I've cruised YouTube, seen some videos, but in the end, knew I needed to ask the experts - you, my friends - on the topic of cleaning and polishing. Anyone recommend a particular product and why? How often? How to for both leather and stainless and/or solid gold bracelets? Thanks
I did these earlier today while watching Argo. Not sure if it's a good idea or not but it definitely works.
They look great! How did you apply? Did you notice a significant difference? Did you clean them first? Sudsy type cleaner?
Depending on the watch and my confidence in the gaskets, they can go from a quick dip to a 20 minute soak in warm water and cascade I apply the paste with my finger tips and remove / buff with a microfiber cloth. Nooks and crannies are met with with a very dense and fine horse hair brush. The number 2 polish ( tehe ) leaves a protective layer on all surfaces, even sapphire crystals with zero hazing. "Cause you know the Germans make good stuff" - Shamwow guy
I certainly hope you are doing that treatment just to the bracelets and not to the watch head (unless you remove the movement first). Even new water resistant watches are not designed to keep soap out. The reason soapy water feels slick is that the soap lowers the surface tension of the liquid, allowing it to spread evenly and clean uniformly. Great for dishwashing and showering...not so good for O-rings and other gaskets. The soapy water just goes right around them into the movement, where it can wash away the oils put there by the watchmakers. If a gasket fails, you could wind up with a rusty movement, which would be a very expensive repair on a chronograph or Rolex. gatorcpa PS - I clean cases only with dry substances like a old cotton undershirt or blue Blitz cloth. You need to be careful with gold filled or plated cases, as you can easily rub the gold right off of them.
I use Mothers aluminum Polish for the cases (gold or SS) and also on the acrylic crystals. I apply it with a micro fiber cloth one to one cloth to polish. Never failed me yet.
Don't polish collector grade watches, ever. Any type of polishing removes metal and that's the last thing you want to do. Collectors want watches with surfaces and edges as close to as they came from the manufacturer as possible. To get the gunk off, remove the band, take a wooden toothpick(square ones are best) and scratch at every cranny with it. With the square edges of the toothpick you can actually get the metal surfaces cleaned up well. Then take some alcohol on a Q-tip and go over all the metal and the gunk will come off. Use a product called Polywatch to take the scratches out of the crystal.