Hi I am in a SM300 166.024 project restauration , as the original case was over polished , I bought this one unpolished and at the end ( despite iPhone pictures) is pretty clean I am in 3 choices , leave it like that ( just ultrasonic cleaning ) Case refresh ( just make the edges clean ) Case polish ( of course the purist will dislike that ) what the OF think ? , I like to get my watches like or close to new keeping all the original attributes ( dial hands crown etc...) paul
Hmmmm... Is this case of the same reference and year of the one you plan to replace? There are small differences between the cases on some of the models as well as the big difference of being a HF or CB case.
I would then probably assemble the watch back together and have a new look at it. If this case you now have is unpolished (can’t see that in detail in your pictures), then collectors like this condition more than a polished one, even how good the job would be done.
It looks pretty good the way it is. What bracelet do you have on it? If 1171 rebrush the bracelet and polish the crystal - case scratches will be less noticeable. You could always lightly brush the sides of the case with a green 3m pad to "realign" the grain.
I would then absolutely not recommend to do anything like you describe above! This will diminish value dramatically and look like a totally botched job.
It is possible to do a good job, and the OP seems to know what he's doing. A light hand rub done correctly won't ruin the case. As for dramatically reducing the value, the case isn't even original to the watch.
Looks like choice ONE , cleaning at that is , will deposit the case at Omega this pm , and hope will get it back next week and finish this watch.