# Cleaning sapphire glass with doublesided AR coating



## daffie

I just received my very first Damasko (DA46) and it has (standard) doublesided AR coating.

Normally with my previous watches I just wiped the glass with my shirt or sweater, whatever I am wearing at the time  But now I tend to be just a bit more careful, as we know the outside AR coating can get scratched or wear out over time. It will be very long before this happens, but still I want to baby my beautiful Damasko as much as possible (without overdoing it ) to keep it pristine.

So the question is...what would be considered to be the best / safest way to wipe the glass? I would assume a microfiber cloth or a cleaning cloth for glasses. Any other do's and dont's? Appreciate any input...

Cheers :-!


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## TimePieceObsessed

Microfiber is what I use. I also don't hesitate to clean watches with dual sided AR using my t-shirt. I think you'll be ok as long as you use gentle wipes across the crystal.


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## daffie

Cheers for the confirmation :-!


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## StufflerMike

TimePieceObsessed said:


> Microfiber is what I use. I also don't hesitate to clean watches with dual sided AR using my t-shirt. I think you'll be ok as long as you use gentle wipes across the crystal.


+1


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## bpjacobs

I put a few drops of water on the crystal, a tiny amount of soft soap on a clean finger and gently wipe the crystal; then a tiny amount of water to rinse off the soap with the previously rinsed finger; it can all be done without even getting the bezel wet; then gently pat dry with a clean soft cotton towel or cloth. I've worn spectacles with A/R coating for over 50 years and this way reduces the chances of abrasion from residual dust on the glass or the cloth.


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## Nokie

A nice leather detailing chamois (dry) also works very well. 

Excellent at removing oils, fingerprints, etc.


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## ffeelliixx

Lick your thumb - get it good and wet. Wipe the crystal with it. Wipe dry with your shirt. Takes only a few seconds and will not harm the AR coating.


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## Peter Atwood

I hate to be a downer, but my Damasko scratched immediately. As have most of my Sinns that have outer AR. Some of the Sinns have not so I guess it is really the luck of the draw. But I would blow first, then rinse under running water, or just be very gentle until you feel any grit has been removed before wiping with a cloth.


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## osamu

thanks for posting this, I just bought a damasko and is my first watch with an exterior AR coating. 

I know the coating on my glasses get screwed up since I wipe them with my shirt all the time, but new lenses are like <$100. I guess the crystal can be replaced if it's ever heavily damaged, but probably a lot more hassle than getting new glasses. I think I'll have to try and be more gentle with my watch, and not wipe it every time i see a single fingerprint on the crystal.


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## otro_rollo

Also a new damasko owner here and I was looking for information about this subject. I purchased a microfiber cloth from amazon and used it to clean my new damasko. After cleaning it, the glass seems scratched. I also had my wife look at it and she agrees. Is this common with damaskos? I have a few stowas and usually clean them with my t-shirt and no scratches.


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## daffie

So I am going to tread carefully with my new Damasko, just to be safe. Ordered a set of microfiber cloths and will use those first. If the glass gets dirtier over time and harder to clean (water rings and such) then I will rinse with a tiny bit of soap and very gently rub / wipe the surface. Hoping the coating will hold up that way. I think it will be fine...but like I said, better safe then sorry (regarding the heftier prices of these watches).


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## mucklechumps

Last week I was working in a highly mosquito infested area and had to spray myself down with DEET. I was getting eaten alive so I didn't think about taking my DK14 off before I'd sprayed DEET all over it. I'm pretty sure the Viton seals are DEET safe, but I'm not sure about the AR coating. I wiped the bug repellent off the crystal and then washed the watch a few hours later. The coating seems to be fine, but I don't know if long term application of DEET would be harmful. Anyone?


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## fishoop

Peter Atwood said:


> I hate to be a downer, but my Damasko scratched immediately. As have most of my Sinns that have outer AR. Some of the Sinns have not so I guess it is really the luck of the draw. But I would blow first, then rinse under running water, or just be very gentle until you feel any grit has been removed before wiping with a cloth.


I unfortunately fell into this same camp. I got the DA36 black with double AR. The outer AR had severe smudging within the first few weeks. I tried to clean it up and only compounded the issue - ultimately I had the crystal replaced with AR on the inside only.

I'm now relieved that I don't have to worry about the outer coat getting screwed up - and the single layer of AR works perfectly, no complaints.


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## bpjacobs

rabustam04 said:


> Also a new damasko owner here and I was looking for information about this subject. I purchased a microfiber cloth from amazon and used it to clean my new damasko. After cleaning it, the glass seems scratched. I also had my wife look at it and she agrees. Is this common with damaskos? I have a few stowas and usually clean them with my t-shirt and no scratches.


