay particular attention to the edges, you may have to move the watch to an angle of 45 degrees to do this. Keep going all over, as long as you go back and forth you can go in all directions, i.e. 12 to 6, 9 to 3 etc until itâ€™s had a good polish up. Then get a dry cloth and rub away the left over Brasso and you should have a nicely polished good as new crystal.
> 
> The finished crystal
> 
> this picture isn't the best as I've taken it under artificial light but it shows how good the polishing is.
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> Hope this has been of help.


Thanks Paul,

After the initial terror of the 400 paper, it becomes truly therapeutic. Tried it on a Seiko 7625 I gave to SWMBO in 1968 and which has never been treated before. Incredible result (unfortunately not good at photos).

Graham


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## pg tips

I'm so glad my efforts were of help


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## salmonia

pg tips said:


>


WOWOWOW!!!

GREAT JOB!!

Thanks for the tip!
























salmonia


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## Nalu

Another Polywatch 'Before and After' success story! This is a vintage Ploprof bezel which had seen better days yet still had good lume:



















And after: _wabi_ is still present, but the microscratches are gone, the bezel is an inky black, and much more clear


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## Wien

Nice post! Can we use Brasso for polishing cases, too? I mean stainless steel or other base metal ones.


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## nursegladys

pg tips said:


> Well that's up to the boss, the problem with pinning stuff is eventually you end up having to scroll down pages to get to the live threads. Annoys the tits off me on other forum when I see a whole page of pinned threads.
> 
> Maybe a hints and tips Forum?





Roy said:


> Hints and tits Forum ?





jasonm said:


> Bints and tits?


























Nice tips Paul

You could call the help thread "get yer tips out", just a thought


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## thomopac

looks like a different watch ?


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## Guest

pg tips said:


> Just an add on if you get just the one scratch you don't have to go over the whole crystal with the Wet and Dry, Just sand at rightangles to the scratch, if it's not too deep you can get away with just the 1200.
> 
> Then use the brasso. I've not tried Mer Stan but like every member of the male population over a certain age I have some in the garage somewhere so I'll give it a try.
> 
> Polywatch is very good if you just want to give it a quick buff up if it's dulled down a bit. It will not remove deep scratches on it's own though. Roy is the cheapest supplier of polywatch in the world, I think!


well impressed mate


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## pg tips

thomopac said:


> looks like a different watch ?


If you mean my Timex then no, I can assure you it is the same watch.


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## JOHNB

Fantastic post, Im seriously thinking of buying a junker just to try it

John


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## bornentertainer

I know this is a really old thread but I just wanted to say I tried this yesterday and was AMAZED at the results.









I have now polished six acrylic's that had minor scratches but I didn't sand any of them down, just did the Brasso on cloth trick and that did the job. One was worse that the others and I can see a slight 'scar' remaining, but I feel confident enough to tackle that one when I have a bit more time on my hands.

I couldn't repair the Dremel gouge I made while polishing the case on one of them







naughty Dremel!!!! I feel 35,000 rpm might be a bit fast to touch against the acrylic, but thatâ€™s a whole different thread!

Thanks for the info and if you are a newbie or lurker give it a go!


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## jasonm

Well done for having a go......The results can be very satisfying !

And another Cambridge lad eh!

There are loads of 'us' in the area now


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## watchnutz

Just to add a slight modification to Paul's EXCELLENT tip on polishing. I use these sanding sticks that are available in hobby shops for use on plastic models. The reason I prefer them is that I find I have more control because of the stiffness of the sticks. This is really useful if you are doing the work with the crystal still in the watch and lessens the chance of scratching the case.. They are still flexable enough that you can bend them to the contour of the crystal. There is also a coarse grit available.










As for final polishing, I use a product called Crystal Clear professional polish. It is a sort of creme consistancy with VERY fine grit that will smooth out any last little marks. BTW for very last cleaning of crystals, both inside and out after ANY work, I find "Sight Savers" premoistened sheets to be excellent in removing any fingerprints, residue, or dust.


