scratch remover for my watch... :-D whoops

the_music_man

aka prodj88 =P
Joined
2 Jul 2002
Messages
2,401
Yeah i just scratched my new Swatch watch up really bad. i banged into the wall like 50 times today. hahah im clumsy. so can any1 recommend a cheap scratch remover kit for under 10 bucks??? I saw some on ebay but you never know if they work!
 
If the scratch isn't that deep, you can try toothpaste and a cotton cloth. Really, it's no joke.
 
Glaanieboy said:
If the scratch isn't that deep, you can try toothpaste and a cotton cloth. Really, it's no joke.
First time I've heard that one. Any particular type of toothpaste? (It's not like the old days is it.. there's all sorts of crap out there now!) and is it just glass or plastics too?
 
Glaanieboy said:
If the scratch isn't that deep, you can try toothpaste and a cotton cloth. Really, it's no joke.

What the? How's that suppose to work? :confused::rolleyes:
 
I have seen this tip in a computer magazine years ago, it was about scratches on CD's. I have used it on a Windows 95 cd and an old Office 97 CD, and it worked. The scratches weren't entirely gone, but the data was readable. For a scratch to be really gone, it mustn't be very deep. I don't know if it will work on a watch (it's a harder material - glass), but you can always wash it off if it doesn't work.
Toothpaste has tiny grains that scratches on your teeth with brushing, so that the filth and bacteria will be removed. If used on a CD, it actually grains the surface, so that it will be smooth again. But if the scratch is too deep, or the material is too hard (like glass), the tiny grains are too small to work.
 
SPeedY_B said:
First time I've heard that one. Any particular type of toothpaste? (It's not like the old days is it.. there's all sorts of crap out there now!) and is it just glass or plastics too?

just try not to brush your teeth after you do that :cool:
 
I saw this vacuum looking thingy on tv that claimed they would make scractched glasses like new

did the brillo test and it worked

also, go into a jeweler, and the can buff it smooth with a wheel

also, if it's a fine watch, it's actually not plastic...they might have some kind of guranatee on the crystal
 
google has alot to say also;

The British Horological Institute has archived and edited the following from e-mails sent to the Clock/Clockers mailing lists on the Internet. The information here does not necessarily indicate a method approved by the BHI, we are only publishing this digest so that others can decide for themselves whether the methods listed below will suit them.

From: Alan Heugh, George Painter, Jim Sturm

Removing scratches from glass can be a long and tedious job. Here are some suggested techniques.

Method 1
On an individual craftsman's level, polishing glass isn't quick or easy. I have a small diamond lapidary set-up and I've repolished a few thick Hamilton crystals. It took hours.

You have to grind the whole surface down to the bottom of the deepest scratch and then do the same process with each successively finer grit of diamond compound. Generally it's simpler to slightly dome the surface like a shallow cabochon, but if authenticity is important for the value of the watch you should keep a flat crystal flat - which is much harder, requiring a hard lap; it's like cutting one large facet. I doubt if a fancier lapidary machine would help much. On a positive note, I didn't have to remove the crystal from it's case bezel, although This took lots of patient care not to mar the metal.

If the crystal needs replacement it's easier to cut a new crystal from ordinary triple thick window glass - score with a new glass cutter using ice and heat to encourage the crack, and finish grinding/polishing on a lathe for perfection, or by eye with care.

A related thought... I recently read good advise for keeping grit out of machines while grinding - cover the bed and wherever necessary with aluminium foil, conforming it to the machine, and spray it with oil to catch and hold the particles. This works great! If something goes wrong and it gets caught in the machine it just tears, whereas a rag will grab flap and tangle, and possibly include parts of you in the event.

Method 2
A "NEW" item listed called "Watch Crystal Scratch Repair Kit for Plastic and Glass Crystals." The kit is $25. Refills of various items are also available. One person has tried the kit with little success. This is what he said: "I've use that same kit purchased from Cas-Ker and was very disappointed. The sanding discs wore through on the first attempt to polish and left the surface wavy. At $5.00 a throw I'm not inclined to get replacements. The plastic polishing compound seems to work but I get better results from a buffer charged with a crystal polishing compound. I haven't yet use the glass polishing system but fear I will get the same results.

Method 3
Find one of the "eyeglasses in an hour" stores which has some mighty fancy eyeglass grinders busy grinding away, and ask them to polish the crystal

Method 4
You'll need a flat surface on which to put, grit side up, a piece of emery paper of, say, 250 mesh grit. Using a figure-8 motion, grind off the scratches. The crystal will then appear somewhat milky. Carefully clean off any residual grit, set up a 400 mesh paper at a separate location, and polish the milkiness off. There are polishing wheels lubricated with water to do this work, but they cost lots o' money. One undesirable outcome of the hand method will be that the edge of the crystal face will be a bit rounded unless you rig some way to keep the crystal from tipping randomly as you grind and polish. To me, the result is much better than the scratched crystal.

Method 5
Use a compound called cerium oxide which is sold by automotive parts houses for the removal of scratches on windshields. It is used in a buffing process after mixing with water. It does work but requires endless hours of polishing. If the crystal gets too hot in the process it can crack. The chemical is also toxic.
 
Glaanieboy said:
...If used on a CD, it actually grains the surface, so that it will be smooth again.

That cant be right...the surface of a CD isnt smooth, only to the touch.
 
whoa there!!!! my watch rocks man!!! ok so I put some toothpaste and it kinda worked on the small scatches but it didn't get the big one like you said. I think i can live with it. And if i can't i'll just email Swatch demanding them to replace it :) .. I don't know if 3 year warrantys include scratches.....
 
RagnaroK said:
Err, ain't a cd made of a series of grooves of 0s and 1s? :p

Yes it is. Thank you.

ElementalDragon - how do you think the data is stored on it? Just cos you cant feel it doesnt mean it aint there! In fact, i'd go as far to say that if you put toothpaste on a CD you'd make it unusable.
 
dood, the "groves" used to represent 1's and 0's (which i believe are actually called dips and hills and in no way would appear to be a groove.) are NOT, i repeat NOT, put on the underside of the disc. if it was, how exactly do you think a CD-RW would work? to prove that data is stored on the label side since u don't seem to believe me, why don't make a music cd, then take a key or something, and put a few scratches on the underside of the cd, where u say data is stored, and try playing the music cd in a cd player, then scratch the label side to the point that you can see through the disc and try playing it. then tell me where the data is stored.
 
just break it and get a new one :) and then get a watch protector case like the ipod case i use :p
 
ElementalDragon said:
dood, the "groves" used to represent 1's and 0's (which i believe are actually called dips and hills and in no way would appear to be a groove.) are NOT, i repeat NOT, put on the underside of the disc. if it was, how exactly do you think a CD-RW would work? to prove that data is stored on the label side since u don't seem to believe me, why don't make a music cd, then take a key or something, and put a few scratches on the underside of the cd, where u say data is stored, and try playing the music cd in a cd player, then scratch the label side to the point that you can see through the disc and try playing it. then tell me where the data is stored.
yeah data is stored on the back of the label side ... thats why if you get into "bootleg" trading ppl are 1) freeky about media type 2) will go crazy if you put anything on the top of disc as wrong markers or scratchs or anything can make the disc no good.
 

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