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padders
··Oooo subtitles!Anyone have personal experience with polywatch glass polish? Amazon reviews seem mixed.
Edited:
When Polywatch doesn’t work, what is next?
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Basset Hound
·You can use micro-mesh soft touch pads. They go to an extremely fine grit and by using gradually finer and finer pads you get the finish you want.
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorA new crystal is fine, but the OP does have an authentic Omega crystal, and it could be original. I don't know enough about these references to say if new Omega service crystals are identical to the originals in shape.
Haven’t heard of issues getting a Replacement Omega crystal for the watch in question. Comes with Omega symbol.
I would recommend replacement before advising someone to use sandpaper whilst crystal is still on the watch.
@Archer has posted a great thread on polishing crystals before. Search some of he’s great threads.
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SpeedyPhill
·toothpaste ?
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JackDaniels83
·For plastic crystals:
Sandpaper and for example a car polish is all you need. You will always get a crystal that fits the watch (original and after market). But in a lot of cases for old watches the shape of it has changed due to reduction of part diversity. I would always try to restore an old crystal rather than buying a new one. Except, for crystal with small cracks. The procedure is done in 15 to 30 Minutes.
For mineral crystals:
Silicon carbide wet sandpaper from a reputable manufacturer (Matador, M3, usw.). Diamond polishing paste in different grids. This does only work for flat crystals. I place the wet paper onto a flat surface (for example ceramic stove top). Now you have to grind it down, till the last scratch is gone. Only grind in one direction. Then take the next finer paper, Rotate the crystal by 90° and grind till the last scratches from the previous paper is gone. the last paper I use is 3000. Then use the diamond paste on a simple sheet of writing paper. It is very usable when you can not get new crystals with special printings (for example old LCD watches). Procedure takes a long time, you need at least one hour to get a good result.
In both cases I do at least remove the movement from the case.
Sandpaper and for example a car polish is all you need. You will always get a crystal that fits the watch (original and after market). But in a lot of cases for old watches the shape of it has changed due to reduction of part diversity. I would always try to restore an old crystal rather than buying a new one. Except, for crystal with small cracks. The procedure is done in 15 to 30 Minutes.
For mineral crystals:
Silicon carbide wet sandpaper from a reputable manufacturer (Matador, M3, usw.). Diamond polishing paste in different grids. This does only work for flat crystals. I place the wet paper onto a flat surface (for example ceramic stove top). Now you have to grind it down, till the last scratch is gone. Only grind in one direction. Then take the next finer paper, Rotate the crystal by 90° and grind till the last scratches from the previous paper is gone. the last paper I use is 3000. Then use the diamond paste on a simple sheet of writing paper. It is very usable when you can not get new crystals with special printings (for example old LCD watches). Procedure takes a long time, you need at least one hour to get a good result.
In both cases I do at least remove the movement from the case.
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gatorcpa
··ΩF InvestiGatorFor plastic crystals I use one of these and Polywatch:
It’s called a “nail block” and can be had for around $1 at a beauty supply store.
As stated above, the idea is to remove a small amount of plastic down to the level of the deepest scratch. The friction from rubbing the Polywatch in will liquify the plastic to fill in shallow scratches. I find that once you are done, the crystal will look better the next day once the plastic has hardened again.
This technique becomes less effective with deeper scratches as it is difficult to remove enough material to allow them to fill in. In those cases, you have no choice but to replace the crystal.
Glass and sapphire crystals are too difficult for me to work on, so I would just replace those if possible.
Hope this helps.
gatorcpa
It’s called a “nail block” and can be had for around $1 at a beauty supply store.
As stated above, the idea is to remove a small amount of plastic down to the level of the deepest scratch. The friction from rubbing the Polywatch in will liquify the plastic to fill in shallow scratches. I find that once you are done, the crystal will look better the next day once the plastic has hardened again.
This technique becomes less effective with deeper scratches as it is difficult to remove enough material to allow them to fill in. In those cases, you have no choice but to replace the crystal.
Glass and sapphire crystals are too difficult for me to work on, so I would just replace those if possible.
Hope this helps.
gatorcpa
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