Are twisted lugs scratch magnets or was I just careless?

Agreed! A very long time ago I learned the hard way that the green/yellow pads could scratch things, and switched to blue.

I live in Phoenix, the water is very hard. It is zero problem. I suppose if one didn't dry the watch after rinsing there is the possibility of a hard water stain from minerals, but I have never experienced it. Old toothbrush, mild liquid dish soap, good rinse, and dry it off with a microfiber cloth once a month works really well for me.

I have never used vinegar, seems too acidic/harsh to me? What is the advantage over mild soap with a toothbrush?

If you want to remove the swirl marks and hairline scratches from the polished surfaces, get some Cape Cod cloth, soak a Q-Tip in the cloth and firmly but carefully rub the lugs for at least 30 seconds. Works on all polished surfaces.

Is it an old toothbrush, or a new one?
There exists the possibility that some abrasive from toothpaste is imbeded into or around the tips and the flanks of the bristles. That may have caused the icro-maring you are seeing under magnification.
When one think about it, lots of things can cause it, like stitching in long sleeve shirt cuffs or material that's a little dirty with dust(dust contains Cilica which is extremely abrasive).
Baking soda probably has some "cut" that contributed to it.
Different materials have more "cut"than others.
The much lauded Microfibre will cut into polished surfaces depending on the cleanliness, the weave, the make up and the pressure applied.
It all plays a roll in causing those polished surfaces to progressively look second hand when worn or handled.
Even carelessness on every level can be problematic like handling the watch with slightly dirty hands.
Ever wondered why higher end watch shops put gloves on to handle watches????

What you are seeing is an inevitable part of the daily life of a watch.
Things happen and are happening whilst we are blissfully un-aware and enjoying the watches unless the watches are safe queens😉
A good, honest polish job will restore those polished surfaces at service time, but a hack job will cause another set of problems😀
I only use a dedicated super soft toothbrush that's been softened up some more in hot water and never near any toothpaste along with a solution of plain old dish soap followed by a rinse under a running tap.
Enjoy👍

It’s a dangerous world out there for a watch just trying to stay clean. I’m just going to keep using my t-shirt and not worry about it.

makes two of us.

Also- the greatest thing about this thread is the amount of much ado, and the OP hasn't been back since the OP. Great stuff.

Ask and ye shall receive.

Took some pictures of mine under a 15x loupe. Then I tried @EuroDriver Cape Cod Q-tip suggestion and polished them up a bit. Moral of the story, don’t look at your watch under magnification. At least this thread has inspired me to clean up my watch a bit, even if the OP never returns.

Swirlies:


Before:


After:


Top right lug takes the brunt of abuse.


After:


Wrist shot for good measure.

They definitely look like marks from cleaning 🙁 I've just checked my own 3861 Speedmaster and apart from a few tiny scratches from carelessness it's nothing like that.
When I bought my watch I spoke with the manager of the Omega boutique asking specifically about cleaning and I made a few notes at the time.
So what I do is I use a toothbrush that has never been used for cleaning teeth! It's only ever used for cleaning my watch.
Also i's a babies toothbrush with very soft bristles, and each time before I use it I clean and rinse it thoroughly with water.
I make the cleaning liquid by taking a bar of "simple soap" (a bar of soap with no additives, colouring etc), thoroughly washing my hands with it, and once they are clean I let some of the liquid soap on my hand fall into a small dish.
I then use the toothbrush and liquid to gently clean the case, crystal and bracelet, and then I rinse the watch and dry it.

Have you taken a look at yours under 15x magnification in direct sunlight? You may be surprised the amount of micro-scratches those polished surfaces pick up. I've never cleaned my watch other than wiping it with a cotton shirt or microfiber once in awhile. I wear it pretty much every day though and don't baby it.

I've looked at mine using a 20x loupe. There are random scratches and tiny dents but nothing like the line of scratches in the post above.

One of the reasons I like my Railmaster so much is that even though it's my work watch (when I'm working in a signal box) and so doesn't get babied, the brushed steel finish doesn't show scratches at all to the naked eye, and even using a loupe it looks pretty good 😀