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  1. McPGA Jun 19, 2016

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    Think it's time for my first Polywatch experience. Any tips?
    [​IMG]
     
  2. proximal Jun 19, 2016

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    Mask off the bezel with masking tape and use a clean cloth. Other than that, it's really easy to use.
     
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  3. DIV Jun 19, 2016

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    I'm curious about Polywatch, or any single product for that matter for a full crystal polish. I assumed that to get a good polish (ranging from scratch elimination all the way to a high shine), you need to progressively decrease the
    Article size of the abrasive material so that you correct the larger scratches first and then get finer and finer to finally achieve a high shine with the final grit size....I would be skeptical about a single paste, unless perhaps the paste is made up particles that break down into smaller and smaller particle sizes as you work it into the crystal.
    Does anyone know?
     
  4. Horlogerie EU based Professional Watchmaker Jun 19, 2016

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    Polywatch is so mild an abrasive I have never bothered to tape off anything and I just make sure to keep the cloth with the polish on it on the crystal alone and not rub the Polywatch on the remainder of the watch.

    No single product can remove all the scratches, Polywatch is really the finishing agent.

    What I do is use microsandpaper, starting with 1800 grit and working to 12,000 grit, this allows me to remove virtually all the scracthes, as a final step, I use Polywatch.

    Polywatch alone does remove the tiny scratches and gives a nice overall finish, sort of like a coat of wax on a car finish.

    Rob
     
  5. M'Bob Jun 20, 2016

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    The question is also whether a scratch actually needs to be "removed." When a plastic crystal is scratched, the edges of that scratch are sharp, and catch the light, which is why the eye sees it. If you use Polywatch on that, it will soften those hard edges, thereby catching less light, and this makes it less offensive. So while what Rob describes is the proper why to do it, the Polywatch treatment could be an acceptable interim step.
     
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  6. DIV Jun 20, 2016

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    Good info...and Rob....12,000 grit sandpaper?....whoa!...I thought I had some good stuff at 1000, 15000 and 2000 grits, but 12K....wow!...I could see what the polywatch is a finishing agent, but with 12K paper, I wouldn't be surprised if you already have a high shine before the Polywatch.
     
  7. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 20, 2016

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    The polishing process is the same no matter what you are polishing typically, so an acrylic crystal, metal, etc. makes no difference to what the process is on the most basic level - replacing larger scratches with progressively smaller scratches.

    Polywatch is for removing fine scratches so the scratches have to be minor, or it's used as a final polish. Trying to remove large/deep scratches with it is not really the proper use. If the scratches are deep enough, you will just make them shiny rather then remove them. Using Polywatch on this for example, would be mostly useless:

    [​IMG]

    I will sometimes, depending on the watch, use a coarse as 400 grit to start - all done by hand and you do need to be careful not to overdo it. It looks worse before it looks better:

    [​IMG]

    You must remove all scratches at one grit, before moving to the next, and eventually you will get it clear:

    [​IMG]

    You can really bring back a crystal, in particular if you have some thickness to work with:

    [​IMG]

    Cheers, Al
     
  8. Horlogerie EU based Professional Watchmaker Jun 20, 2016

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    Yes, the 12,000 grit is quite fine as you can imagine, once you get past 8000 grit it tends to look really nice and clear and the polywatch is only a nice way to finish it off.

    The product is "Micromesh" I used it during my aviation carreer, it's great at fixing scratches on plexi windscreens which we had on most of the smaller helicopters we operated. Scratched windscreens with direct sun can cause visibility problems, so we kept the windows clean, scratch free and well polished after every flight. It is a very good product and if you wash the sandpaper once in a while, it lasts for many years...
     
  9. chadpowe11 Jun 20, 2016

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    Never thought about using Micromesh for my crystals. Will Have to try a box out at work. I always used poly watch but never did it get rid of all the scratches.
     
