# Best way to polish case and bracelet?



## Jipstar (Sep 23, 2008)

I've seen a couple of threads on how to DIY on polishing bracelets and cases.


I would like to know if a normal low power battery drill can be used with a polishing cloth and some polishing compound on the bracelet?


but can this same method be used for the case? I don't like to take the watch apart, therefore the crystal, inner and outer bezels and chrono buttons will still be attached. And they are in gold. 


Can anyone with more experience enlighten me on this issue?


thanks!


----------



## rmelle (Feb 13, 2010)

Dear Jipstar,

Polishing/buffing is one of THE most difficult things there are for goldsmiths/silversmiths and watchmakers.
I learned polishing about 15 years ago on cutlery, many many many of them. :-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|
I even ended up in hospital doing it... It was Just before christmas, everybody wants their cutlery polished then!
On a watch you have the so called lines of polishing.
they should be straight and in line with the watch.

ok, here we go:
best remove movement, remove glass, not really nesecery but depends on model,
I don't know the watch, post a picture and I can give more details.

Start grinding it by hand with sandpaper wrapped tight around a file or a piece of stiff wood.
going from rough paper 120 to very fine to polishing paper 220.
then you should have an evened surface.
this will take you about say 2 till 3 hours.
then with a piece of leather wrapped tight around wood and rouge polishing paste.
go polishing BY HAND, no engine force involved if you want your case to be clean in the lines after polishing.
If you polish by a machine, and you don't know how to or what to do you will end up frustrated what started with joy!
and a case polished dead so we call that as pro's.

SUCCES
RJ van Melle.

PS: TAKE YOUR TIME IN DOING THIS!!!!!


----------



## dirtvictim (Mar 9, 2006)

Jipstar said:


> I've seen a couple of threads on how to DIY on polishing bracelets and cases.
> 
> I would like to know if a normal low power battery drill can be used with a polishing cloth and some polishing compound on the bracelet?
> 
> ...


If it is gold plated then don't do it, this can remove the plating. If you can't remove components then don't do it, you risk damaging those parts and it's not a good idea. If you must attempt it then get a dremel with buffing wheels and polishing compounds, it will get into tight areas much better. Practice on a cheap watch first to get good at it before trying on more expensive watches.


----------



## Jipstar (Sep 23, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies!


Is there a best way to polish it by hand? using a compound that does not get into the nooks and crannies which then it's powder stays visible?


I can use a dremel tol for the bracelet, however the case it's better if use my own hand, to go easy on the cystal, buttons etc...


----------



## Somewhere else (Feb 17, 2006)

Jipstar said:


> Thanks for all the replies!
> 
> Is there a best way to polish it by hand? using a compound that does not get into the nooks and crannies which then it's powder stays visible?
> 
> I can use a dremel tol for the bracelet, however the case it's better if use my own hand, to go easy on the cystal, buttons etc...


If the watch is gold plated do not even hand polish it. Gold plating is only three microns thick and you can remove it using polishing compound. By "hand polish" I mean using a polishing compound like rouge, which is often used to polish watch cases by hand.

Just use a polish cloth and clean it up a bit.


----------



## Genway (Feb 12, 2009)

Polish is really difficult like rmelle mentioned, I went to Switzerland to learned the trade, unfortunately even at the top watchmaker's school, this topic does not taught.
Polishers are a group of specialized craftperson usually get high paid at manufactures, so as their knowledges.
Basic rule is depend on the material, stainless steel, 14K yellow gold, 18K yellow gold, and platinum are few of the materials can be polish, others can not. So make sure yours is solid gold, or this can not be done well.
Each matterial has its own method to polish, so make sure different area you treat differently.
Without fast speed, the particles design for the polish (grinding off in real sense!) can not reach to the hardness to remove the uneven surface of the object you wnat to polish, like the gun bullet does not do any damage if you just drop it on the glass.
Polish in general are process of four/five steps, you will need complete all or the result will not be satisfy.
Once know for sure the material, I will give you detail instruction, but there is no short-cut.


----------



## Jipstar (Sep 23, 2008)

OK guys, here is the watch in question.


















