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Thread: polish or re-plate

  1. #1
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    polish or re-plate

    Hi, I am very interested in purchasing from ebay a used Maurice Lacroix stainless steel rectangular watch. The phots look good save for some scratches from the winder to the end of the lug. These do not look terrible under magnification but the watch is about £200.00 so not a cheapy. Although the watch is stainless steel I assume it is plated in chromium as it has a very high gloss. My question is can scratches be polished out of chrome; in which case what product should I use or alternatively is it fairly easy to get the watch case re-plated in chromium. thanks very much.

  2. #2
    Master ed335d's Avatar
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    Pictures would help

    I don't think plating SS is too common on watch cases (could be wrong).

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed335d View Post
    Pictures would help

    I don't think plating SS is too common on watch cases (could be wrong).
    +1.......it's likely to be highly polished steel and it can be refinished. Can't see it being chrome plate, if it was it would be applied over base metal.

    Paul

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    Hi Guys, Many thanks for your replies. Unfortunately I cant post pics simply because I have no idea how to do it; I do well to turn my laptop on. Assuming the watch is highly polished S/S is there a product you could recommend to remove light scratches. thanks jack

  5. #5
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    Cape cod cloths work very well to restore a mirror finish on Stainless Steel. They will only remove very light scratches / marks though, but unlike other methods of polishing (e.g polishing machine, dremel...) you can't really go wrong with them and take out too much metal, so it could be worth a go.

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    Hi olli, Many thanks I shall give that a go.

  7. #7
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    Scratches can be removed using fine wet and dry paper wrapped around a small hard wood or hard rubber block. Metal polish on a buff stick followed by Cape Cod for final finishing is the way I do it.

    Paul

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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    Scratches can be removed using fine wet and dry paper wrapped around a small hard wood or hard rubber block. Metal polish on a buff stick followed by Cape Cod for final finishing is the way I do it.

    Paul


    Or to save the hard work, use a dremmel polishing tool. I would not be without mine.

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    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2223441405...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

    Hi guys, I don't know whether I have cracked it but hope the above is a link to the scratched watch I am proposing to purchase. I am sure you guys will know whether it is stainless steel or chromium plated. thanks again for all your help.

  10. #10
    Master ed335d's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by little View Post
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2223441405...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

    Hi guys, I don't know whether I have cracked it but hope the above is a link to the scratched watch I am proposing to purchase. I am sure you guys will know whether it is stainless steel or chromium plated. thanks again for all your help.
    Well, it has SS on the caseback and they list it as SS. I'd say with a degree of confidence it's SS

  11. #11
    Grand Master Der Amf's Avatar
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    The dial is fitted very wonky, isn't it?

    Last edited by Der Amf; 14th December 2016 at 23:54.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Amf View Post
    The dial is fitted very wonky, isn't it?

    Are you sure?

  13. #13
    Grand Master Der Amf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed335d View Post
    Are you sure?
    They've even got the rows of dimples to help them line it up and still

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed335d View Post
    Well, it has SS on the caseback and they list it as SS. I'd say with a degree of confidence it's SS
    Hi ed335d;love it. Thanks guys for spotting that, I doubt I would have noticed it until I had it in my hands which is the wrong time to notice a flaw. This does make me think twice about purchasing the watch. The seller says she obtains watches from a collector. This may well be one to walk away from. If the dial is wonky what else is wrong. Thanks again to you all

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    Quote Originally Posted by MADDOG View Post
    Or to save the hard work, use a dremmel polishing tool. I would not be without mine.
    I've refinished lots of watches and I'd never recommend using a dremel tool.

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    Quote Originally Posted by little View Post
    Hi ed335d;love it. Thanks guys for spotting that, I doubt I would have noticed it until I had it in my hands which is the wrong time to notice a flaw. This does make me think twice about purchasing the watch. The seller says she obtains watches from a collector. This may well be one to walk away from. If the dial is wonky what else is wrong. Thanks again to you all
    The dial can't really be wonky unless the dial feet have snapped off. Walk away.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by me32dc View Post
    The dial can't really be wonky unless the dial feet have snapped off. Walk away.
    Or unless its fake. No amendation proposed for the advice given!

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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    I've refinished lots of watches and I'd never recommend using a dremel tool.
    LOL ! Why?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    LOL ! Why?
    Because it would give a rubbish finish, low torque and tiny wheel size. It would be fine for DIY or someone to work on their own watch, but not for charged repairs, it wouldn't be comparable to manufacturers standards.

