Hi All,

I got a bit of a scratch on my Speedmaster Mark II glass. I've read some on-line articles where people with countless hours of time and toothpaste polish out scratches with some amount of success.

The kicker is I very recently had the crystal replaced during a service ( you can see the scratch near the .400) So lets have a poll.

Would you attempt:

A) Polishing because you are determined to see that scratch go away and pretty cheap like I am.
B) Drop the 80$ + shipping and insurance on a new Crystal and Gasket (hoping your watchmaker can get one of course ).

Cheers,

-Tony

 

Attempt alternative A.
If A fails, then B.

Nothing much to loose, but please do share the results!

 

I'm also interested to hear what people say here, because I'm debating the same problem on my flightmaster crystal. I've got two small scratches on it -- they're not deep enough that I want to replace the crystal right away, but also bad enough it irritates me when I look at the watch.

I actually bought some diamond polishing compound and tested on an old Orient watch I had that was broken. Put a scratch on the crystal, then tried polishing it out. Didn't work, but I might not have been doing it right. I am very hesitant to try it on my flightmaster in case I make it worse.

 

I feel the same way, what's bothering me the most is i have NO idea how it scratched. I try to keep it face down in a velvet case so it doesn't get scratched when i'm not wearing it..

I just want to know if it's absolutely impossible before I make an attempt. I wonder if there's an anti-reflective coating on the omega mineral crystals?

 

Diamond polish or possibly cerium oxide...I've not tried to polish mineral crystal (which is just glass with a fancy name) as it's usually much cheaper to just replace the crystal than someone pay the labour...let us know how you make out.

Cheers, Al

 

Seen lots of claims over the years, from diamond polish to Bar Keeper's Friend...no pics... Tried a few, never worked!

 

I've tried on a couple of mineral crystals, and failed.

I have a granite surface plate, and many grades of sandpaper. I'll polish at 400 grit (say) in one orientation, turn the watch 90 degrees and polish at 600 grit until all of the 400 grit lines are gone, turn 90 degrees and polish at 800 grit, etc. Eventually the crystal will start to look sort of foggy, as opposed to sanded. But inevitably, I'll be polishing at a fairly high grit and a noticeable scratch will appear, so I have to go back down to a lower grit and work back up. Haven't succeeded yet.

I may try a power buffer and/or diamond paste in the future, but polishing mineral glass is mostly just a wrist-strengthening exercise.

 

in spanish, but easy to translate with chrome:

http://www.hablemosderelojes.com/forum/showthread.php?26517-Como-pulir-cristal-mineral

http://www.relojes-especiales.com/foros/taller-de-relojeria/pulido-de-cristal-mineral-396788/

 

Looks like I'll be adding double-sided tape, diamond paste and cerium oxide to the arsenal.......

 

Thanks for all the tips everyone.

For anyone that's wondering, I've clocked 10.5 hours so far this week (yes i finally found a use for this chronograph) polishing very carefully

my finger buds are raw, i'm sweating more than when i take out the trash, but i'll report back soon.

 

it all depends how much a crystal replacement costs, I guess

 

Keep in mind the depth of the scratch will determine how much glass you need to remove on the whole surface. Surface scratches will invariably mean less labour than a deeper gouge.

 

Pic Before:

After 10.5 Hours of Polishing with a Rag and Colgate Total:

 

Looks like an improvement, but I believe diamond paste would make (much) faster progress. Don´t use it instead of the Colgate for your dental hygiene though!

 

Depends on how much plaque you have.

 

Anyone know where i may get it and how much it costs? I see in those spanish webpages that they use a bunch of different grits.

 

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-pieces-TH...-paste-pastes-compound-0-25-5-0-/151062012932Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

i have various grits of diamond lapping paste, you can use a polishing cloth attachement for a dremel and use it at slow speed, to save your fingers... lapping paste should be super cheap on ebay, if the scratch is deep enough to catch your fingernail as you pass over it likely should just get a new crystal, a deeper scratch when poslished still can be seen, you will change the convexity of the glass at some point