1. Can I polish the Roleux bracelet using this method?






I woudn't be ruining the curvitures of the 'bullet style' links, woudn't I?

2. Can I actually use the method on the case, without taking of any part on it? In this way, would the cystal be safe etc etc... I guess a lot of polishing compound would make it's way in the cases's crevice. Am I right?


----------



## dirtvictim (Mar 9, 2006)

Jipstar said:


> OK guys, here is the watch in question.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not knowing anything about this watch and only assuming it is a real breitling then I would say do not do it. Take it to a jeweler and have it done professionally it is worth way too much to experiment on.


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

I have tried polishing several stainless steel watch cases/bands with very good results. Here is the procedure I follow.
Rub of scratches with sand paper starting from (depending upon depth of scratches) 220 grit through 1000 grit. Then I use green rouge (techincally its not rouge) followed by white rouge and then finally polish it with Silverex. I am attaching some before and after pictures.

Hope it helps


Jaswant Kamboj


----------



## Somewhere else (Feb 17, 2006)

Genway said:


> Polish is really difficult like rmelle mentioned, I went to Switzerland to learned the trade, unfortunately even at the top watchmaker's school, this topic does not taught.
> Polishers are a group of specialized craftperson usually get high paid at manufactures, so as their knowledges.
> Basic rule is depend on the material, stainless steel, 14K yellow gold, 18K yellow gold, and platinum are few of the materials can be polish, others can not. So make sure yours is solid gold, or this can not be done well.
> Each matterial has its own method to polish, so make sure different area you treat differently.
> ...


Polishing doesn't get taught in watchmaking school, but it does in jewelry school which I also attended. There's a technique for each material, as you say, but it doesn't necessarily have to be complex for every material.


----------



## por44 (Dec 21, 2007)

Suggestion for sandpaper: Stay with the finest grit (#1200 or higher) wet/dry sandpaper, cut slow and be safe!


----------



## Somewhere else (Feb 17, 2006)

por44 said:


> Suggestion for sandpaper: Stay with the finest grit (#1200 or higher) wet/dry sandpaper, cut slow and be safe!


If you get tired of sandpaper and are very careful Cratex also does a nice job with a flex shaft.


----------



## Genway (Feb 12, 2009)

I too am goldsmith with over 20 years experince in polishing gold and platinum, but to polish watch case and bracelet with stainless steel, it is like polish platinum to look like faceted diamond, some what close to faceted lapping instead of polishing.

For instance, on jipstar's Breitling chronomat, first you need to remove screws on bezel, and the four markers will come out, by the way, this one is solid 18K gold on all the markers, so you can polish it. Ater, remove bezel by bezel remover, you can not remove by other tool. Remove movement, and crystal push out from insi out, save the gasket for crystal for put back later. 
The two pushers need to remove from the inside, two screws hold the pushers. Remove bracelet, and you have a empty case.
Hold the case on lathe with perfectly center, lap the front frame where the crystal set in, this part are to be mirror flat, use sand stick on this, from 400 grid to 8000 grit, about 4 step in between. final polish with wood stick charge with platinum final polishing compond.
For the rest of the case, do the same with each polish grit, you need each polish buff wheel, do not mix.
For all 18K gold parts, polish with regular gold polishing, one time only.
For bracelet, you only polish each link vertically, this way you don't cross buffing the rounded surface of the link, so the link stay original shape as possible, if you polish random direction, the link will be soon get thinner each time you polish, and the surface will become flat.
Watch is a big object compare to most jewelry, and any hairline become very visible. Also stainless steel as hard as platinum, so it is treated as platinum when polish.


----------



## rmelle (Feb 13, 2010)

Genway, you couldn't have said it BETTER!!!!
Perfect!
Same as in the famous shining lines in cutlery.......
I heared that Breitling NL charges about 550 Euro's for re-polishing a case.

regards,
RJ van Melle.

PS: did you ever ended up in hospital due to polishing?


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

Wonderful Genway

Do you know the source for sandpapers beyond 1000 grit. I got mine (1000 grit) from Perrin but could not find beyond 1000 grit size?

Have any one bought sand papers beyond 1000 grit in Canada?

