I managed to scratch the lug when changing strap. It is brushed / satin finish. Any ideas on how to solve this myself?
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I managed to scratch the lug when changing strap. It is brushed / satin finish. Any ideas on how to solve this myself?
On top or underneath the lug?
A fibreglass pen will help depending on the depth of the scratch.
Unless you have any experience with metal refinishing I would tread with care,perhaps go back to the supplier.
It’s on top of the lug.Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonM
Where in the UK are you?
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London
They are a bit of a pain as the brushing is radial, meaning they need a case lathe and strip to do correctly. A brown Gary flex is about the right finish.
You can get half decent results by putting a big nut in a vice and screwing a bolt into it, then blue tack the case on so it spins on centre. You can then turn the case whilst presenting the Gary flex carefully to the lug.
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Clever improvisation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluehase284
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I am a bodging king [emoji4]
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You sound like my dad [emoji16]Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluehase284
If you don’t have the experience I would suggest getting someone to do it for you, a real shame to get it wrong and make a small job a much bigger one. To do it right isn’t as easy as it looks, on a cheap watch yes get advice and give it a go but on this, I wouldn’t recommend it
Give it to an expert would be my advice.
Exactly rightQuote:
Originally Posted by watch-nut
No offence OP, but if you manage to badly scratch your watch whilst changing the strap, i would say you are not ready to attempt any kind of case refinishing. Let a pro have a look at it.
I do a similar thing. I also have a set- up for spinning cases and casebacks slowly in the chuck of a variable speed drill clamped in a 6” vice, it does the job nicely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluehase284
Touching up a grained or brushed finish is like painting a car, a fixing a small area can stand out and you end up doing the whole lot.
It’s a bit late now, but you should always change sraps in a way that avoids marks on the top if something slips. I put tape on lugs, or remove the strap in such a way that a mark would end up on the back of the lug.
Can you not just live with it?
Curse yourself, lessons learned, get over it and accept that it’s only the first of many in its life, assuming you wear and use it as intended.
Mine, from new in December last year. Worn almost daily.
Anything of concern can be resolved with a service, but personally I like it more and more as it becomes “lived-in”
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...abc12b59b7.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1b7905e54c.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...67b2fbc5ee.jpg
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Hats off to you for being able to cope with those scratches, I couldn’t!Quote:
Originally Posted by notenoughwrists
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Yes, why don’t people ‘detail’ watches?Quote:
Originally Posted by Quality Man
Because it’s not necessary. If i was bothered about scratches or needing to wear some shiny jewellery, I’d wear a Rado, or just become a girl.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingstepper
Like dogs, watches are probably reflective of their owners. If yours are boxed and kept safely in a cool dark place, you should probably get out more.
;)
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I’m just careful....I sold a mint Seiko 5 to a work colleague and six months later it looks like it has been run over with a truck, pains me to see it! You’re right of course, I do need to get out more...Quote:
Originally Posted by notenoughwrists
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When it comes to stuff like that I just use a dremmel and a polishing attachment just be very careful not to round of any edges off
I picked up a CW Trident GMT the other day and the bracelet didn't look so good
If its brushed then its super easy and only a few mins
Before
https://i.ibb.co/xm8QZ0h/CE6-F539-B-...903-E203-C.jpg
After its not prefect but a hell of a lot better
https://i.ibb.co/S53Fdx2/D45503-C9-C...-A67-BE6-E.jpg
It’s not necessary, no, I was highlighting the difference between cars and watches.Quote:
Originally Posted by notenoughwrists
On watches, a bit of wear, faded bezels or lume is often seen as adding character. A generalisation but people are a lot more precious about cars. Admittedly the majority don’t bother with detailing but most prefer to keep them looking as new as possible ad scratches definitely a bad thing!
I think I’d get a professional to rectify the damage if I was in the OP’s position and couldn’t live with the scratch.
Some interesting views on display though. I’m one of those who really looks after everything I own. Watches, clothes, shoes, cars, everything. It’s just how I’m built. So, when something gets damaged it drives me up the wall. I’ve passed on ‘stuff’ to others in pristine condition, having owned it for years, only to see it looking wrecked a few weeks later!
A scratch on a watch isn’t ‘patina’ it’s plain old damage and I would have to work out a way to get it sorted ASAP, so I don’t blame the OP for looking for a solution from the wisdom of this forum [emoji106]
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Yes I'm definitely in this camp. I have an Oris Classic which I wear without much regard to micro scratches but I'm very careful with my possessions. I was in Murcia on a wine tour last week and noticed the guy next to me had a DSSD. It was covered in wear marks which all seemed to strangely balance out.Quote:
Originally Posted by NCC66
I've managed to put some slight scratches on my BB58 in roughly 4 months daily use, annoying when they've happened especially both accidental knocks on a door handle. Unsure whether it's lucky to have missed the polished bevel and only on the brushed surface of the lugs or not!