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## Guz

I'm a newbie and this post is amazing....thank you


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## DMP

resurrecting an old thread as I just took delivery of my first tube of Polywatch! Anybody know if the stuff also works on scratched CDs/DVDs and plastic lensed glasses (e.g. sunglasses)?

The advice when using Brasso says to work back and forward in straight lines - is this also the recommended method for watch crystals?

Any and all advice appreciated

Dave


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## jasonm

I always use a circular rubbing motion ( steady on at the back there )

It does work on CD / DVDs but I would be careful on sunnies as they often have coatings that would be rubbed off...


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## pugster

nice post+tutorial, ya coulda taken the crystal out ya idle bugger, save getting crud everywhere


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## tixntox

I use drawing pins to put part sheets of different grades of wet and dry (Over a cloth to act as a cushion) on a piece of good flat plywood for the scratches. Or if I'm not feeling tight, I just put in a new crystal!!!

Mike


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## treacle

This is a fantasic thread, thanks so much. I had to remove some scratches on my Oris pointer date.

Didn't have any Brasso to hand but had some Autosol and that worked spot on.


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## mickyh7

I'm thinking this would work on mobile phone screens as well ?


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## tonyrsv

Great post, just completed my first acrylic refinish and am astounded with the results.

Thanks for taking the time to write up the tutorial.


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## YouCantHaveTooManyWatches

OK - typical noob dumb question...

How do I know my grandfather's watch has acrylic and not glass crystal?? All advice appreciated.

It's a Seiko 5 Sportsmatic 6619-9990 - serial number is 6101572 (I'm guesing Jan '66) in fact here it is...



My link


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## bjohnson

YouCantHaveTooManyWatches said:


> OK - typical noob dumb question...
> 
> How do I know my grandfather's watch has acrylic and not glass crystal?? All advice appreciated.
> 
> It's a Seiko 5 Sportsmatic 6619-9990 - serial number is 6101572 (I'm guesing Jan '66) in fact here it is...
> 
> 
> 
> My link


Yours is an acrylic.

The "technical" way to tell i to tap them with your fingernail. If it sounds like tic tic tic, it's acrylic. If it sounds like tac tac tac, it's glass.

I also happen to know that tension/armoured ring crystals on vintage Seikos were acrylic.


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## pg tips

tap it on your top front teeth, honest you can feel the difference between glass and plastic, acrylic feels warmer and softer too


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## Roger the Dodger

pg tips said:


> tap it on your top front teeth, honest you can feel the difference between glass and plastic, acrylic feels warmer and softer too


I agree with Paul.....touch it to your top lip....if it feels cold it's glass,......if it feels warm, it's plastic/acrylic..........


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## YouCantHaveTooManyWatches

Roger the Dodger said:


> pg tips said:
> 
> 
> 
> tap it on your top front teeth, honest you can feel the difference between glass and plastic, acrylic feels warmer and softer too
> 
> 
> 
> I agree with Paul.....touch it to your top lip....if it feels cold it's glass,......if it feels warm, it's plastic/acrylic..........
Click to expand...

Thanks Roger - here I am seeking guidance and knowledge from all over the world on the great wide interweb and I get words of wisdom from just a mile up the road!

I see what you mean about the temperature - my Christopher Ward and Breitling feel considerably colder to the touch. They're much less convex too - though that might just be styling.

Cheers!


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## Scouse

I'm with PG Tips on this one. Tap it on your top front teeth. You can't mistake it. Its just so obvious once you've tried it.



Roger the Dodger said:


> pg tips said:
> 
> 
> 
> tap it on your top front teeth, honest you can feel the difference between glass and plastic, acrylic feels warmer and softer too
> 
> 
> 
> I agree with Paul.....touch it to your top lip....if it feels cold it's glass,......if it feels warm, it's plastic/acrylic..........
Click to expand...


