Case Polishing

[ramrod]

i have a couple of cases for my seiko watches thqt really need to be professionally polished.

does anyone know who does it in the states? have you had it done?

who would you recommend?

[jdm]

A professional job would be expensive, beside not very suited for vintage watches. Very good results can be had with handheld tools. There are many many video on youtube.

[ramrod]

well, that makes me feel a bit better. i've been doing it with a dremel, sanding discs and a hard felt polishing wheel. and, i'm rather impressed with the results. but the corners are a tad soft and that's what i like about a pro buffing and polishing. they can restore the corners to that nice crisp look. also, they can get a better brushed finish on the top of the cases. at least when i do it, my time is basically free and materials are not that much money.

one member on another forum showed how he gets that nice brushed finish. he takes a junk caseback, drills a hole in it and threads a rod into it. that's attached to a drill and screwed onto a case. he spins the drill and places it into steel wool. voila - brushed finish.

i've gotta try that.

[jdm]

Yes I think that money is better spent acquiring more tools and being this our hobby time should be an issue. This is not a watch collector/owner forum after all. I was thinking getting a bench polishing motor but for now I'm happy with the results I have got even without.

[ramrod]

i do have a bench motor but being in an apartment, i cannot use it anywhere. i'd really like to work with it and see what it'll do.

[JohnR725]

To understand professional polishing I have some links below. I was at a lecture once the individual talked about restoring typically Rolex watches back to their original condition visually. A whole variety of specialized wheels to get the various satin finishes. A lot of time spent researching what the watch originally look like. They spend as much time restoring the cases they do the watch which is why a watch repair seems extremely expensive until you realize your basically getting a new watch.

 

But it's amazing what you can do with other tools if you understand what you're trying to do. So even though we don't have the nice equipment in the video you can see some of the techniques.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jnJe2jANms

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMuWrI-sCj8

[ramrod]

i've seen several members (either on this forum or possibly another) that had the proper equipment to refinish their cases. it was amazing the work that was done!

i've watched both of these videos before (and i just watched them again - thank you) because they are very informative.

my main concern is getting the angles as sharp as possible. it's something that is hard to do.

well, if it's extremely expensive to get cases refinished, i'm gonna have to be content with doing what i can by myself, then.

[jdrichard]

Here is my result, with a polish wheel and a drumel tool and primarily red polish

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[jdm]

Try dialux grey for a stronger cut. Also I think at some point the dremel doesn't do anymore, it spins too fast.

[jdrichard]

I used primarily a polish wheel for this finish and a dremel tool for the tight corners.

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Edited January 5, 2016 by jdrichard