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    Hi guys, again I am showing my ignorance but if a new battery has been installed is it possible that the movement has moved slightly and has not been centred properly before the back plate was re-fitted. So far as being a fake I wouldn't think these watches command a high enough retail price to warrant fakes being produced.

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    Quote Originally Posted by little View Post
    Hi guys, again I am showing my ignorance but if a new battery has been installed is it possible that the movement has moved slightly and has not been centred properly before the back plate was re-fitted. So far as being a fake I wouldn't think these watches command a high enough retail price to warrant fakes being produced.
    The dial is connected directly to the movement with the dial feet so not possible unless the stem has a massive bend in it, but then you couldn't set it to set the time.
    Last edited by me32dc; 15th December 2016 at 15:56.

  22. #22
    Grand Master Der Amf's Avatar
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    Just as a general rule: fakers will fake anything - if you're already producing cheap tat watches, why not put a little more effort in, bung on a brand name and charge 20× as much? Like most crime, it's opportunistic, rather than the product of a grand design.

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    Quote Originally Posted by me32dc View Post
    Because it would give a rubbish finish, low torque and tiny wheel size. It would be fine for DIY or someone to work on their own watch, but not for charged repairs, it wouldn't be comparable to manufacturers standards.
    It would depend on the skill of the person using it , the type of job and the correct tool. jewellers use pendant drills all the time . In fact a dremel tool is small enough to access smaller ares than a larger polishing mop so with some metals like 18k you will get a better finish ;-)

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    LOL ! Why?
    If you need to ask the question you wouldn`t understand the answer.

    They're useless for final polishing, the speed causes the polish to centrifuge off the workpiece. Far better to use a buff stick with metal polish, followed by final finishing on a polishing wheel.

    Using abrasive pads to take rough damage out is very risky.

    I have far better techniques than the bloody Dremel. A polishing wheel helps a lot but only for final finishing, I`d never use it for anything else.

    I have a few home-made attachments that fit a variable speed drill clamped in a big vice, that's how I do final brushed finishes and graining.

    Dremel has it's uses , but not on watches as far as I`m concerned. I do a good job of replicating manufacturers finishes using my own tricks and techniques........Dremel isn`t one of them.

    Paul
    Last edited by walkerwek1958; 15th December 2016 at 18:07.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    It would depend on the skill of the person using it , the type of job and the correct tool. jewellers use pendant drills all the time . In fact a dremel tool is small enough to access smaller ares than a larger polishing mop so with some metals like 18k you will get a better finish ;-)
    Rubbish. I work on this stuff all day every day. Jewellers will polish a watch but it is nothing on what a watch polisher can achieve and I promise you won't find a pendant drill or dremel at Breitling, Rolex, Omega etc.

    Mops are for final lustre work anyway, lapping, silicone, rubber felt and gialla wheels is where most of the work is done before you have a few quick final passes with soft mops.

  26. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by me32dc View Post
    Rubbish. I work on this stuff all day every day. Jewellers will polish a watch but it is nothing on what a watch polisher can achieve and I promise you won't find a pendant drill or dremel at Breitling, Rolex, Omega etc.

    Mops are for final lustre work anyway, lapping, silicone, rubber felt and gialla wheels is where most of the work is done before you have a few quick final passes with soft mops.
    I can tell you that a trained jeweller would be a far better bet at polishing an 18 k watch case than a ' watch polisher ' these people have limited skills and have only surfaced in recent years due to the growing market in sales of secondhand watches.
    My watchmaker uses a pendant drill quite a bit and his work is well thought of . Most Watch cases get ruined by untrained people with mops wheels etc . A Dremel agreed isn't a powerful tool but it has some good uses with the correct tools .

  27. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    I can tell you that a trained jeweller would be a far better bet at polishing an 18 k watch case than a ' watch polisher '
    From what experience can you be so confident about this?

    Jewellers are good at polishing jewellery not watches, gold, steel, platinum etc. Just to pick one example; they don't have the correct tools to fully disassemble cases, so leave in case tubes, pushers etc. You only need a pendant motor if you can't be bothered or don't know how to fully strip a case of every part. Therefore you have to work in the tiny tight little sections that a normal polishing wheel can reach.