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## alg59

pg tips said:


>


wow, looks good. i can't get brasso here in spain but i have found some similar metal polish which i added some toothpaste to and polished out light scratches on an oris i bough off ebay. quite successful.

i was a bit wary of using wet and dry but after seeing your results i might try it if i get anything with deeper scratches.

i also think rubbing the watch on the cloth not the other way aroung is the way to go, much easier i think than trying to hold on to the watch and rubbing the same direction with a cloth.

thanks for all the helpful hints.


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## AndyY

Extra tip - when tapping on your teeth don't catch the edge of a rado on the tip of a front tooth!!!!


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## mollydog

pg tips said:


> Now to polish.
> 
> I use good old household Brasso and a Vileda cloth folded twice on itself (so itâ€™s 4 layers thick).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Place the cloth on a hard level surface and pour a small amount of Brasso in the middle.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now place the watch face down in the Brasso and vigorously rub back and forth (again no circles).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There is no need to press the watch hard down into the cloth, in fact you could crack the crystal doing this so just keep a light pressure and nice and fast back and forth. The fast rubbing actually melts the surface of the acrylic which is what gives it such an even polish when finished.
> 
> Pay particular attention to the edges, you may have to move the watch to an angle of 45 degrees to do this. Keep going all over, as long as you go back and forth you can go in all directions, i.e. 12 to 6, 9 to 3 etc until itâ€™s had a good polish up. Then get a dry cloth and rub away the left over Brasso and you should have a nicely polished good as new crystal.
> 
> The finished crystal
> 
> this picture isn't the best as I've taken it under artificial light but it shows how good the polishing is. YES IT IS THE SAME WATCH!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hope this has been of help.
> 
> Just thought id through this one into the pot!
> 
> I always use T Cut after sanding, also works wonders on stainless steel.


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## Sudsy

Posting to bump up a great thread.

I just tried it with a beater Timex, when I say beater, I mean brutalized - you could barely read the dial.

500 grit, followed by 800 grit, then 1200 grit and Wrights Brass Polish (couldn't find Brasso around here)

You'd think it was a brand new crystal.

Followed it up with my 15 year olds watch, you can imagine the condition that was in. Another perfect crystal.

Now onto some of my better watches, although I'll probably do those with the crystal removed to avoid any mistakes/rubs on the cases.


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## bsa

Must admit this was my first job at tinkering (from this post) and it worked brilliantly good confidence builder.


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## Monaco

Iv'e used Brasso on mine in the past and it works as good as anything else out there.Just did the G10 I got yesterday.


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## simon35

that's great really helpful i was going to use polywatch i will give your method ago and see how i get on.many thanks and nice to see some step by step guides very useful :thumbsup:


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## Tony1951

That is a FANTASTIC result. I'd never have thought you could do that.

Thanks for posting it.


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## Miner_Hokie_Ramp

I have a CASIO Waveceptor with some scratches in the crystal. I assume the crystal is plastic. I'm assuming that mineral or sapphire crystals would only come with a much more expesive timepiece.

If it's plastic, I'm thinking of trying Polywatch or fine grit sandpaper. I see where Polywatch is available on Amazon. Any opinions on the best buys (manufacturers, types, etc.) for sandpaper?

Thanks,

Jeff


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## GAZ57

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## trackrat

I am just about to attempt to clean up a Rotary crystal, what I would like to know is how much pressure do you use on the wet & dry, light or heavy. or does it not matter.


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## pugster

just do it light and let the wet and dry do the work, dont go ape -remember you are polishing a type of plastic, too much pressure and you will break it , for deep scratches that need sanding i remove the crystal and use the reverse method (lay the wet and dry down and rub the crystal on it , same for polishing -i use a piece of felt with autosol (or whatever cutting compound you are using) and rub the crystal on it rather than the other way round , i find it easier.


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## trackrat

Pugster, thanks for your reply.

I will be having a go at it tonight.

If it all goes OK then I have another one to do as well.


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## dicknixon

I've done this now on four watches I've been renovating, and the results are great.

