Remove light scratches from case

Tag_ZA
Posts
428
Likes
1,204
Hi All

I bought my Calibre 16 Carrera from a second hand dealer. The case has quite a few very light scratches / swirls on it (especially the sides), these are all very light surface scratches.

I do not want to take the watch for a full polish at a dealer as I do not think these warrant it and I am a bit skeptical about the process. I am just hoping to remove these scratches / swirl marks myself. Does anyone have any experience in this? I was thinking of using car polish / wax with a microfiber cloth. I am just worried about making them worse. Any advice would be appreciated!

Here is a picture, not the best but should give you an idea.
20190611_105804.jpg
 
Pitfitter446
Posts
2,985
Likes
2,876
Don’t know if a car polish will be abrasive enough to polish the scratches off case? I’ve used toothpaste on glass, might be worth trying if the car polish is a blank, sure somebody else must have tried this, me, the scratches add character.
 
Tag_ZA
Posts
428
Likes
1,204
Thanks for the advice. I see those Cape Cod cloths look great, however a bit hard to find in my country. I have some Autosol Metal polish though. Thinking of trying a tiny amount and then polish after. Will see how it goes tonight.
 
Aquagraph
Posts
21,314
Likes
29,852
For brushed surfaces I found a bonded abrasive works really well. Small pieces of abrasives held in a rubber block. Obviously a very fine one.
Also, you can use a Dremel tool with jeweller's rouge to polish surfaces. I wouldn't do that on a watch like your Carrera, but I have done it on some cheaper quartz pieces with good results.
garryson-garryflex-abrasive-block-range.jpg
 
Tag_ZA
Posts
428
Likes
1,204
Aquagraph Aquagraph
For brushed surfaces I found a bonded abrasive works really well. Small pieces of abrasives held in a rubber block. Obviously a very fine one.

Wow very interesting, I will look into this, thank you.
 
Aquagraph
Posts
21,314
Likes
29,852
Tag_ZA Tag_ZA
Wow very interesting, I will look into this, thank you.

I have occasionally used a dark red block on my Kirium since I first had it, it looks mint to this day. It was a tip from a guy in Goldsmiths, I think when I bought my Breil Ducati Titanium... the other thing you can use is an ink rubber (the grey end of a white/grey eraser), people use them on Titanium watches with spectacular results. I guess it's the same basic idea.
 
Pitfitter446
Posts
2,985
Likes
2,876
Only problem would be getting a rubber to use, iI can’t remember the last time I saw one, if I look hard enough though there’s bound to be one in the garage, that’s were all the useful stuff ends up.
 
Tag_ZA
Posts
428
Likes
1,204
Pitfitter446 Pitfitter446
Only problem would be getting a rubber to use, iI can’t remember the last time I saw one, if I look hard enough though there’s bound to be one in the garage, that’s were all the useful stuff ends up.
Haha same here! Will go look at home in an old pencil case maybe!
 
Aquagraph
Posts
21,314
Likes
29,852
Or what about wet and dry paper? Rubber is better for cases and difficult shapes, but you must follow the brush direction whatever...
 
Tag_ZA
Posts
428
Likes
1,204
I gave it a bit of a go with autosol, very light polishing. The strap (brushed metal) came out really well, almost all scratches were removed. I then tried the case, which is polished steel. A light rub did remove the worst of the scratches but resulted in few very fine swirl marks / hairline scratches in the direction I was polishing in, so I gave that up. Looks a bit better. I will look for the eraser and see what happens. Thanks for all the assistance!

20190611_170917.jpg 20190611_170551.jpg 20190611_170313.jpg 20190611_170209.jpg
 
Albert-AMG
Posts
5,671
Likes
14,908
For brushed surfaces (not for polished!) I tried these fiberglass pencils and result was great. It’s very easy to remove scratches on titanium and gold (soft metals), and you have to repeat the action more times if it is steel, which is harder.

49C4C3E4-A622-4624-A977-498390C91988.jpeg
5C2417FF-A9E8-41D9-BE5E-05A3AD43F447.jpeg

This was my titanium buckle before 😲:
969A9357-F572-4FE7-8569-A6BFE51DFC42.jpeg

During:
AEDC7DBE-11B0-41EA-A48F-EA0187417C1A.jpeg
Very important: You have to brush in the same direction it was originally brushed

And after. It looks like new!! 🥰
53B1D55A-8C2E-44B4-B744-29557807B70C.jpeg
 
Tag_ZA
Posts
428
Likes
1,204
Albert-AMG Albert-AMG
For brushed surfaces (not for polished!) I tried these fiberglass pencils and result was great. It’s very easy to remove scratches on titanium and gold (soft metals), and you have to repeat the action more times if it is steel, which is harder.

WOW!!! That is a beautiful result! I will search for one of these pencils tomorrow, it looks brand new! I think I will leave the polished surface for now as I don't want to damage it further.
 
Aquagraph
Posts
21,314
Likes
29,852
IMG_5036.JPG IMG_5040.JPG
Before and after, spent about an hour with cotton buds and jewellers rouge. Still scratched but much improved, just need to keep going with it!
 
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

PedroHeuer85

removing scratches from sapphire

PedroHeuer85 TAG Heuer Discussion
PedroHeuer85
PedroHeuer85
Posts
3
Views
4K