help with polishing a watch

[east3rn]

Hello dear watchmakers.

I am trying to train myself to polish a watch.

I got myself a Dramel 3000 and put a little pelt wheel.

I applied green polishing paste and tried polishing a caseback in speed of 5 (out of 10 )

With Dramel, I tried polishing up and down then from side to side.

I did get some scratches and even some printings out but the caseback is left with foggy traces.

What have I done wrong and how should I fix it?

I have attached the photos of polished caseback. (I forgot to take photo before doing the job)

Great thanks. 

 

[jdm]

29 minutes ago, east3rn said:

I applied green polishing paste and tried polishing a caseback in speed of 5 (out of 10 )
With Dramel, I tried polishing up and down then from side to side.
I did get some scratches and even some printings out but the caseback is left with foggy traces.

Avoid green Dialux. Use orange Dialux for major defect and dings, grey for scratches. Finish with blue Dialux on a muslin wheel.
Work is much easier and faster if you place the rotary tool on a fixed stand.

[Flubber]

I don't know if you may post links to youtube here but I think this is an excellent video on polishing. I have not done any polishing myself yet but that is perhaps the next step for me (after mastering servicing a chronograph).

 

[jdm]

59 minutes ago, Flubber said:

I don't know if you may post links to youtube here but I think this is an excellent video on polishing.

And here is this forum full context of the previous four times that video has been posted in the past. I think there are a few more.

 

 

 

[Flubber]

Sorry. Not my intention to spam.....

[rodabod]

I don’t think you’ll get great results polishing the caseback with the Dremel in that way. What might be possible is to mount the caseback on a dremel tool bit (something like a cutting disk) using adhesive and use it like you would a wax chuck on a lathe. You would need to centre the case back as the adhesive was setting to get it to turn true. You can then turn the caseback and use a static polisher of your choice such as a buff stick. 
 

Another option for a straight-grain finish is to polish it under-hand on abrasives. 

[jdm]

37 minutes ago, rodabod said:

I don’t think you’ll get great results polishing the caseback with the Dremel in that way.

I did that many times, achieving perfect results, using the products and basic technique mentioned above. 

Quote

What might be possible is to mount the caseback on a dremel tool bit (something like a cutting disk) using adhesive and use it like you would a wax chuck on a lathe. You would need to centre the case back as the adhesive was setting to get it to turn true. You can then turn the caseback and use a static polisher of your choice such as a buff stick.  

Sounds very complicated for such a small task. 

Anyway the OP has a non-starter caseback at hand, the printed writing is already all gone beefore getting the weels and compounds right. Unfortunately one needs solid quality watches to get solid results. 

Edited August 15, 2020 by jdm

[rodabod]

Well, I suppose it depends on what you define as “perfect”. I don’t think you could easily achieve a flat/even polish using a Dremel in that way, and the photos posted above show why. You could possibly buff, but in this case significant material needs to be cut, assuming the intention is to remove the printed text. 
 

I do own the same Dremel as shown above, but I always mount cases and case backs on a lathe to get results which I would expect from a watch leaving the factory. 

[canthus]

I managed to find a piece if plastic pipe with a decent wall thickness that just happened to fit over the screw thread on the case-back (of my Omega Seamaster vintage 1967) and which also fitted over the outside of a small chuck for an electric drill.  Ran the drill at its slow speed and used dialux compounds (can't remember which !!) on a cloth backed by a wooden spatula.  This gave a good polished finish with no lining/marks.