Most watch owners wear them every day. Unfortunately, even when worn carefully, the watch inevitably develops minor scratches and abrasions, which spoil the appearance and upset the owner. Of course, there is always the opportunity to contact a watch workshop, where qualified polishing specialists will carry out all the necessary work and return the watch to its original appearance. But, firstly, polishing in workshops is carried out for the entire watch case, and this is not the cheapest service, especially if you want to get rid of only one or two scratches. Secondly, it is advisable to do polishing by “machine” no more than seven times, otherwise the watch will simply turn into an unsightly “remnant”. Professional polishing is recommended to be carried out together with repassage (preventive cleaning and lubrication of the mechanism) once every 3-5 years. In other cases, defects on the case and glass can be removed yourself.
In this article, we will look at some ways to repair cosmetic damage to watches at home.
Where to begin
Before you start polishing your watch at home, you need to determine the quality of the glass. The cheapest and most common is organic. There will be no problems with such material: it is easily restored using simple home remedies: toothpaste, fine-grained sandpaper.
A more expensive option is mineral glass. To remove scratches from such a highly durable material, you will have to act carefully and resort to a grinding machine. In any case, in addition to the polishing compound, you will need a piece of soft material - flannel, microfiber.
Tip For convenience, it is recommended to remove the damaged glass from the watch. If this is problematic, then you need to at least remove the strap.
The watch or glass is placed on a flat surface - this will help avoid final damage. Polishing takes on average 20 minutes. But to achieve a noticeable result, you often have to repeat the procedure several times.
Rules for eliminating deficiencies
Scratches and chips usually appear on glass. Since wristwatches are considered fragile items, they must be treated with care. They also need to be constantly looked after to prevent deterioration in appearance.
Polishing glass from scratches should not be done with paper. Even if it was recommended to use by someone I know. Nowadays, rough and thick paper is produced, as well as ink containing contaminants. Therefore, such an effect on glass negatively affects matte and glossy coatings.
The glass cleaning procedure is a special science. After completion of work, the surface should not be wiped with a dry, rough cloth, especially if hot water and aggressive detergents were used. But soft material, such as gauze or fiber, is perfect.
Watch glass can be polished using laundry soap. But it is much better to use a special product that will perfectly clean the surface. If washing or cleaning powders are used, you should ensure that abrasive particles are completely dissolved. The work should be done carefully.
Paste GOI
The easiest way to polish glass is GOI universal polishing paste. The paste number is selected depending on the depth of the scratches. For minor damage it is better to take No. 3, for deep ones - No. 4. The method works well on plastic glasses.
How to work with GOI paste:
- Apply a little product to a cotton pad or piece of cloth.
- Gently work the glass in a circular motion.
- After polishing, walk over the surface with mineral oil: apply a few drops and rub in circular movements until transparent.
- Remove remaining paste and oil with alcohol.
- If deep scratches have noticeably decreased, you can repeat the procedure using fine abrasive paste number 2 or 1.
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Rules for cleaning glass on wristwatches
If your watch glass is scratched and you decide to clean it, follow a few simple steps
for convenient and fast work:
- Spread a piece of fabric on a horizontal, flat surface to ensure good adhesion to the device.
- Prepare your chosen cleaning products and additional materials. Typically, you may need cotton pads, a soft cloth, ear cleaning sticks, and some warm water in a small container for wetting.
- It will be convenient to clean the joints using a cotton swab with an abrasive agent applied to it.
Toothpaste
GOI can be replaced by regular toothpaste or tooth powder diluted with water to a paste. Toothpaste not only polishes minor scratches, but also cleans the surface. It is important that it is non-granular, without dyes and flavors.
How to polish the glass surface of a watch with toothpaste:
- Apply a little product to dry and clean cloth.
- Gently wipe the damaged areas in the direction of the scratches or in a circular motion. The glass should be polished with little or no force: excessive effort can only ruin the watch. The pressure on the entire surface must be the same.
- Remove the remaining paste with a damp cloth. The material must be squeezed out well so that drops of water do not get inside the watch.
- If necessary, repeat the procedure several more times.
Tip Before polishing, make sure there is no dirt on the glass. If they are not cleaned, they can cause new scratches.
Professional products for high-quality glass polishing
Glass can be polished with high quality using professional products used by craftsmen. These include:
- Diamond paste . Fine abrasive material with a paste-like consistency. Craftsmen often call it “finishing”. The paste is used as a final sanding agent or after basic cleaning.
- "Polarite." This material comes in different grain levels. The watch glass is cleaned with fine-grained paste.
The principle of working with professional products is the same as for toothpaste and GOI. See how your Sunlight watch shines, and yours will shine the same way after professional cleaning.
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Sandpaper
If the watch has thick and durable glass, then it is restored on a polishing machine. Partially replacing the equipment will be ordinary sandpaper with medium or fine abrasiveness. Do not use coarse-grained paper - it will cause even more damage.
The surface should be treated similarly to other methods - in circular movements and with equal pressure over the entire area.
Advice If a deep crack appears on the watch, it is better to replace the glass with a new one.
