Jump to content

Scratched lug on new Tudor Chrono S&G


Tonyboy

Recommended Posts

From the picture this looks to be the real deal so I'd agree with @Nucejoe that if you've not had experience polishing/restoring a case you probably want it looked at professionally otherwise you could make the situation worse on what is a £4k+ watch.

However that strap looks incongruous to a high end watch ... which brings in the possibility: is this a fake ?! If so you may feel you have less to lose and venture into trying to remedy yourself in which case there are some good youtube videos that show you how to restore a (brushed) stainless steel case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, WatchMaker said:

From the picture this looks to be the real deal so I'd agree with @Nucejoe that if you've not had experience polishing/restoring a case you probably want it looked at professionally otherwise you could make the situation worse on what is a £4k+ watch.

However that strap looks incongruous to a high end watch ... which brings in the possibility: is this a fake ?! If so you may feel you have less to lose and venture into trying to remedy yourself in which case there are some good youtube videos that show you how to restore a (brushed) stainless steel case.

Appreciate the response. Not a great shot of the strap but it is genuine and bought it at a UK airport AD with all the necessary tags. Any thoughts on cost to remedy this scratch? I’m minded to live with it as other scratches will emerge over time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a nice looking watch and I did think it must be genuine but worth mentioning the fake angle as we get a lot of posts on those too!

I think I'd tend to agree with you. If this is to be a daily wearer and you're likely to receive other minor scratches it makes sense that these are dealt with all at once rather than each time they happen. In any case when it comes time to have your watch serviced a case restoration will be part of that on a watch like this.

Something you might also like to try in general for minor blemishes are dedicated polishing cloths. Look on ebay or similar for 'cape cod polishing' which get good reviews.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, WatchMaker said:

It's a nice looking watch and I did think it must be genuine but worth mentioning the fake angle as we get a lot of posts on those too!

I think I'd tend to agree with you. If this is to be a daily wearer and you're likely to receive other minor scratches it makes sense that these are dealt with all at once rather than each time they happen. In any case when it comes time to have your watch serviced a case restoration will be part of that on a watch like this.

Something you might also like to try in general for minor blemishes are dedicated polishing cloths. Look on ebay or similar for 'cape cod polishing' which get good reviews.

Thanks. I bought one of those and waiting for it to come. I understood the CC cloth shouldn’t be used on the brushed / satin finish  though?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General polishing cloths should be fine; they won't have the abrasive quality to alter a finish.

You can however get special 'refinishing pads' (look on ebay for example) that are effectively mini scouring pads designed to give a particular brushed finish and that can also remedy minor scratches. You could certainly try one of these but then we're back to the potential for things to go wrong on such a nice watch if this is your first time using such a product. :mellow:

A possible suggestion therefore if you're a confident DIYer is that if you had an old stainless steel watch or watch bracelet you didn't mind experimenting on you could practice getting the right finish first before then repeating on your nice Tudor.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, WatchMaker said:

General polishing cloths should be fine; they won't have the abrasive quality to alter a finish.

You can however get special 'refinishing pads' (look on ebay for example) that are effectively mini scouring pads designed to give a particular brushed finish and that can also remedy minor scratches. You could certainly try one of these but then we're back to the potential for things to go wrong on such a nice watch if this is your first time using such a product. :mellow:

A possible suggestion therefore if you're a confident DIYer is that if you had an old stainless steel watch or watch bracelet you didn't mind experimenting on you could practice getting the right finish first before then repeating on your nice Tudor.  :)

Are watch scratch pens any use? I’ll try a very gentle polishing cloth first.

for example:

https://www.bostonwatchexchange.com/Brushed-Titanium-Satin-Refinishing-Pen-for-SS-p/titpen3pack.htm

https://www.watchobsession.co.uk/products/beco-technic-watch-scratch-pen-2mm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because initial advice was to get it professionally looked but we then ventured into a DIY possibility maybe let's just take a step back so you can make the right decision...

The auto-focus for your picture has primarily gone to the bezel so it's difficult to tell just how deep the scratch is on your lug which is slightly blurry. Ultimately there's no miracle cure for scratches and any method is removing microscopic amounts of material from the surrounding area to get back to a level/smooth finish that is pleasing to the eye. If the scratch(es) are relatively superficial then the pen would be a good bet as it will allow more precision and localised finishing than the pad and is designed to give the finish you need. If however you were really getting medieval on the springbar and the tool you used has left a deep scratch then any attempt by you to try and remove it could lead to a slight concave in that area which could look even worse than the scratch! That is where a professional comes in as they will have all the right tools and compounds for buffing and polishing and to make the whole area look uniform irrespective of scratch severity. 

So maybe assess the scratch(es), your DIY confidence and make the decision from that. Good luck. :)  

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Hi, guys I have a bit of a predicament and hopefully, somebody can advise. I'm working on a Roamer MST 521 where the movement is extracted from the crystal side. I'm now at the final hurdle where I need to replace the movement back into its case but I'm not sure of the correct procedure. I still need to fit the hands but that's where the problem lies. If I insert the winding stem to test the hands for correct alignment I will need to turn the movement over to release the stem again it's the spring-loaded type and needs a small bit of force to push down but with the hands fitted, I don't think I can do this on a cushion without causing some damage to the hands and that's the last thing I want to do, this watch has already been a love-hate relationship and I'm so close to boxing this one off which I'm counting as my first major project.  The other option is to case the movement then fit the hands and hope everything is okay. I've already broken the original winding stem but managed to find a replacement, the last one in stock, so I'm a bit reluctant to keep removing it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 
    • I would go for the dearer spring. You won't need to remove the spring from the carrier ring and then use a mainspring winder to get it into the barrel, for a start. Also that spring is closer to the needed dimensions, especially the length. The length plays a part in the mainsprings strength. If you double the length you will half the force (strength) of the spring and vice-versa. A spring with 20 mm less length would be about 7% shorter, so technically would be 7% more strength, but I find halving this number is closer to real-world findings, so the spring would be about 3 to 4% more strength/force. On a mainspring that ideally kicks out 300 degrees of amplitude, a 3% increase in amplitude would be 309 degrees. Increasing or decreasing the length of the mainspring will affect the power reserve to a greater or lesser degree. It depends how much shorter or longer it is.
    • I recently bought this but not on ebay. I figured if I want something Japanese I better check Japanese auction sites since these don't seem to pop up on ebay. I paid 83 € plus shipping & taxes. I think it was pretty reasonable for a complete set in good condition.
    • Did you take the friction pinion off the large driving wheel and grease it? Although, now that I think about it, that shouldn't have any effect on the free running of the train if the friction pinion isn't interacting withe minute wheel/setting wheel...
    • I did in fact use Rodico to get the spring into general position and "hold" it there while I used a fine oiler to make subtle positional adjustments.
×
×
  • Create New...