Jaswant Kamboj


----------



## Paradigm (Jan 23, 2010)

jkamboj said:


> Wonderful Genway
> 
> Do you know the source for sandpapers beyond 1000 grit. I got mine (1000 grit) from Perrin but could not find beyond 1000 grit size?
> 
> ...


You could try car supply shops and possibly check out luthier shops.

I'm a luthier (amateur) and know several shops that stock up to 2500 grit (which you use for polishing e.g. a guitar with a cellulose coating), but they are all located in the EU.

If all else fails you can check out StewMac: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Frettin...ishing_Papers.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=1063.

Good luck!

Oh and one last tip: if possible buy 3M sandpaper. 3M makes the best quality that is commonly available. The difference between 3M and ordinary (cheap) paper is immense. I've gone through hundreds and hundreds of sheets so I speak from some experience.


----------



## Archer (Apr 23, 2009)

jkamboj said:


> Have any one bought sand papers beyond 1000 grit in Canada?
> 
> Jaswant Kamboj


Yes - try Lee Valley Tools - they carry papers as fine as 0.5 micron.

Cheers, Al


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

Thanks for the response Archer
How it the conversion of 0.5 micron to grit size?

Jaswant Kamboj


----------



## Paradigm (Jan 23, 2010)

jkamboj said:


> Thanks for the response Archer
> How it the conversion of 0.5 micron to grit size?
> 
> Jaswant Kamboj


There is no standard grit <-> micron conversion. Different manufacturers use different grits. 
But no need for anything above 3k grit with jewelry (0.5 micron is way finer than that no matter what manufacturer).


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

Thanks Archer
Lee valley retail store is very near to my location in Toronto and I am going there today and grab one sheet each of 15, 5 and 0.5 micron and check the results.
Appreciate your help friend

Jaswant Kamboj


----------



## Somewhere else (Feb 17, 2006)

rmelle said:


> Genway, you couldn't have said it BETTER!!!!
> Perfect!
> Same as in the famous shining lines in cutlery.......
> I heared that Breitling NL charges about 550 Euro's for re-polishing a case.
> ...


My old boss did. This is the same one as the shattered mainsprings He forgot (or didn't know about chain polishing mandrels) and didn't take the chain off a pocket watch case when he went to polish it. The buffer grabbed the chain and drove the end right through his thumb. We took him to the hospital.

I have a lot of stories about this particular boss. I'll keep the one about him melting a customer's gold case for another time


----------



## Genway (Feb 12, 2009)

Jaswant,

I have checked Stuller.com so I can guild you to the source, find out their solution is similar to mine, so go see here:
http://www.stuller.com/products/pro...ampaign=productpagerec&utm_term=products.aspx

Color does not tell me what the grit is, because everytime I order from supply house, I try to order by the color, it ends up wrong rouge, I know green along have at least design for plastic and gold and steel three kinds, so go with the grit size are more accurate.
Because of the hardness of the materials are not the same even in stainless steel, the polishing process are not identical from one brand to another, most Swiss manufactured case are most often use _Martensitic_ stainless steel, which can not be polish to high shine without the use of additional steps (need 3 micron compond).
The high cost of the rough material plus the high cost of polishing process, drove Japanese watch away from this process. (Average 8:1 for the cost differences)
There are also Chinese made cases with Swiss process (Swiss do the final polish, due to the know-how), most likely use by some lower priced Swiss brands, and there are all Chinese manufactured most with the soft steinless steel with none faceted case (No lapping required), so polish can be done by hand.
For the grit and micron conversion, check here:
http://www.faceters.com/askjeff/answer67.shtml
I used Silverex long time ago, was pretty easy and good result for quick polish, now I use 8000 grit white compound as final polish from Ofrei:
http://www.ottotools.com/store/product.php?productid=5964&cat=1088&page=1
You can learn so much from gemstone polisher on this, remember, high-end Swiss watch is a "Gem", and that is what you are paying for. ;-)


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

Hi Genway

Thanks for sharing your life long experience.
Your are absolutely right, I could not find any grit standards on the internet though there are ANSI standards but the manufacturer seldom follow these standards.
I just bought 3M sand papers 15, 5 and 0.5 micron from Lee Valley I would test on a watch I have to polish today. I would post the results later. 
As for as white rouge is concerned, I bought it from Perrin in Toronto and when inquired about the grit size or particle size, they could not answer satisfactorily. I would buy white rouge one you suggested later next week for future use. 