Scotch Brite abrasive
When removing scratches on a satin-finished case, the situation is more complicated. The fact is that satin finishing can be different and occurs in many variations from “refined velvety” to “roughly instrumental”, therefore there is no universal way to remove scratches with such a finish. The most commonly used abrasive is Scotch Brite . When working with it, it is extremely important to strictly follow the direction of the original satin finish. The slightest deviation negatively affects the result. 3M sandpaper (“Three Em”) with grits of 1500 and 2000 . Higher grain size results in a “blurring” effect. If there are deep scratches, you should start with 1500 and then move to 2000.
An important point: you need to treat the entire surface of the case on which you want to remove scratches, for example, the entire side. It will not be possible to remove a single local scratch without a trace, since the new “satin” will be different from the old one. More or less, but it is almost impossible to accurately hit the old satin. The workshop will also not remove the scratch separately, because it is much more effective to go over the entire side.
Plastic
The material is durable. It withstands intensive use and “rough” processing technology. Defects can be easily and quickly eliminated, and no special care is required. To remove scratches, it is recommended to use tooth powder.
Initially, the glass part is removed from the main product. Then abrasive is applied to the material and polishing is carried out. After you have sanded the accessory to its original condition, gently wipe it with water or alcohol.
Rules for removing scratches from glass
Before moving on to eliminating defects from a transparent surface, you need to familiarize yourself with some recommendations from experts so as not to aggravate the situation even further:
- 1. Do not polish glass with hard paper. Its dense and rough texture will adversely affect the glossy or matte finish, and the ink contains contaminants.
- 2. This rule also applies to sandpaper. Instead of polishing, its rough texture will cause even more damage to the fragile top layer.
- 3. Do not use a dry, rough cloth to wipe the surface of the watch, especially if high-temperature water and aggressive detergents were used for cleaning. It is better to use soft fiber, gauze or other similar materials.
- 4. To wash glass, you can use regular laundry soap. But you shouldn’t expect the same result from it as from special products that will allow you to clean the surface as much as possible.
- 5. If washing powders are used for washing, then all abrasive particles should be dissolved as much as possible before cleaning.
- 6. Polishing should be done slowly and patiently so as not to damage the fragile surface of the watch.
How to care for your wristwatch
In order for products to work longer and maintain an aesthetic appearance, you need to properly use and organize the care of your watch. Do not place the accessory with the dial facing down to avoid scratching or damaging the glass. By the way, sapphire glass is considered the most durable. There are no scratches or dents on the sapphire product.
Do not leave the watch in direct sunlight or expose it to hypothermia. Do not wear the accessory in a bathhouse or sauna. High humidity, heat and sudden temperature changes lead to rapid drying of the lubricant, disrupt the operation of mechanisms and render the product unusable.
Do not wear your watch in a pool or body of water, even if it is waterproof. In this case, only exposure to rain or brief hand washing under the tap is allowed.
If moisture gets on your watch, do not dry it with a hairdryer, on or near the battery! Wipe the accessory dry, place it on a towel or napkin and leave to dry at room temperature. If condensation appears under the glass or the mechanism stops working, contact a specialist.
Avoid mechanical impact and shock, do not throw the product and do not store it near electrical appliances. Avoid exposure to aggressive detergents, alkalis and acids.
Experts advise winding your watch once a day at approximately the same time to ensure confidence in the power reserve. Clean your product regularly, including the strap, case and clasp. If worn regularly, the accessory should be cleaned once every two months.
Medium scratches
It is easier to scratch the watch to a minimum - medium depth during everyday wear. In such situations, the product will be polished without unnecessary effort. Use a fine-grained abrasive, a piece of leather or felt.
- The glass part needs to be removed. Then it is cleaned of dirt using microfiber.
- Microfiber is moistened with water. Apply a small amount of GOI No. 3 and polish with wave-like movements. As defects are eliminated, the abrasive is changed to No. 2 and No. 1.
- The surface will become matte. Now the abrasive composition is washed off. The surface is wiped with dry microfiber. Apply tooth powder and continue polishing with a damp cloth.
- After completing the work, wipe the material again until dry and insert it into the watch case.
Sapphire crystal polishing
How to polish watch glass made from sapphire base? One of the most effective solutions here is the use of GOI paste, intended for “rough” work. You can purchase polishing agent at almost every hardware store.
As in the previous case, the glass is first removed from the watch case. Coarse-grained GOI paste is applied to a pre-moistened cotton swab. Next, the glass is polished in a circular motion for several minutes. Finally, the product is wiped with cloth soaked in alcohol.
If there are large scratches on the surface of the sapphire crystal, the procedure is carried out using a polishing wheel on a grinding machine. In order not to damage the product, you need to remain vigilant during work, performing delicate surface treatment.
Some sapphire watch crystals contain an anti-reflective coating. In this case, it is not recommended to resort to processing it yourself. To eliminate defects in such a situation, it is better to take the watch to a workshop.
Mineral
In this case, polishing the watch glass will require care and time and effort.
Typically, professionals advise: “remove the glass.” However, in this case they work with the accessory without removing the dial. The abrasive composition is applied to the surface and subsequently processed with a grinding machine. When processing, the product is moved from the edge to the central part and back to ensure uniform impact on the surface. Work continues until the product is free of scratches. The surface should become transparent.
At the next stage, mechanical manual grinding is carried out. The cotton wool is first moistened in alcohol. Clean the product with a cotton swab until it shines.
