Polishing Watch Case And Bracelets

[haratua]

I am wondering if anyone could provide some advice on polishing the scratches off steel watch case and bracelets? Would love to hear how you could do it, both for polished steel and also matte/satin finish steel.

 

Thanks

Ferdinand

[Geo]

Hi Ferdinand, there have been many post relating to polishing. I recommend you go to the top right hand side of the screen there is a box marked "search" and type in "polishing" and you will probably find what you are looking for.

Here is one of my earlier posts.

"I tend to do it the hard way myself to retain the original profile and the edges nice and sharp. I use various grades of wet or dry abrasive paper from 400 grit to 1200 to get rid of the deep scratches and then Solvol Autosol metal polish on peg wood. A light buff with Solvol on a micro fibre cloth finishes off the job."

I forgot to add on this post that I use a "proprietary silver polishing cloth" for the final finish on all metals except titanium. I also use this cloth to maintain the finish on my watches.

[haratua]

Thanks @Geo. I did start with Search before I made my post. But looking at the titles of the posts, I did not find any that talk about polishing case and bracelet. Found others like polishing glass, pivots, etc.

[Ishima]

Polishing has been a real tough nut for me to crack.
I'll have to give that autosol and pegwood thing a try, never thought to use pegwood as a medium of polishing.

Personally I've been able to get good mirror finishes with a hobby motor (like a dremel) with green dialux and chamois/loose cotton wheels, before that I might use fine grades of emery, to get out light scratches that were too deep for the dialux, and grey dialux on a nylon bristle wheel as sort of a pre-polish to get any graining out.

Trying to get deep scratches out with courser grades of emery, I've found I've not been able to really take out the damage I've put in, the result is a mirror finish on a surface that isn't entirely flat so you see straight ridges waving across the surface if you look at it closely, so at this point in time I'm resigned to accepting moderate to deep scratches.

As for satin finishes, this should be fairly easy, as long as you're not accidentally scratching the mirror surfaces. (you can get special protective tape if it's necessary) You can use scotch bright wheel on a motorised tool or by hand with roebuck/garyflex abrasive rubber. 

finish off by scrubbing up with some isopropyl alcohol or mentholated spirits and an ultrasonic clean if you have a tank for it. (you'll also want to do that between using different compounds, like the grey/green dialux.)

Edited April 20, 2015 by Ishima

[MrBeat]

A few points to note about " polishing ", if you are trying to remove damage to a casing or bracelet you don't polish it out ( unless very minor scratches ).

 

Polishing is a means to finish a piece, not to repair damage. When you want to remove deep scratches and dents it is called buffing, after you remove the damage and need to finish the metal ( either mirror or satin etc ) it then becomes polishing. It is important to note that when you want to remove damage you don't want to remove the metal you merely want to heat up and manipulate the metal back into the desired shape, almost like moving really hard playdoh.

 

There are several means to achieving the result you need but you must run through some questions to establish how to proceed.

 

1) What metal am i working with ?

 

Seems obvious enough but each metal reacts differently to different treatments and what works for one may not work for another. Some metals are softer than others ( even between different grades of steel ) so choosing the right product/s for the job will make the result better and also less hard work for you.

 

2) Is the metal plated or solid ?

 

Sounds obvious again but some casings are made from a base metal ( such as brass ) and then plated ( nickel chrome & gold plating are most common ). Over polishing on these types of casings will result in a rather nasty surprise and a case that will end up worse than when you begin :(  If you can establish the casing is plated then the utmost care should be taken in polishing or buffing as removing the plating is all too easy and unsightly damage is even easier still.

This isn't to say that plated casings can not be polished back to good order, it just requires a good judgement and experience to know how to proceed.

 

3) Which compounds / polishing pastes shall i use ?

 

Again this varies depending on the materials hardness and type but luckily there are lots of easily available products that can help to restore that beaten up old casing. There are lots of easily available polishing compounds( dialux, autosol,peek,braso etc ), but if you want to remove deep scratches to Steel/Stainless Steel then id recommend SteelCut by Cannings or similar high/medium grit compound.

 

Steelcut is a high grit compound that will act like sandpaper when used with a rotary tool, but be aware the compound if used too aggressively will easily damage and mis-shapen steel casing & bracelets. The ideal use for this is either via a bench mounted polishing/buffing wheel or a rotary type tool such as a dremel. To apply the compound you would need soft to medium hard felt wheels.

 

 

The key to removing damage and keeping the original shape comes down to using the correct tool with the correct compound or material and also more importantly....heat.