Thanks once again for the wonderful information

Jaswant Kamboj


----------



## Somewhere else (Feb 17, 2006)

jkamboj said:


> Hi Genway
> 
> Thanks for sharing your life long experience.
> Your are absolutely right, I could not find any grit standards on the internet though there are ANSI standards but the manufacturer seldom follow these standards.
> ...


Once you get into lapping paper, which is used in mold finishing and other areas where high polish is necessary, such as polishing engraving gravers, you get end up with incredibly small particle size. I don't have any figures on hand som you might want to do an internet search yourself.


----------



## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

I recently polished up an old and rather scratched Omega Seamaster, it is the stainless cased version, I used 7 sided nailfil(buffer) from LIDL in the Uk priced around £1.00.
It worked fantastically, it goes from 'coarse to shape nail', 'medium grit to shape nail', fine again to shape nail then 'even out' and 'smooth nail' and finally 'shine nail' and 'buff nail'.

I will post pics but I recomend this, it is stiff enough to get a 'flat' smooth and narrow enough to get between 18mm lugs, ok it doesn't quite get into crevices but to be honest most scratches are on the easily knocked areas not between the lugs etc...I then finished off with Autosol and finally Brasso, very good time consuming yes but recommended.
I dont think you'd get more than 2x Stainless cased watches out of one buffer though but at a quid who cares.

the Glamorize 7 way nail file is 'made' by OTL and the product code is 350197, I shall look out for more.
I must admit I only buy solid gold(when I can afford it) or Stainless cased watches because you can with care restore them nicely,just leave a bit of age inline with the dial!


----------



## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

I recently polished up an old and rather scratched Omega Seamaster, it is the stainless cased version, I used 7 sided nailfil(buffer) from LIDL in the Uk priced around £1.00.
It worked fantastically, it goes from 'coarse to shape nail', 'medium grit to shape nail', fine again to shape nail then 'even out' and 'smooth nail' and finally 'shine nail' and 'buff nail'.

I will post pics but I recomend this, it is stiff enough to get a 'flat' smooth and narrow enough to get between 18mm lugs, ok it doesn't quite get into crevices but to be honest most scratches are on the easily knocked areas not between the lugs etc...I then finished off with Autosol and finally Brasso, very good time consuming yes but recommended.
I dont think you'd get more than 2x Stainless cased watches out of one buffer though but at a quid who cares.

the Glamorize 7 way nail file is 'made' by OTL and the product code is 350197, I shall look out for more.
I must admit I only buy solid gold(when I can afford it) or Stainless cased watches because you can with care restore them nicely,just leave a bit of age inline with the dial!

here is a link to what looks like a very similar item http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6-WAY-NAIL-BUFFER-AND-FILE-BN_W0QQitemZ260556749306QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Health_Beauty_Nails_Manicure_Pedicure_CA?hash=item3caa6479fa


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

I have just polished one watch today and post images tomorrow

Jaswant Kamboj


----------



## b_tsng (Apr 6, 2010)

I have a Breitling Chromat SS Bracelet since 1997 I have experienced some minor scatches all I use is "Brassco"metal polish liquid. I put four or five drops into a piece of cotton puff and let the liquid dry up alittle bit and start rubbing it onto the watch in circle. You have to rub it real hard especially on those being scatched part but try to stay away from the golden part because it may fade the color. Rub it for how long is all depends on the scratch. After you think you are done , clean it with soap and hot water. Hope you enjoy the outcome. It may save you couple hundred for polishing a watch with the manufacturer or dealer.


----------



## jkamboj (Jan 27, 2009)

Here are the pictures. I followed the procedure Mr Genway suggested and results are wonderful. Yes, Mr Genway, I was able to exclude Silverex by using fine white rouge (technically not rouge) you suggested.

Jaswant Kamboj

OOPS sorry could not download pictures. Here these are now


----------