That's a bummer. Try my drops of water and soap, finger, pat dry technique - a couple of posts above in this thread - in case it is some residue which the dry microfiber can't remove. Many of the Stowas have A/R coating on the inside only and are more durable to clean.


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## icybluesmile

Just a little bit of breath and a camera lens cloth works for me every time, no matter how smudged.


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## SeikoAutomatic_01

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but does it mean that if a crystal has AR coating it will scratch easily and is delicate??


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## scoff

SeikoAutomatic_01 said:


> Don't mean to hijack this thread, but does it mean that if a crystal has AR coating it will scratch easily and is delicate??


If it has AR on the outside I think it is. Read here for example.

PS: Well, actually it's a mixed bag experience there. I'm still sure that the AR coatings are softer than the crystal itself.


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## StufflerMike

SeikoAutomatic_01 said:


> Don't mean to hijack this thread, but does it mean that if a crystal has AR coating it will scratch easily and is delicate??


You will hear/read yes and no. Until now I used to own 6 Damasko watches. Currently two are left. Never ever had the outer AR coating sratched/damaged. So as far as I am concerned it is a NO


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## happyscrappyheropup

stuffler said:


> You will hear/read yes and no. Until now I used to own 6 Damasko watches. Currently two are left. Never ever had the outer AR coating sratched/damaged. So as far as I am concerned it is a NO


I'm hard on watches. My thoughts were that I'd end up removing the AR once it got marked enough to bother me. Good to hear it's a fairly durable coating.

-- Wayne


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## Nokie

Microfiber should not scratch any type of coating, just capture the dirt and oils. Some of the cheaper towels use a more abrasive poly blend, but still it should not cause any damage to the crystal.


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## bpjacobs

Nokie said:


> Microfiber should not scratch any type of coating, just capture the dirt and oils. Some of the cheaper towels use a more abrasive poly blend, but still it should not cause any damage to the crystal.


You just need to make sure the microfiber cloth is clean; no dust or particulate that can abrade the crystal surface.


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## Iandk

Just a reminder that scratching something while wiping it (similarly to scratching clearcoat on a car when washing it) is usually not due to the specific cloth/etc. used on it (unless you happen to pick something particularly abrasive). It's due to dirt/other abrasive particles getting caught in the fibers on the cloth, and then getting rubbed against the surface when you use said cloth.

Therefore, make sure your cloth is *clean* above all things. I'm actually slightly concerned about microfiber cloths (don't use them on my eyeglasses) since while they really scoop up dirt particles well, which is why they wipe things off so nicely, they also hang onto the dirt particles really well too, leaving them around to potentially scratch the next time you use it. Something that lets go of the dirt more easily might be a safer bit, if you're not so thorough about cleaning the microfiber cloths off after use.

Edit: Hmm, I somehow missed bpjacob's post, pardon me for being repetitive.


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## Blueboost

You shouldn't have problems just using your shirt. If it can't handle that i'd blame the AR not the tee.


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## Luke*

I use a Damasko cleaning cloth works a treat so people should just use that problem solved. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Premise

I'm kind of surprised they bothered with coating the outside of the crystal since Damasko is known for their all around scratch resistance.


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## daffie

Luke* said:


> I use a Damasko cleaning cloth works a treat so people should just use that problem solved.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Didn't get one, so bit difficult to use it then ai. But I did buy a box of microfiber cloths so I'm good for the next 10 years or so


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## CabbageHead

I have this type of exterior coating on my Breitling and Sinn. Hate it! Yes it does make the crystal transparent when it's clean (soft soap ans water) but the problem is that it's impossible to keep clean. I can't get through half a day without the watch looking streaky. This ONLY happens to watches with an exterior coating. I will eventually take it off with polywatch as it's just a pain and no real benefit to me.


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## Luke*

daffie said:


> Didn't get one, so bit difficult to use it then ai. But I did buy a box of microfiber cloths so I'm good for the next 10 years or so


 could always start selling microfiber cloths on here.

it's still worth getting one if you can they don't cost much.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sylus Grey

Luke* said:


> I use a Damasko cleaning cloth works a treat so people should just use that problem solved.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have to agree with Luke. The Damasko cloth works great with only gentle pressure. It's not quite a microfibre cloth, seems to me like a thicker lense cleaning cloth you use for eyeglasses. I would think microfibre would be fine as long as you make sure it hasn't attracted any dirt.


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## Sylus Grey

Sorry posted twice


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