  10. al128 unsolicited co-moderation giverer Jun 20, 2016

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    not to diss polywatch ... but I bought a bottle of "generic poly carbonate headlight polish" ... big ass bottle for 0.99 ... its the same - works the same

    its about good for about 100.000 watches ...

    what I do is the following:

    old t-shirt .... moisten lightly with some finger's worth of water until it results in a "wet-spot" (insert dirty joke here) ... then a bit of the polish (fingernail sized drop) ... then I gently work the mustardy-paste into the wet spot until all the excess is in the fabric (about 2-3" across).

    While making sure I have the t-short sit on a plain level surface, I run the watch in fast back-forth movements across the shirt (rather fast, but little pressure)... then I rotate the watch 45° and keep going (lather/rinse/repeat) ... after about 1-2 min you are pretty much done ... If I wanna go all fancy, I spend another 30 seg doing circular movements. If I have a fairly curved glass, I use a towel below the shirt - it then "hugs" the glass better.

    never failed ... better than using a machine - and surprisingly fast.
     
    Edited Jun 20, 2016
  11. gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Jun 21, 2016

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    I use cotton swabs (Q-Tips) to apply the Polywatch, then finish with a cotton T-shirt.

    I find after a day or two, the plastic becomes clearer.

    gatorcpa
     
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  12. Larry S Color Commentator for the Hyperbole. Jun 21, 2016

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    Great thread. I'm relatively new to poly carb crystals and they don't like me much. My only add is do as the instructions on the tube. 2-3 minutes and you get great results.
     
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  13. SteveP Jun 21, 2016

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    My own experience of PW was that I had to polish quite firmly and for quite a while to make the magic happen. I also had use 3 applications-but that was for a nasty deep scratch. Did the job beautifully though I must say! Good luck. :)
    Steve
     
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  14. scundo Jul 10, 2016

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    I've used 3 grits of diamond paste and a slow speed Dremel on the mineral crystal on my MKIII Speedy with great results. Got rid of all the light scratches and greatly diminished one larger one to the point its almost invisible. That product may be too aggressive for acrylic though. Nice thing about acrylic is you will have a better chance with less effort to get it looking nice again. Mineral and sapphire are a pain to work with. I agree with many of the posts above that one product can't do everything. To remove all the scratches a multiple step, coarse to fine grit approach followed by Poly or another fine grit polish is always the best. If you've never done something like this before, I suggest using a donor watch with an acrylic crystal to practice on. I was much less nervous once I tried the diamond paste on an old beater first before polishing the crystal on my vintage MKIII. Best of luck to you :thumbsup:
     
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  15. LemansBoiler Aug 3, 2016

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    Oops, last time I wear this thing in the factory.

    Tube of Polywatch now in order. Going to try it out before deciding if I need to go more aggressive.

    image.jpeg
     
  16. mdgrwl Aug 3, 2016

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    Im not a fan of the swirl marks left behind by Novus and Polywatch... so I went Sapphire
     
  17. al128 unsolicited co-moderation giverer Aug 3, 2016

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    yep, polywatch et al should take care of that ... make sure to make big movements when polishing, with little pressure and at low speed ... and do it by hand ... you're not in a rush, right ?...

    the good thing when you do it by hand is that there is very little to go wrong ...
     
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  18. al128 unsolicited co-moderation giverer Aug 3, 2016

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    the swirl marks are not left behind by polywatch, but by the operator ... ;)

    once you get the hang of it, there are no swirlmarks even under the 10x loupe :thumbsup:
     
  19. mdgrwl Aug 3, 2016

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    I'm pretty good at polishing.. used Novus and probably due to the aggressive nature of the cutting agents, there were tiny sirls. Used an ultra soft polishing cloth & used lighter and lighter pressure to final buff - still, mad crazy swirls.
     
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  20. watchknut New watch + Instagram + wife = dumbass Aug 3, 2016

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    I'm not a fan of finger prints...so I went to only vintage:)
     
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