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Repairing/polishing an Omega acrylic crystal

L
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I know there's plenty of guides all over the internet but i'm wondering if you have any specific guide that you consider better than the others for whatever reason. I've done a tiny bit of acrylic polishing in the past but i've never touched a watch crystal. Really don't want to make it worse.

The watch in question is an Omega Speedy Tuesday Ultraman. I considered getting it polished but I don't trust the tiny shopping center places and the nicer places are all in the city, don't really want to travel in with the ol rona.

I don't have pics on me right now so i'll briefly describe it. The scratch was from sitting in a metal outdoor chair and not being careful. It's more like a scrape, so hopefully not too deep but enough to really stand out as a matte/white mark. Maybe 1 or 1.5cm in length on the chamfer close to the edge.

Thinking about it, it's probably not as bad as it looks but I pretty much died after discovering it.
 
BrianPankow
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L laser_jesus
I know there's plenty of guides all over the internet but i'm wondering if you have any specific guide that you consider better than the others for whatever reason. I've done a tiny bit of acrylic polishing in the past but i've never touched a watch crystal. Really don't want to make it worse.

The watch in question is an Omega Speedy Tuesday Ultraman. I considered getting it polished but I don't trust the tiny shopping center places and the nicer places are all in the city, don't really want to travel in with the ol rona.

I don't have pics on me right now so i'll briefly describe it. The scratch was from sitting in a metal outdoor chair and not being careful. It's more like a scrape, so hopefully not too deep but enough to really stand out as a matte/white mark. Maybe 1 or 1.5cm in length on the chamfer close to the edge.

Thinking about it, it's probably not as bad as it looks but I pretty much died after discovering it.
L laser_jesus
I know there's plenty of guides all over the internet but i'm wondering if you have any specific guide that you consider better than the others for whatever reason. I've done a tiny bit of acrylic polishing in the past but i've never touched a watch crystal. Really don't want to make it worse.

The watch in question is an Omega Speedy Tuesday Ultraman. I considered getting it polished but I don't trust the tiny shopping center places and the nicer places are all in the city, don't really want to travel in with the ol rona.

I don't have pics on me right now so i'll briefly describe it. The scratch was from sitting in a metal outdoor chair and not being careful. It's more like a scrape, so hopefully not too deep but enough to really stand out as a matte/white mark. Maybe 1 or 1.5cm in length on the chamfer close to the edge.

Thinking about it, it's probably not as bad as it looks but I pretty much died after discovering it.
 
schoolboy
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L laser_jesus
I know there's plenty of guides all over the internet but i'm wondering if you have any specific guide that you consider better than the others for whatever reason. I've done a tiny bit of acrylic polishing in the past but i've never touched a watch crystal. Really don't want to make it worse.

The watch in question is an Omega Speedy Tuesday Ultraman. I considered getting it polished but I don't trust the tiny shopping center places and the nicer places are all in the city, don't really want to travel in with the ol rona.

I don't have pics on me right now so i'll briefly describe it. The scratch was from sitting in a metal outdoor chair and not being careful. It's more like a scrape, so hopefully not too deep but enough to really stand out as a matte/white mark. Maybe 1 or 1.5cm in length on the chamfer close to the edge.

Thinking about it, it's probably not as bad as it looks but I pretty much died after discovering it.
I’m new to Omega and this forum, but I’ve heard that PolyWatch works wonders!
 
janice&fred
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L laser_jesus
I considered getting it polished but I don't trust the tiny shopping center places and the nicer places are all in the city, don't really want to travel in with the ol rona.

You are right in not trusting practically anyone with this job considering the bezel. Unless you feel comfy I wouldn't attempt it yourself either. You might be best off living with it until you either have it serviced or send it to an experienced guy suggested in this forum, depending on your locale.
The procedure isn't all that hard to master, but I am concerned about you or someone else causing "collateral damage" by monkeying around near that bezel.
 
SkunkPrince
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janice&fred janice&fred
The procedure isn't all that hard to master, but I am concerned about you or someone else causing "collateral damage" by monkeying around near that bezel.

You are right to be concerned. Hand-polishing with Novus products will not damage the bezel. I know, because I've done it! And by this I mean polished a Speedmaster crystal repeatedly without damaging the bezel.
Edited:
 
BrianPankow
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Here’s what I use and get fantastic results.

1. Tape off anything you don’t want sanded.

2. Start with the 600 and go LIGHTLY wet sanding.Usually finger backing of the paper is all that’s needed. Work your way through the grades to the finest. A rule of thumb is twice the sanding with the next finest grade. So example. 15 seconds with 600, 30 with 800 and 60 with 1500. Clean between each grade of paper. Next with a micro fiber cloth apply drop of optical grade polishing compound. Rub around until it gets shiny then finish off with a clean spot of the cloth.

