Question on Case Polishing and Finishing

[dibs1]

So I'm starting to get into case "refinishing" by this i mean breathing some new life into some absolutely beat up pieces. Currently the compounds i have are tripoli, yellow rouge, blue rouge, emery, red rouge, and a bergeron satin finishing wheel. What im wondering is what compounds do you use to get the one a mirror finish on stainless steel and then a satin finish. I'm struggling to get a nice even mirror finish on some practice metal or even a nice even brushed look on scrap. If anyone has any advice on RPM's and steps they take that would greatly appreciated thank you! 

[grsnovi]

Have you watched any of Joe's videos?

https://www.youtube.com/c/NekkidWatchmaker/videos

Joe has been at this watch repair thing for quite a while and unlike some he isn't afraid to restore a case or bracelet. Many of his videos focus on his polishing techniques and how to go about getting various finishes.

You might also directly ask him - he's pretty good about responding.

[gbyleveldt]

I recently started case polishing. As a beginner I’ve had to do it the long way, ie. 200 grit through to 1500 grit sandpaper in steps. Then I use a Dremel on low speed using a felt wheel and orange dialux as a buff, then green dialux as a polish, with pretty decent results. For that final “watery smooth” look you can use a cotton mop using white dialux. To note is that it’s quite hard to maintain sharp edges, so it helps to mask off areas using kapton tape at the edges that aren’t being buffed.

Pro’s skip the whole sanding process using proper wheels and in stead of removing material using sandpaper, they “move” material (I can’t think of a better description) during the buffing process using a stitched mop to cover up scratches. I haven’t got to this point yet so can’t give any better advice, but they make it look deceptively easy.

All I can suggest is that you need to get the base layer perfect (no dings or divots), then get the buffing process perfect before you do polishing, else you won’t get consistent results. As far as brushing is concerned, you need to polish the case up to a almost mirror finish before brushing it. Sounds counter intuitive but that seems to give the best brushed finish.

If you after a satin or “frozen” finish, I’ve used a glass bead blasting process with pretty decent results. You want the base layer to be reasonably free from deep scratches, but it certainly doesn’t have to be blemish free to get a smooth finish. This is the easiest by far.

Edited May 31, 2022 by gbyleveldt

[Kalanag]

3 hours ago, gbyleveldt said:

…Pro’s skip the whole sanding process using proper wheels and in stead of removing material using sandpaper, they “move” material (I can’t think of a better description) during the buffing process using a stitched mop to cover up scratches…

I think I know the video you have in mind. The claim that stainless steel can be „moved“ by hot buffing is BS!

[gbyleveldt]

1 hour ago, Kalanag said:

I think I know the video you have in mind. The claim that stainless steel can be „moved“ by hot buffing is BS!

Hahaha yeah my initial reaction was exactly the same when I saw that video. But I've seen guys that take out heavy scratches like Joe from Nekkid Watchmaker using only a buffing wheel, not sanding like I had to resort to in the past. Hence my comment of making it look "deceptively easy" lol. Funny enough, I'm yet to find a YT video going through all the steps without sanding so that might be a clue. 

[Kalanag]

1 hour ago, gbyleveldt said:

Hahaha yeah my initial reaction was exactly the same when I saw that video. But I've seen guys that take out heavy scratches like Joe from Nekkid Watchmaker using only a buffing wheel, not sanding like I had to resort to in the past. Hence my comment of making it look "deceptively easy" lol. Funny enough, I'm yet to find a YT video going through all the steps without sanding so that might be a clue. 

Sometimes highly respected people tell BS. See the video I have in mind (3:30 to 4:05):

https://youtu.be/YMuWrI-sCj8

Edited May 31, 2022 by Kalanag

[gbyleveldt]

1 hour ago, Kalanag said:

Sometimes highly respected people tell BS. See the video I have in mind (3:30 to 4:05):

https://youtu.be/YMuWrI-sCj8

Yup, that's the one I was thinking of initially.

[mikepilk]

4 hours ago, gbyleveldt said:

Hahaha yeah my initial reaction was exactly the same when I saw that video. But I've seen guys that take out heavy scratches like Joe from Nekkid Watchmaker using only a buffing wheel, not sanding like I had to resort to in the past. Hence my comment of making it look "deceptively easy" lol. Funny enough, I'm yet to find a YT video going through all the steps without sanding so that might be a clue. 

You can only take scratches out of SS by removing metal. As @Kalanag says, "moving" metal by buffing is BS. There have been many previous threads discussing/arguing about this.  The only way to "move" stainless steel is lots of pressure, or heat above about 900°C - both highly unlikely with a polishing mop !

I posted pics of an experiment I did - put a sharp scratch in some stainless steel, then used a felt pad on a dremel across the scratch and took pictures under a microscope. If the metal was being "moved" you would have seen it moving over the edge of the scratch and closing. It didn't. It just ground the metal away as expected.

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by mikepilk

[HectorLooi]

I have always said that moving metal molecules to fill a scratch is BS. But I was challenged in a previous thread.

I wished someone with access to a scanning electron microscope would conduct a definitive experiment and put an end to it.

As a dentist, I've worked with 24K gold foil and high gold content alloys (>85% Au). With these extremely soft and malleable metals, just rubbing it with a stainless steel instrument is sufficient to physically deform and move metal. If you say buffing these metals could move molecules, I'd believe you. But when it comes to stainless steel, I really doubt so.

[gbyleveldt]

Heh, I believe you guys. I was merely pointing out the fact that some Pro’s seem to be able to do it based on their videos, but I’ve never been able to do so. I don’t know enough to call BS, although I suspected it to be the case. Somehow I must’ve come across as endorsing it as gospel.