Hi all,

I switch straps at least once or twice a week. The lugs on a less than a year old Aquaterra seem to now have pretty deep scratches. I am all for having a few nice scratches to make it my own, bu these seem start going deeper and getting concerned with possible corrosion. Is there a good way to switch straps and avoid this from happening? Any special tricks or techniques. Should I be concerned with the current state of them? Do need to be polished or treated? Two pics attached.

Thanks in advance.

 

I guess it's always a bit of a risk that however careful you are and whatever spring bar tool you use that over time small damages will accumulate. Tape over the lugs can help, and possibly a bit of pre-working the leather to soften it a bit can mean less leverage needed. You might even cut a very small portion away on one side to give easy access - it won't show when wearing, and if you want you could then probably use a bracelet type springbar tool, which puts no leverage against the lugs.

Alternatively, you could try clip type straps designed for fixed bars, or easy change straps (the kind that have a small slider knob to release them).
There are quite a few around, but you will definitely find the choice much more restrictive (and I don't know the springbar size you need for that watch, which could also be a problem if it's one of Omega's favourite odd sizes like 19/21).

 

Google " plastic springbar tool " you can get normal ones that look the same as metal ones
Or
Times make a good one



I can change mine with a bit of braided fishing line or dental floss like in the video below

 

Good advice. Will look into this. Should I send it to be polished or leave it as is. More worried about potential corrosion than asthetics at this point.

 

Repeat after me (100 times) : ‘I will NEVER send my watch in EVER to be polished’.

 

You could try using masking tape on the lugs to protect them before you try and remove the strap.

 

That's what I want to avoid at all cost. So corrosion shouldn't be an issue?

 

Leave it

 

With Stainless Steel I believe we are all good

 

Haha! Amen to that! It’s best to retain its original finishing even with scratches and wear over time.

 

Don't change your straps so often. Examine why you feel the need to do that. Use Nato, Quick Release and Open Ended Straps.

 

I don't know if this is a legitimate concern but I worry more about damaging the lug holes than scratching the lugs.

 

Once you get used to it you won’t end up scratching them as much. You can tape the lugs but that’s a bit annoying to do often. I change straps almost daily. My lugs are a bit scratched but no one sees that other than me. And it tells the story of my love for straps anyway.

 

True that!

 

Who cares.When you wer the watch no one sees it.

 

others have suggested using electrical tape to protect the lugs..

https://omegaforums.net/threads/protection-to-lugs.34765/#post-392553

 

I use electrical tape. Very easy to use, and works really well.

 

Don’t stress too much about scratching the lugs - if you get paranoid about it when it does happen you’ll feel really bad. It’s going to happen sometime, same as your car will probably at some time get scratched by someone in a car park...
Also, it’s fairly easy to change straps by using your fingernails to carefully push the spring bar end in to the lug (I did it this morning) - spring bar tools are great but I was feeling lazy.

 

There are some straps that have lug pins with little nubs you can use to compress the spring and remove without tools or scratching. I have a couple of them. Cheap, no-name, but serviceable.

 

I've tried every single type of tape non to man. I can not get it off and on without scratches.
I've bought that tool that has 2 spring bar heads from Amazon and it was horrible. It's supposed to grab both ends of the spring bar at the same time.
The heads broke off the tool.

At the end of the day I have 2 divers
1 I changed straps on a few times and scratched it up
2 I never changed the straps and I'm happy it has no scratches.

Honestly you have to live with them.
I'm sure people will disagree but for me personally I've taken my take (which really helps), taped the lugs and still get scratches.