I don't know if anyone else has found that the Wet and Dry paper is best used wet?

In a former life I was a model maker, and we always used it wet, that way it doesn't clog up with dust. You can wet it with water, but a bit of spit on the end of your finger and onto the crystal works really well. The spit acts a bit of s lubricant.

Yeeuucchhh! I know!

Just remember to use a different finger each time you refresh the lubricant.

Cheers


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## stew1982

Cracking post and additional tips - now to find a watch that needs polishing


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## webby

what a great post that has been resurected :thumbup:

many thanks


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## rovert

A very good post....... thanks !

Please excuse my ignorance but how do I determine if a watch has an acrylic or mineral crystal ?

Thanks,

Rovert


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## IGGULDEN

good tutorial, just tried it on the old timex i got for my little girl, worked great.


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## Davey P

rovert said:


> Please excuse my ignorance but how do I determine if a watch has an acrylic or mineral crystal ?


Tap it lightly on your teeth, you can feel the difference straight away (that's a little tip I got on here somewhere, not something I would have thought to do myself)


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## no8yogi

just tried this on the watch that my mum gave my dad back in 1967 and it came up a treat! also managed to get a monster scratch out of my Dads waveceptor, but forgot to take photos will have a go on my russian pocket watch next, and hopefully will remember to take pictures! it is amazing how well this actually works!!


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## Eidian

Thank you so much for this thread. I've saved the crystals on a few vintage watches that I've acquired in the past few weeks. It's nice knowing that I can fix the scratched crystals on vintage watches that I find on eBay.


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## no8yogi

and here is that pocket watch before and after I love the results!



IMG_0958 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

before



IMG_0962 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

after



IMG_0957 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

before



IMG_0960 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

after



IMG_0959 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

before



IMG_0961 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

after

Its a lovely watch and keeps amazing time I have even used this one as my daily watch!


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## boycey71

Am impressed good job.


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## luckywatch

I would never have believed it. This is my Tara from 1974. Thanks to PG tips and everyone else.

I used the 400 grade, 1200 grade, and metal polish followed by polywatch.


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## PC-Magician

Very good results, I need some practice.


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## chris.ph

i did my old timex this afternoon and it came up a treat i used a dremel to polish the sides of the lense and followed the instructions on the main part


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## luckywatch

Before.










After.


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## DJH584

That luckywatch is an absolute transformation - well done.

Regards

David


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## mickey the brindle

That's amazing I have seen and owned watches and thought that the crystal was shot in that condition ..... I must try that with a car boot special snotter !!


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## Mick B

Well that was quite a frightening experience, but tried it with an old Seiko automatic and it worked perfectly so have also now improved my old 1983 G10 which has come up a treat. There were no really deep scratches so I used a 4 sided sponge nail buffer before the brasso. I'm new to collecting so won't now be put off by condition.


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## Doxa

Thank you so much for posting this pg tips and to others that have added to this thread. 














































Sorry, I'm not very good at photo's yet (getting better with tips from here)

ETA: The last picture shows other watches I used the tip on. Once I had built a little confidence.....Last pic; L to R - Hopalong Cassidy, Fulton, Waltham, Berkley auto, JW Benson, with a Berlac bottom row. The ladies watches (Hamilton auto and 1961 Bulova) have just been cleaned.


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## wilhenri

I have a 70s Omega Geneve which I have been pondering on whether to give this treatment to. I am not sure whether the glass/crystal is made of though it does have the Omega logo in the center so it is original.. Any advice would be welcome.


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## Doxa

Hi, the logo is on the inside of the plastic "glass" so it says here. How bad are the marks? I'm not sure I would with your omega.


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## wilhenri

Thanks Doxa I may just try Brasso first as the marks are not so bad.. the logo is most definitely on the inside


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## hiutsuri

Awesome Post.

I have a few CWC watches I am looking to polish.

Just ordered the recommended parts - Brasso etc.

Will let you know how I get on.


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## oversleep

Wonderful technique...


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