Reply With QuoteI'm sure a Brillo pad or Garryflex block would remove that very easily - just take it nice and easy, straight lines in one direction.
In a moment of unwanted manual labor I managed to bang my Ingy against a metal door handle. It's the brushed parts that took most of the impact and now I'm wondering if this is something that I could fix myself.
There's no deformation, it's the bushed part that now looks polished. It's not bothering me too much other that I'm mad about myself.
Do you think I could tape up the watch and reapply some of the brushed look or should I just leave it for the next service? I don't want to make it look worse so I'll properly just leave it alone.
There's also a surprising amount of dirt but I think I'll manage to clean that myself.
I'm sure a Brillo pad or Garryflex block would remove that very easily - just take it nice and easy, straight lines in one direction.
I tend to use a kitchen pad, yellow sponge/green scoured, and lightly brush the brushed link with the green side. You need to make sure you brush parallel to existing brushing and go very lightly, checking every two/three strokes to make sure you don't overdo it. I never use a new pad but a used one as a new pad can be too abrasive.
If if that was my watch I would have a go at brushing it in the knowledge that if I did cock it up it could always be rectified at next service.
A Brillo pad, really?
I suppose it comes down to how confident you are. I managed to remove desk driving marks off an oyster bracelet. I used a scotch pad and rubbed very lightly in the same direction as the grain in the metal. Time is your friend if your going to give it go.
You're looking at it all wrong OP. You've discovered an easy way to polish a watch by the looks of it :-D
I've always found scouring pads to be a bit crude - you lack the finesse to get a good finish.
Paul (walkerwek) is a bit of an expert on hand refinishing, so I am sure he'll give decent advise.
I'd suggest some wet/dry paper or I've always had really good results with those emery nail files - not the coarse ones to file nails but the emery boards that women polish their nails with. You can pick them up in super drug or boots. The best versions have multiple grades on one stick (like the pink/purple thing in the picture):
Just make sure you maintain a totally parallel direction and only polish one way.
To be fair, a brillo pad is essentially the same principle as the following industrial metal finishing pads, just more readily available. As with most things, technique is just as important.Originally Posted by monogroover
http://solutions.3mnz.co.nz/wps/port...eetsPadsRolls/
For the sort of finishing on a watch bracelet the purple one would be the most relevant I think.
I've done this quite a bit.
The hard bit is matching how rough or smooth the finish is, be prepared for it not to match 100%.
I use orange nail pads from somewhere like Sally hair supplies, they are small oblong blocks of foam with different grades of abrasive on each side.
They are cheap as chips and give you a great finish in several choices of brushed finish.
The other alternative is to buy the real deal, Burgeon finishing pads.
Edit. Do NOT use a brillo pad.
The thing about pads is that they can flex, so it can be easy to catch a corner and take the nice sharp edge off if you've not done much finishing before. Those emery boards are a good idea, but I would feel more comfortable with a pad as I've used them more, and you get a greater feel for the amount of pressure applied. All in my experience of course.I've always found scouring pads to be a bit crude - you lack the finesse to get a good finish.
Paul (walkerwek) is a bit of an expert on hand refinishing, so I am sure he'll give decent advise.
I'd suggest some wet/dry paper or I've always had really good results with those emery nail files - not the coarse ones to file nails but the emery boards that women polish their nails with. You can pick them up in super drug or boots. The best versions have multiple grades on one stick (like the pink/purple thing in the picture):
Just make sure you maintain a totally parallel direction and only polish one way.
edit: Looking at that bracelet, it looks a bit fine for a brillo pad.
Last edited by Nuisance Value; 25th January 2015 at 12:22.
Looks like I'll need to raid the girlfriends beauty box only this time I have a legitimate reason ;-)
So nay to the Brillo pad?
I'd avoid the brillo pad but go for it with some kind of emery board or wet/dry paper. I feel comfortable doing bracelets as long as I'm not seriously removing lots of metal as I know it can always be redone at service. Any deep scratch I'd live with as wabi, but those 'polished' marks should be easily removable without getting rid of metal.
3m Scoth brite pad will do the job.
A bit of Wabi looks good on it.
No need to fret about removing metal on something as thick as this.
A blue Garryflex block, a Scotchbrite pad, or 600grit wet and dry will all give a similar finish that should look OK. The bracelet really needs taking off the watch to get a good 'sweep' , it's surprisingly difficult to get work dead straight and this will help.
