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basic hardlux and SS refinishing guidance


Camineet

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hi guys, hoping for a little guidance.

 

i'm looking to polish up a few hardlux crystals and cases/bracelets in my collection.

 

and wondering what tools i should get to have a fairly complete set of them to do the typical work in this area.

 

so far, i've found this video

 

the other videos i've found are pretty bad on this topic.

and i've found these kits

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-684-01Dremel-Cleaning-And-Polishing-Moto-Tool-Kit-20-Pc-NEW-/271227643126?hash=item3f266d64f6:g:tnIAAOxykVNRwusc

https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-684-01-20-Piece-Polish-Accessory/dp/B00005LEXV/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1485665200&sr=8-10&keywords=watch+polishing

is one of these kits suitable or should i be looking for something watch specific?

is this compound from the video what's commonly used?  it says on the product page that it's for gold and silver rather than SS

https://www.amazon.com/DIALUX-JEWELERS-POLISHING-COMPOUND-forGOLD/dp/B00TZVMXZA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485665653&sr=8-2&keywords=dialux

is there maybe a sticky on this topic that i've missed?  any help is much appreciated.

 

 

 

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Hello camineet...I will consider the third link for the dialux bars and on bottom of the amazon page are the combos with cotton and wool felt wheels ..I use those with my dremel. In some cases you will also need fine sand paper or the 4 color nail polishing bars to get rid of hard scratches...I'm a novice with only 4 yrs of "experience"...that have worked well for me.
Good luck..!



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

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Any of these....Cotton is softer than felt so depends on the condition of the metal damage is what I use...cotton if looking for shine only...fine scratches felt first then cotton...for SS use the green paste.


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ok so the basic idea is cotton buffs and the Dialux 3 compound pack. and then you just go at it with the dremel until you develop the technique and feel for it i guess

is that for SS and hardlux? or is there something else i need to get for hardlux?

 

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oh ya, i have a battery dremel and was doing a shark mesh cut-to-size job in the hallway of my bangkok hotel last week xD

need to get a proper corded dremel sometime for added power and lack of battery swap hassle

 

ok, so felt for the scratches and then cotton for the polishing up.

 

thanks a lot for helping:biggrin:

 

so what about hardlux? same tools and compound?

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And yes you will need a corded dremel one with high rpm...I spent 90 dlls on mine but I guess 

You may find a good one for less money . I spend 15 dls on first one I had , shortly after went for the hi rpm dremel...

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I recommend that you use diamond paste from Aliexpress for the crystals, It made everything faster and easier for me compared to wet paper. For buffing and polishing Dialux is fine, rotation speed does not have to be high but you need a good torque for the deeper dings and scratches. Get hard felt wheels of at least 1" diameter, not the soft round ones.

Edited by jdm
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I think that you can find the same items on Baidoo (sp ?). Cousins UK ships worldwide and for low cost items shipping is cheap with no customs problem. For Dialux get orange for deep scratches, gray for medium ones, green for finishing.

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it's actually taobao that we use here in china.  and they have dialux and all these other items for about 1/3 the cost of anywhere else in many cases unless they're foreigner specific products in which case they cost around double. as for little tools and such, they're the same products for half or 1/3 the price of amazon, or anything in the UK. it's just that when you don't involve westerners and our bloated education and in some cases healthcare costs, and the only people in the value chain have bachelors degrees that cost 12kUSD, things just become a lot cheaper.

any guidance on masking? for example, how do you polish a crystal while not hitting the bezel with the buffing wheel? and how do you polish a bracelet spot with a brushed finish when there's a mirror finished spot right next to it and vice versa? do you put down tiny pieces of masking tape or something?

 

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Yes if you are afraid that the wheel slips to a brushed surface you better use some tape masking. However usually the contact is brief and light and does not do any damage that an application of a brushing pad won't fix. What really does damage is if you slip and the case touches the chuck, so better keep the tool mounted on a vice.

For bracelets with mixed sections use a wheel thick as the section to polish, that works good e.g. on SKX Jubillee bracelets, you know, the ones with folded ends links which are very popular in Bangkok, LoL.

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  • 3 weeks later...

oh goodie, I finally get to use my kapton tape again. I reluctantly bought that stuff to redo the thermal compound in the 1990s car audio amp. $10 for a little roll of tape was hard to justify at the time. Glad to know I can use it for something that will be an ongoing thing.

Just now I'm putting together a big 'ole shopping cart on taobao with all the goodies we discussed.

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.66.lcMX81&id=527215963015&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail

jdm, this product listing offers numerous grits. can you let me know what which grit(s) i should purchase for the crystal buffing/polishing?

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hey CapMoy, can you let me know what kind of rpm capabilities i should be looking for in my new dremel? i've learned that high rpms is useful for producing the heat needed to move metal around rather than just grinding it away. fascinating ability i had no idea was possible until doing some learning today

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Get No. 5 and 20 diamond paste. I've found not much use in the others and there is no noticeable difference from a grade to the next.
For buffing steel you need slow rotation like 2000 rpm and apply sensible friction to the piece, plenty of heat will be generated. High speed only consume the wheel and the part being repaired.
Because of that a dremel like tool is not very suited as it doesn't have enough torque and turns too fast, exception is detail work and final polishing. A drill with variable speed works very good for me. Do some experiment on something like a big bol before attacking a loved watch.

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Orange for true deep buffing.

Gris and verte are French for gray and green used for firts and final polishing. You can remove small dents with gray, but it takes a lot of time. Use a separate wheel for each if possible. You can also cut grooves like tyre on the wheel and reverse it every once in a while to make it more effective. Otherwise the surface hardens too much.

 

 

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Just a quick point.

 

A Dremel has no where near enough torque.

You need a variable speed bench grinder with the proper polishing and buffing wheels.

 

This is the best tutorial out there for restoring SS watch cases.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my Honor 5c

 

 

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, Camineet said:

when inquiring to seller, seller responds that "they are similar"
should i just go with the 7 and 28, or should i demand the 5 and 20 sent?

Right, no practical difference as mentioned above.

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