If I remember correctly my polish came with a headlight polishing kit from Harbor Freight. You can buy others on line $8-$19.

I’ve done this on a number of plastic crystals and they’ve turned out beautifully.

The material shown will likely do 50 crystals
 
B860A2DC-7041-4300-A8C0-9732B2BF039C.jpeg
SkunkPrince
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I certainly wouldn't recommend that method to a first-timer on a new Speedmaster...
 
janice&fred
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You're right Brian and like I mentioned the procedure isn't all that difficult but mistakes or "oops" can happen so while you won't have difficulty I hate to see a novice burn thru the masking tape accidentally and louse up the bezel edge or insert. It doesn't take much for that to happen if one is inexperienced.
 
BrianPankow
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
I certainly wouldn't recommend that method to a first-timer on a new Speedmaster...
Give it a try on something you don’t care about. No power tools. 😀
 
janice&fred
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Another concern when refinishing an acrylic crystal is to take care not to optically distort it. Sanding and polishing has to be spread out and not focused on merely the damaged spot. Practice makes perfect but like Tom said starting off on a new speedmaster isn't such a hot idea.
 
SkunkPrince
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janice&fred janice&fred
Another concern when refinishing an acrylic crystal is to take care not to optically distort it. Sanding and polishing has to be spread out and not focused on merely the damaged spot. Practice makes perfect but like Tom said starting off on a new speedmaster isn't such a hot idea.

With the Novus.... he can't make it worse. I can't tell you how many times I knock a wrist into a wall or doorknob because health and vision issues. Novus has always worked for me.

A crystal replacement is not out of the question, it's not like they're rare, it's just the expense.
 
Evitzee
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Get a tube of Polywatch (it will last a lifetime), tape off the bezel, and use it, you won't damage anything and it will likely polish out the scrape which is often material left from the offending surface you brushed against.
 
Dan S
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Without photos, we're just guessing, and really can't judge whether the scratch is shallow enough to be removed using polishing compound. If it's really shallow, the Novus or Polywatch will be enough, and is pretty safe. The OP still might want to mask off the bezel to keep things from getting messy.

If it's deeper, then he will need to use sandpaper (or other grit) of increasingly find grades as described above. I like to go in increments of 500 up to 2000 or 2500 before jumping to compound. Depending on the depth of the scratch one might start at 600, 1000, or even 1500. It takes some practice and experience to judge. Or we could help if we could see photos.
 
SkunkPrince
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Dan, I don't disagree, necessarily, but if you have to break out the sandpaper, you're better off just getting a replacement.
 
Dan S
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
Dan, I don't disagree, necessarily, but if you have to break out the sandpaper, you're better off just getting a replacement.

If a replacement is readily available (as in this case), that's a great option and I agree totally. If you're trying to preserve an original high dome acrylic crystal that is a distinctive feature of the reference, that's not an option.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/crystal-clean-up-on-new-arrival-benrus-type-i-content.102629/
 
SkunkPrince
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Dan S Dan S
If a replacement is readily available (as in this case), that's a great option and I agree totally. If you're trying to preserve an original high dome acrylic crystal that is a distinctive feature of the reference, that's not an option.
Indeed I have just that situation! I got a KO 2627 with its original crystal and crown and otherwise crappy case, that I am hoping to marry a better case with... normally I do not like crystals with magnifiers but this one appears to be original and it's not too bad.

Here's hoping!!
 
Dan S
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
Indeed I have just that situation! I got a KO 2627 with its original crystal and crown and otherwise crappy case, that I am hoping to marry a better case with... normally I do not like crystals with magnifiers but this one appears to be original and it's not too bad.

Here's hoping!!

Good luck. I've successfully preserved several crystals that looked really hopeless at first.
 
SkunkPrince
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Dan S Dan S
Good luck. I've successfully preserved several crystals that looked really hopeless at first.
Thanks! I have most of the yuck taken out, it'll be up to the watchmaker to do the final work with a buffer.
 
L
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Didn't expect so many replies, thanks everyone. Many different perspectives which is why I wanted to post here.

Damaging the bezel is one of my concerns, if it was a much cheaper watch then i'd probably just look up some guides and go for it.

Needing to polish more than just the affected area is a good point, didn't think of that. Since it's a scrape as opposed to a hairline scratch, this might need sandpaper, but I don't think it's actually that deep. I'll know when I have another good feel + take macro pics.

I'm at work but i'll post a photo up as soon as I can.

Could anyone throw some rough ballpark price numbers on professional polishing or entire crystal replacement?
 
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