Rolex case sides: The quest of achieving a beautiful flat and sharp polishing result

[hautehorloge]

 

Hey guys, how are you doing today?

 

I am coming up with a question that has been bugging me for quite some time. I am working on a Rolex Submariner case from 1994 that has a little problem: The case sides have lost their definition because of polishing and i would like to give the watch some definition back. I am talking about a completely flat and mirror polished result that i am trying to achieve, with sharp edges to the top of the lugs. Also the brushed tops have been rounded and i would like to even this out. I know, i will of course loose material with this but i think it can be done! I am good with rounded and organic surfaces like the Daytona, and Datejusts, but I struggle with sharp and flat surfaces. Now - I don’t have the luck to own a lapping machine so my question is, how can I achieve that result by hand?

 

Thank you for your help and ideas!

All the best!

[manodeoro]

 
Hey guys, how are you doing today?
 
I am coming up with a question that has been bugging me for quite some time. I am working on a Rolex Submariner case from 1994 that has a little problem: The case sides have lost their definition because of polishing and i would like to give the watch some definition back. I am talking about a completely flat and mirror polished result that i am trying to achieve, with sharp edges to the top of the lugs. Also the brushed tops have been rounded and i would like to even this out. I know, i will of course loose material with this but i think it can be done! I am good with rounded and organic surfaces like the Daytona, and Datejusts, but I struggle with sharp and flat surfaces. Now - I don’t have the luck to own a lapping machine so my question is, how can I achieve that result by hand?
 
Thank you for your help and ideas!
All the best!

It'll be difficult to give you any opinion or advice without pics of the case ... so would you post some ?
What I would do is to tape some high grade sand paper (1200 then 2000) on a dremel and proceed really slowly, low speed, to rework the shape until I get flat surfaces.
Not easy but doable if you have steady hand.
Then redo the brushing on the top of the lugs and the polish on the side parts.
It won't be easy to get sharp edges but you can't achieve that you still can create tiny chamfers between polished and brushed sides ... I've done that and the result looked good.

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[anilv]

Not easy to do with normal tools.. and more likely to do more harm than good. Also note that Rolex cases are harder than normal s-steel cases. I would pay to get it done professionally.

The professionals securely mount the case and use a metal lapping disc to polish the cases..

Anilv

[manodeoro]

Not easy to do with normal tools.. and more likely to do more harm than good. Also note that Rolex cases are harder than normal s-steel cases. I would pay to get it done professionally.
The professionals securely mount the case and use a metal lapping disc to polish the cases..
Anilv

Not easy but still doable, even if the case is made of 904L s-steel.
I would even say that the risk of oversanding is lower with 904L than 316L.
But as I already wrote you need steady hands ... and of course there's no way back so first try must be the good one.

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