The clasp in 4months has taken a battering from desk diving. Guess it's the way I wear the watch, never under a cuff, and have my shirt sleeves rolled up. I'd expect a lot more abuse over the years, and a service can rectify it - although each scratch will tell a story as they say. The biggest deepest one on the clasp was from putting the buggy in the car, 'you'll laugh about it one day' she says!
Pretty certain my Panerai hasn't shown this much damage - is this due to the lack of brushed metal? Also my U Boat deployment clasp from 2 yrs daily wear didn't show as many scratches. Guess the nature of a watch on a bracelet.
Here's how I`d tackle the polished bits. First stage is to get the damage out, I use a small hard rubber block with flat surfaces (v. important), wrap a small piece of wet and dry paper around it, and use this to flat down the surfaces. It'll look worse before it looks better, but trust me, doing it this way removes the damage whilst removing minimal metal.Quote:
Originally Posted by bazza.
Think about it, a scratch is a like a ploughed furrow, the metal HAS to go somewhere and it ends up sitting slightly proud above the surface. Using a flatting technique will initially take everything off that 's above the surface. At this point the scratch will appear much shallower, and getting will involve taking the metal surface down to match the 'valley' of the scratch. The flat surface of the rubbing block is essential to do this as effectively as possible. On a polished surface I`d use nothing harsher than 1000 grit initially unless the damage was very deep. Once you've cut deep enough to get the scratches out, it's then a case of working through the grades of abrasive paper, finishing with 5000 or 7000 grit on a flat polished surface. I'd probably go from 1000 to 1500, then to 3000. At this point I`d give one part a quick polish using metal polish on a leather-faced buff stick and inspect, at this point I`m looking for 'furrow's in the polishing and checking that the previous stages have been completed properly. If I'm happy it's then on to 5000 and 7000. Finally, I`d hand-polish using metal polish on a buff stick, and as a last stage I`d finish it off on a fairly hard polishing wheel. This will get the hairlines out and the workpiece will have that deep mirror-finish lustre. When viewed under a magnifier there should be an absence of what I call 'furrows', these are caused by not removing the scratches caused by each subsequent flatting step. If a coarser grade of abrasive is used this is more of a problem, or if the original damage hasn`t been flatted out correctly......once you've seen it you know what to look for.
This sounds laborious, because it is laborious, but it's easy to fool yourself with polishing, you can end up simply softening the scratches and making the thing look better (which is fine) but a far better result can be obtained.
This isn`t rocket science, anyone can learn how to do it, but you have to think about what's really going on. The materials needed are easily available from Cousins or elsewhere, my small rubbing blocks are made from an exhaust mounting strap and a strip of rectangular hardwood. I also use flat lolly sticks with wet and dry paper stuck on for some work, sometimes I'll use soft double-sided tape but other times it's good old evo-stick.
Very rarely will I use a Dremel, their fine for the final polishing stage I described but that's all. The Bergeon leather-faced flat buff sticks are very useful, their a bit dear but they last well if you look after them.
I`d encourage anyone who fancies refinishing a bracelet or case to try my method as an alternative to simply using polishing, polishing should be the final step and it doesn`t take much if you've done the previous steps.
Welcome to my world sirQuote:
Originally Posted by walkerwek1958
I see we are singing for the same song sheet, it isn't rocket science after all its only metal at the end of the day
Being as I'm a time served Pattern maker this is pretty straight forward stuff as you so pointed out above chap
Ah, so you had an advantage:smug:...........I had to work it out for myself!Quote:
Originally Posted by bazza.
I painted a couple of classic cars in the distant past and learned all about flatting down and levelling, I try to apply the same principle when refinishing watches.
Looks like I’ve tried to teach granny to suck eggs.......but hopefully some of the others will be ‘ inspired ‘ to give it a try.
Very informative. I really like posts with practical advice. Thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by walkerwek1958
Classic cars that's impressive stuff matey I bet that's interesting work , flatting down takes time I've done a far bit of levelling to get the high lights running rightQuote:
Originally Posted by walkerwek1958
I myself moved on from pattern making back in the late 90s and for the last 20 years have been an Auto Clay Modeller which you may find interesting here is a
short video of it https://youtu.be/8yC2KkXHXB0
That's incredible!Quote:
Originally Posted by bazza.
Certainly is!Quote:
Originally Posted by Omegamanic
Bazza - How long does the process take from start of claying until the finished model?
Wow, that's superb. I know it's time lapse, so how long did that take in reality?Quote:
Originally Posted by bazza.
Sorry miss this
Back in 98 we started the Audi A4 Soft top and from start to finish it took around 3 to 4 years
But now they went the exterior clay work done in about 15 months or so but the interior can take longer
We normally would start off with 4 or 5 1/4 scale models and then maybe 2 full size models and maybe 3 different Interiors
I love interior modelling as there is far more going on the VW in the picture I worked on the other I didn't but gives you
A good idea of all the lines you have to deal with
Most of the time the guy working the dash is the team leader and then you'd have a 2 or 3 guys working the doors and someone on the console and someone on the seats
https://i.ibb.co/F8tr4Pr/kia-sportsp...erior-clay.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/KLSrR7V/maxresdefault.jpg