As i said earlier , to remove damage you don't want to remove metal but merely soften the existing metal and manipulate it back to the original shape, this is where heat plays a big role. By using a rotary tool and felt wheel with the right compound ( for example ) you can gently heat the metal up and slowly re shape it back to a smooth finish. The technique is not easy to pick up but with practice you will soon see how metal can be worked. You dont want to press too hard or too softly, and you don't want to keep the felt wheel in the same spot. To retain the casing or bracelets original shape will require learning techniques in buffing ( there are some videos online which can aid you with this ).

 

Fine finishing or mirror polishing is an art form in itself and there are several methods that can be used. Since ive rattled on long enough i will leave a list below of the compounds and products i use for my work, im sure the other guys here will have some great tips of their own :)

 

Removing Damage - SteelCut ( various grits ), Dialux Gris ( Grey ), Abrasive 3M Paper 80-3000 Grit, Silicone Carbide powder, High Micron Diamond paste.

 

General Polishing - Dialux Blue,Red Green , Autosol, Peek, Medium Diamond pastes, Selvet Cloths, High Grit 3M Papers 1200-3000+

 

Mirror Polishing - Pegwood, Orange Wood, Pith Wood, Beech ( each wood has great polishing properties so experiment ! ), Lavender Oil + Fine Diamond paste 0.25 micron or less, Various Fish Oils, Lavender oil + Flat Zinc plate, Olive Oil , various burnishing tools, polished metal scraps

 

 

Most important of all .....patience !

[clockboy]

Good post MrBeat there is a vid (see below) on youtube showing the difference between buffing & polishing but as you state practice is the real key.

Noticed Cousins have a polishing machine on offer this month for £135 which looks good value.

 

https://youtu.be/YMuWrI-sCj8

[Ishima]

I've been considering making the switch and investing in the foredom bench motor, but it seemed daunting. The idea of being able to learn and do proper buffing is very tempting. Reduction methods as I previously mentioned have served me poorly.

I've watched videos on how to use them and by now have a good stock, and knowledge of compounds.
But not sure what I'll want with it, I'll want a chamois wheel, I think, but selecting the exact right felt wheels and cotton wheels?  I also wasn't sure what would be a good buffing compound for the felt wheels, you say dialux grey works to this end? (Language varies on who you talk to, so terms like cutting, reducing, and buffing get conflated.)
and does anyone know if the suction cups are sufficient, I would have thought it really needed to be screwed down.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Ishima

[MrBeat]

For most jobs i use medium hard felt wheels with either SteelCut ( for deep scratches ) or Dialux Grey/Cannings Blue Steel compound for more minor scratches. If you use a rotary tool then slower speed = longer sweeps /// faster speeds = shorter sweeps. You want to build up heat just to the point where it is bearable to the hand or fingers ( this varies from person to person ), you also want to ensure the felt wheel is aligned in the same path as the curve or shape of the casing.

 

If removing damage you need some prep work such as...

 

400/600/800/1000 Grit paper or Ready made grit sponge pads of same grade>

 

Start with the most co**BLEEP** grade 400 then repeat through to 1000, you can use some 3in1 oil to help. Do not go back and forth, one smooth motion in the direction of the grain of the metal, lift and repeat. Going back and forth with papers can lead to flat spots and an uneven finish. Prep time on a deep scratch can take between 30-60 minutes or more.

 

After grit papers, move onto compounds, but always wash casings before each step to avoid contamination. Start with a cutting grade compound ( Dialux grey e.g ) again do not go back and forth, one single motion. Once scratches appear to smooth out , move onto next compound washing thoroughly between each compound. Time for this step can be 30-90 minutes

 

Final polishing only once damage is removed, use Dialux Green with cotton polishing wheels ( i only use chamois wheels to remove scratches from glass ).

 

So in terms of a stage tree it is like this for me ( simplified version ) >

 

 

400Grit>600>800>1000>WASH>Grey Comp>WASH>Blue Comp>WASH> Green Comp> WASH > Polishing Cloth

 

 

PS If you do get bench polisher don't forget the safety glasses !! 

[bobm12]

Hats off, Mr Beat! Very nice and comprehensive information! I appreciate it immensely and hope it won't stop here!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[Geo]

Hats off, Mr Beat! Very nice and comprehensive information! I appreciate it immensely and hope it won't stop here!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

I second that! :)

[Ishima]

I've just had more success with polishing than ever in the last couple of days. (to the point where I'm finally actually happy with the results i'm getting) So I thought I'd just briefly revive this thread to say this.

My recent experiences with felt wheels charged with grey dialux is that it represents an astonishingly effective buffing action (moving the surface around to fill scratches.)
To the point where I don't see a need for any reductive polishing (emery paper and such that typically take some of the material off) in standard situations. 

(Of course I should make clear I take my time, run the buffing at moderate speed and 'index' to avoid deforming the piece.)

Edited April 25, 2015 by Ishima

[haratua]

@MrBeat, awesome information. Thank you.