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how to remove scratches from watch

ronak

By ronak
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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HectorLooi Distinguished Member

HectorLooi

Posted
Posted

I'm a dentist. And I've never had much success polishing watch crystals with toothpaste. 

The best polishing hack I've found was using those foam nail buffs that the ladies use. There are some sets that come with 3 grades of abrasives. Use the coarsest one first, then move the intermediate when all the deep scratches are gone. Finally use the finest grit to get a shine. As a last step, you can use a tiny smidgen of Polywatch to really bring out the shine.

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Nucejoe Distinguished Member

Nucejoe

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14 minutes ago, HectorLooi said:

I'm a dentist. And I've never had much success polishing watch crystals with toothpaste. 

The best polishing hack I've found was using those foam nail buffs that the ladies use. There are some sets that come with 3 grades of abrasives. Use the coarsest one first, then move the intermediate when all the deep scratches are gone. Finally use the finest grit to get a shine. As a last step, you can use a tiny smidgen of Polywatch to really bring out the shine.

How about the stuff dentists use to polish teeth after a clean?  Polishes teeth shiny.

What is that stuff called.  TIA 

joe

 

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mikepilk Distinguished Member

mikepilk

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just done an acrylic one this afternoon - in a few minutes.

If the scratches are deep, start with 1000-1500 wet and dry. Then switch to 2000, and finally 3000.
Then I use acrylic polishing compound on a cloth. Worth buying some of this - it always surprises me just how well it works

It's surprisingly easy and quick. 

If the scratches aren't deep, then some acrylic polish on a cloth - only takes a minute or two

(you can buy an assortment of fine wet and dry, and acrylic polish from ebay)

Edited by mikepilk
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fixermole Watch Enthusiast

fixermole

Posted
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I've found very good results so far using the abrasive pads in the Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer Kit. They're a great size and stiffness. The most abrasive works quickly on the deepest scratches and there are three additional, decreasingly abrasive (higher grit) pads in the kit that get it down to see-through quality. I then finish it off with Turtle Wax Headlight Cleaner and Sealant. I had these around and they've always worked, so I haven't tried anything else. But, Polywatch appears to be the first go-to for most people; however, I've always wondered if it worked efficiently on deep gouges/scratches.

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Rafael WRT Addict

Rafael

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, fixermole said:

I've found very good results so far using the abrasive pads in the Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer Kit. They're a great size and stiffness. The most abrasive works quickly on the deepest scratches and there are three additional, decreasingly abrasive (higher grit) pads in the kit that get it down to see-through quality. I then finish it off with Turtle Wax Headlight Cleaner and Sealant. I had these around and they've always worked, so I haven't tried anything else. But, Polywatch appears to be the first go-to for most people; however, I've always wondered if it worked efficiently on deep gouges/scratches.

It probably will, but you will need to put on a lot of elbow grease.

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HectorLooi Distinguished Member

HectorLooi

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17 hours ago, Nucejoe said:

How about the stuff dentists use to polish teeth after a clean?  Polishes teeth shiny.

What is that stuff called.  TIA 

joe

 

It's called prophylaxis paste. But that is actually quite abrasive. It's better to use the stuff we use to polish acrylic dentures with. And that's called a very technical name - polishing paste.

I find using sanding pads better than using my denture polishing lathe motor. The felt wheels and bristle brushes that we use tend to leave microscopic lines in the actylic. I only use my polishing lathe with a wool wheel for the final shine.

Acrylic watch crystal are surprisingly soft. It doesn't take much elbow grease to polish out deep scratches. 

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