    I speak having seen hundreds of cases polished by jewellers and thousands of watches having been polished by watch case polishers.

  28. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by me32dc View Post
    From what experience can you be so confident about this?

    Jewellers are good at polishing jewellery not watches, gold, steel, platinum etc. Just to pick one example; they don't have the correct tools to fully disassemble cases, so leave in case tubes, pushers etc. You only need a pendant motor if you can't be bothered or don't know how to fully strip a case of every part. Therefore you have to work in the tiny tight little sections that a normal polishing wheel can reach.

    I speak having seen hundreds of cases polished by jewellers and thousands of watches having been polished by watch case polishers.
    You make a lot of assumptions in your argument ...

  29. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    You make a lot of assumptions in your argument ...
    No argument or covert responses. I was just asking from what experience you spoke and told you the levels of watches I have seen from both camps.

  30. #30
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    I`ve polished a fair number of gold watches and achieved excellent results. It's not rocket science, but you have to be careful. My techniques are a bit slow and labour-intensive but they work. I don`t do the work to put bread on the table so it doesn`t matter if it takes 2 hrs or 2 days to get the right results.

    I`m neither a trained watch refinisher nor a trained jeweller, just a genius with plenty of common sense

    Paul

  31. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    You make a lot of assumptions in your argument ...
    Based on experience (not conjecture) he's talking a lot of sense!

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    Hi, The seller of the watch has squared the dial in the case which has also been polished so no scratches. All looks good so just got to agree a price. do any of you chaps know much about Maurice Lacroix watches; i.e mid price range and also when would you date the watch.Thanks

  33. #33
    Grand Master Der Amf's Avatar
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    Some other items available from this seller:



    Do you have an especial reason for thinking that they will have done a proper job of sorting the watch out, or that they would be able to spot a fake?

  34. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by little View Post
    Hi, The seller of the watch has squared the dial in the case which has also been polished so no scratches. All looks good so just got to agree a price. do any of you chaps know much about Maurice Lacroix watches; i.e mid price range and also when would you date the watch.Thanks
    Don't buy it, buy one that hasn't had the dial glued on after someone pointed out the really obvious flaw that the seller obviously didn't notice

  35. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by me32dc View Post
    Don't buy it, buy one that hasn't had the dial glued on after someone pointed out the really obvious flaw that the seller obviously didn't notice
    Hi guys, You are of course right; but its very difficult for me to pass up a watch that I have been trying to find for many months. If it was going for £50 quid I would take a chance but I shall walk away and keep looking. Thank you all so much for your help and expertise. jack

  36. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    Based on experience (not conjecture) he's talking a lot of sense!
    Apart from making a sweeping statement about all jewellers not having the correct tools to strip down watch cases !
    Keep telling us about your hobby...

  37. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    Apart from making a sweeping statement about all jewellers not having the correct tools to strip down watch cases !
    Keep telling us about your hobby...
    Thanks for your constructive advice.

  38. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by MADDOG View Post
    Or to save the hard work, use a dremmel polishing tool. I would not be without mine.


    I love my Dremmel.






  39. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by j111dja View Post
    I love my Dremmel.





    What attachments do you use for this type of polishing?

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

  40. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Estoril-5 View Post
    What attachments do you use for this type of polishing?

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
    It's probably a little more complicated than what most people think.

    The case back needs lightly polished then masked prior to being brushed. The tricky bits are masking the motif and the curved sides of the case back. I place tape over the motif and then score around the perimeter with my nail. I then remove the tape and trim it, refitting the tape which now fits perfectly over the motif. I prefer the clear yellow masking tape used for masking bracelets.

    I use soft electricians tape for masking the case sides as it is nice and flexible. I prefer a block of white polish, a soft polishing mop and 120 grit garryflex trimmed to size. I also use a guide for the brushing work to give it a proper factory looking finish.
    Last edited by j111dja; 6th January 2017 at 11:22.

  41. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by j111dja View Post

    I use soft electricians tape for masking the case sides as it is nice and flexible. I prefer a block of white polish, a soft polishing mop and 120 grit garryflex trimmed to size. I also use a guide for the brushing work to give it a proper factory looking finish.
    Which polish do you use, have you got a.link please?

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

  42. #42
    Master j111dja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Estoril-5 View Post
    Which polish do you use, have you got a.link please?

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk



    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Steel-Stai...YAAOSwkZhWRK67

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