I`d probably use 600 grit wet and dry to get the damage out and finish with a Scotchbrite wrapped around something solid. However, the whole bracelet may need light refinishing to get a perfect match. Again, the bracelet needs to be off the watch to do this right.
Strongly advise the OP to practice on something first to get the feel of it.
Paul
Wrap your door handles with insulation tape.
Fibreglass scratch pen...
Cheers..
Jase
Interesting reading this thread from a relative newbie perspective picking up various do's and don'ts.
OP I sympathise, the first few scratches on any watch are always the most painful aren't they, especially when it happens doing something so routine. After the first few don't all the scratches become patina
That'll certainly make it less noticeable and it's a quick easy fix. Unlikely to get the finish exactly right, but it'll be an improvement.
Paul
Thanks for the advice. I don't want to do the entire bracelet, this is just to make it less noticeable and not necessarily perfect. So perhaps the fiber pen would be a better option?
I've used a pen eraser with a fair amount of success in the past. Can't see how deep your scratch is and I'm sure Walkerwek1958 is far more accomplished than me but the eraser method is a nice way to get some confidence on your technique before trying garyflex maybe? (Works well on Ti too incidentally)
brilo pads? nail files? Those will make the watch even worse. If you go down this rout and if you don't see problems right away, they will become more apparent in certain angles/light conditions.
You need something with the correct density and elevation and consistency to get it to blend.
I would suggest you look into the specialised watch maker tools designed for this, problem is to find the correct specs that will give you an identical look. I would personally have IWC do it as they will use the exact tool. I wonder if they are willing to send you one?
Have a look at watchbandrenew.com. Have a couple of these sets myself and they work wonders on my watches!
This. Beregon (sp?) from eBay or other t'internet outlet. <£10 as I recall, and if you are working on a few grands worth of watch, it seems a worthwhile outlay.
Garryflex block. FWIW I have found the grey one matches the brushing on Rolex watches perfectly
Indeed - another vote for the Garryflex blocks - I've used the grey and then the pink on my Speedy bracelet. Here's an example when I fitted a half link, it was the only new link there, all the others were refinished using Garryflex blocks, with a small piece cut from the larger block and obviously the polished parts were taped up. As Paul says, go slow and practice.
I found that the fibreglass scratch pens tended to fail at blending in the restoration with the rest of the bracelet...too much of a focussed refinishing.
For taking out light "polishes" to brushed metals, emery or wet/dry produces perfectly acceptable results, invisible to the naked eye. You'd have to be someone that examines your bracelets with a loupe to notice any imperfection if done properly.
Generally though, I'm a fan of leaving a watch alone until it is serviced.
If it's not bothering you I would leave it until the next service.
To the OP: just be careful with those center links, since they are beveled (high polish) and if you mess that up, it will not look great on certain angles. The good thing is that the scratch didn't reached the beveled part, so you could repair that with a small piece of brillo pad. Just apply very tiny amount of pressure and go easy
That's a nice looking job.Indeed - another vote for the Garryflex blocks - I've used the grey and then the pink on my Speedy bracelet. Here's an example when I fitted a half link, it was the only new link there, all the others were refinished using Garryflex blocks, with a small piece cut from the larger block and obviously the polished parts were taped up. As Paul says, go slow and practice.
As far as the OP's watch. I see a nice little ding on one of the corners. I'd forget about the little scratch and just have that ding laser welded and lapped at service time. That will take care of the scratch as well. Those sharp cased Genta-style watches are lovely... scratch and ding magnets.
The Brillo pad element of my Brillo pad or Garryflex block suggestion doesn't seem to have been well received. I'm not quite the domestic goddess at home that my wife wishes I was so perhaps I've called it the wrong name - this is what I mean and they have worked well in my experience:
This or the Garryflex block used with care will address the problem - ok, it may not be perfect under a loupe but it should be invisible to the naked eye. Again, with care.
I believe the 3227 bracelet links may have beveled edges so the Garryflex block may work a little better and they're more precise than the Brillo pads. Also, the individual links are easily removed using the IWC tools from memory which may also be a good idea.
Brillo
I would never use a Brillo pad!
Paul
Ooops... clearly a terminology faux pas on my part!
Use the green thing in my post above!
PS. You may find it easier to run the link over the pad / block, rather than rubbing the pad / block over the link... if that makes sense.
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