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Self polishing tips

1K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  MrF-UK82 
#1 ·
Firstly, sorry if the title misleads you, ya dirty bunch... :whistle:

ANYWAY... I've had an absolute disaster... Stupidly slipped and sent a fine hairline scratch on my Presage!

Can we share our tips on how to polish out these kind of scratches please? DIY if possible. If not am I best sending it to a watchmaker to polish out properly?

Here's a picture of my idiotic damage!

IMG_9057

Thanks as always, in advance. :thumbs_up:
 
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#6 ·
Is it an acrylic or mineral crystal @MrF-UK82 ?..... If acrylic it can be done using very fine wet and dry then finishing off with poly watch...there was a post on here somewhere with a step by step method but can't remember where...was pinned on....think @scottswatches knows a bit about this if I remember rightly....may have been his post....if mineral crystal I think it can be done but requires much more elbow grease ...I know taking a piece of wet and dry to a crystal sounds like madness....and the initial "fine sanding" leaves you thinking omg what have I done?.....but once it is polished out with poly watch the results are incredible.... Have used the technique and amazed by the results :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
#7 ·
oops ....my apologies @MrF-UK82 lol..... please excuse my bad eyesight and haste..... when viewing your pic....my poor vision was drawn to what i thought was "the scratch" on the crystal....have just found my glasses and realised what i thought was "the scratch"... was in fact the second hand of your watch and the scratch is in between "the lugs" :laugh: probably the same as the scratch on your head after viewing my well meaning post.....found the acrylic polishing post though pinned to top of "watchmaking and repairs"....just in case you ever need it lol :thumbs_up:
 
#9 ·
hi

do you see it when the strap is on ? if not I would leave it, but if its visible , and or drives you made because you know its there :yes: then is a bit more than a cape cod polish ,and its probably in the worst place as well ( sorry to further distract you ) I have a dremel ( screams of horror from the crowed) an lots of different size small mops, and some jewellers polish compound + cape cods, also very fine wet & dry , I use masking tape to protect edges / unpolished surfaces ,but I am very OCD when it comes to marks, to be honest I would let some one who's a professional do that if you cant live with it.

deano
 
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#11 ·
do you see it when the strap is on ?
No you don't see it when the strap is on, but I am looking to sell it so want to get it sorted before.

@MrF-UK82 get a bit of scrap stainless to practise on. Gouge it with a screwdriver then dress it out, first with some red scotchbrite, you can cut the pad to size.

s-l1600.jpg

Then some grey,

s-l1600.jpg

A suitable metal polish,

s-l1600.jpg

and finish off with.

1978_1?$325$

Or, after you've bought that lot, a decent jeweller might charge less. Next time I damage a watch, I'll try and remember to post pictures of the process. I have experience in dressing/polishing metal, and it can be a time consuming process. Always practice on something worthless before attempting to work on anything of value.
Cheers mate - I think I may need to remortgage my house to buy that lot! :laugh:

Think it's off to the jewellers. Not sure I want to chance it.
 
#10 ·
@MrF-UK82 get a bit of scrap stainless to practise on. Gouge it with a screwdriver then dress it out, first with some red scotchbrite, you can cut the pad to size.

s-l1600.jpg


Then some grey,

s-l1600.jpg


A suitable metal polish,

s-l1600.jpg


and finish off with.

1978_1?$325$


Or, after you've bought that lot, a decent jeweller might charge less. Next time I damage a watch, I'll try and remember to post pictures of the process. I have experience in dressing/polishing metal, and it can be a time consuming process. Always practice on something worthless before attempting to work on anything of value.
 
#12 ·
looks quiet deep, i restored a case on an old seiko skx007 200m that was full of tiny nicks, it responded perfectly to the contours with a 5mm flat swiss file and then a polish back to mirror shine with meguiars metal polish. With that you might get away with some wet and dry sand paper wet with washing up liquid in the mix to prevent scratches and then the meguiars or some autoglym metal polish. At the end of the day its only stainless like on the exhausts tips on a car.

[IMG alt="IMG_9057" data-ratio="81.35"]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47567235312_9cbbaf6c3c_b.jpg[/IMG]
 
#16 ·
I've done a fair bit of polishing over the last couple of years and to get the correct finish takes a very long time.

I tend to use a few different products to get the end result I want, do it wrong and you will see micro scratches even with Cape Cod just look in natural light.

My advice get a pro to sort it, or find the Seiko bracelet for it.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
I probably could probably polish that out with a pointed hard felt mop and some Dialux paste, but really? It's just not worth the effort. To remove that scratch, unless you're going to fill it first, you have to take the surrounding metal down to the level of the bottom of the scratch to make it disappear. This is what I would do...advertise it for sale, be honest and show the scratch, show how it's hidden by the strap/bracelet, and knock a tenner (or what ever you feel happy with) off the asking price. Job's a good'un.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
I probably could probably polish that out with a pointed hard felt mop and some Dialux paste, but really? It's just not worth the effort. To remove that scratch, unless you're going to fill it first, you have to take the surrounding metal down to the level of the bottom of the scratch to make it disappear. This is what I would do...advertise it for sale, be honest and show the scratch, show how it's hidden by the strap/bracelet, and knock a tenner (or what ever you feel happy with) off the asking price to compensate. Job's a good'un.
Yes at the end of the day you have to remove metal to remove the damage, I think some people forget that. :yes:
 
#23 ·
@MrF-UK82 You could put it on a Strapcode Angus Jubilee and then you won't be able to see the scratch at all. I got one recently for my Cocktail time:

293219897031201.jpg?r1024x1024

:)
Wow that looks absolutely incredible mate! Could you send me the link for the exact same strap please? I need that strap!

Ohhhhh, in that case who cares. It's between the lugs. Just leave it be and put on your favorite strap or bracelet and be happy not noticing it.
I planned on selling it mate. Don't feel comfortable selling it with the scratch. I wouldn't want to buy a watch with a scratch personally. Guess it depends how fussy the buyer is! :laugh:

advertise it for sale, be honest and show the scratch, show how it's hidden by the strap/bracelet, and knock a tenner (or what ever you feel happy with) off the asking price. Job's a good'un.
Yep think this is exactly what I am going to do mate. Seems like its going to be too much hassle for a scratch you won't even see anyway (unless you remove the strap)...

Note to self: Be more careful replacing straps!
 
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