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Case refinish

WileyDave
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WileyDave WRT Addict

WileyDave

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Had some spare time today and case to mess around with, took me a few hours to get this looking sorta new, satin finish achieved with simple scrub pad, then high buff, (by hand with foredom) around the bevel.  Much finer than machine finish, took away most scratches and dings with 600 paper first. What do you think? Remember, I don't have a day job to quit!:D

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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took away most scratches and dings with 600 paper first.

Next time use buffing, not abrasives to remove scratches and dings. You will remove much less material and do one only polishing step after.

 

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david WRT Addict

david

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JDM,

Buffing machines can do a fantastic job. One of the secrets to buffing this way is to have enough horsepower in to motor to handle the buffing wheel. I have three of these machines with different wheels charged with different grits of buffing compound. These machines work well for me while the smaller motors I tried bogged down under the load.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Electric-Bench-Mounted-Benchtop-Buffer-Buffing-Machine-Polisher-Grinder-/222364019880?hash=item33c5edaca8:g:BwUAAOSwa~BYaTQw

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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2 hours ago, david said:

Buffing machines can do a fantastic job. One of the secrets to buffing this way is to have enough horsepower in to motor to handle the buffing wheel. 

Indeed. For now I don't have a dedicated motor, but I use rotating tool on a vice for "micro-buffing", and a common drill, also on a support, for bigger work with 50mm wheel. Very good results so far... I don't post before / after pictures because almost all my watches gets listed :biggrin:

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WileyDave WRT Addict

WileyDave

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On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 1:40 PM, Michael said:

Looks excellent, Nice sharp edges on the sides. Do you have the rest of the watch to build back up?

I didn't think to look at case, it's a 7009 Seiko, (got in a lot of misc parts w/o movement) probably have one I could stick in there.

On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 1:22 PM, jdm said:

Next time use buffing, not abrasives to remove scratches and dings. You will remove much less material and do one only polishing step after.

I have seen the 'lapping' technique on a wheel with compounds, you are correct, I was careful not to over abrate surfaces. I have seen 'pitting' on ssteel and once you start it doesn't matter, you'll usually not be able to get desired result, in fact you may make it look worse. Years ago when I worked in jewelry store, it was my job to do all the polishing, mostly repairs, rings and such, so I am familiar with a benchtop polishing setup/techniques. Just never did watches.

I found a bracelet that will fit case and began to use same technique on that with similar results, I'll post a pic soon.

Thanks for all the support, your opinions matter and are encouraging to me.

Dave

 

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WileyDave WRT Addict

WileyDave

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Here are bracelet pics, (before/after) after masking off center high polished links, used same pad to create satin look finish, returned to give center links a bit of work, I found spare movement now just need a dial and chapter ring to fit. I'll be sending out for new crystal today, so it'll be some time before I can get back to it.

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Watchtime Super WRT Addict

Watchtime

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excellent job, looking awesome....I bought a buffingmachine and I use it as I don't have the patience of doing it by hand...It really gives a great result on crystals as well as cases and bracelets. I don't polish them 100% as I like some wear and tear on a vintage watch.

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WileyDave WRT Addict

WileyDave

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12 hours ago, Michael said:

Outstanding job. Looking forward to next update.

Like I said, just sent out for new crystal, should be less that a week or so and I have a 7009 movement that should fit. Thanks

 

10 hours ago, parmenion31 said:

wonderfull work , looks brand new !

Well, let's just say it looks different and unique, I like the way high polish and satin finish sort of meld together on this one. Can't believe it looks that good myself! Thanks

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WileyDave WRT Addict

WileyDave

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Well here it is....new crystal and wouldn't you know it, broke pin when replacing bracelet, so not quite done yet!  I dunno about the gold and silver combination, but my first attempt at this type of operation, I'm happy with it. Thanks again for your generous comments.589e2a0470a36_DSCF04581.thumb.JPG.336e44a6e80a9846381e56a96574fdd0.JPG 

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