Watch Case Restoration: How to Combine Polished + Brushed Surfaces | 1970's Heuer Dive Watch
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How to restore a steel watch case with Polished + Brushed surfaces!
1970's Heuer Dive Watch w/ stainless steel case - this is my first watch case polishing and brush matte finish restoration. The challenge on this project was how to apply a concentric circular brush pattern evenly across the top face of the watch, but keep the polished surfaces mirror-shiny. My solution is simple but may surprise you!
After giving the watch case and back as close to a mirror finish as I could, I masked the parts of the case that I wanted to remain shiny with heat-resistant tape, which has good tack but leaves no residue. Then I attached the case to a turntable and applied the ‘brush’ with a green 3M abrasive pad.
This is also the first time I used my new hobby buffer on a watch case. It worked great!
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Watchmaking tools and supplies used in this video (Amazon Associate product links):
Jewelry Mini Buffer Kit amzn.to/3WFoyyR
3'' Cotton Polishing Wheels for 3/8'' Arbor amzn.to/3ZNlAuO
Polishing Buffing Compound Kit amzn.to/44wUrgX
Magnasonic Ultrasonic Cleaner - 600 ml amzn.to/3XEp4xb
144 Clear Cabinet & Furniture Bumpers amzn.to/3YNXsGU
Heat Resistant Tape - 10mm (2 rolls) amzn.to/3JQ7DGC
Index:
00:00 Case “Before” Refinishing
02:12 Buffing & Polishing
06:58 Buffer Mods & Tips
07:51 Ultrasonic Cleaning
08:27 Mask Before Brush Finishing
11:46 Radial Pattern Secret Weapon!
13:24 Applying the Brushed Finish
16:04 Unmasking the Watch Case
16:22 Finished Watch Case Reveal
#watchrepair #watchrestoration #watchwithmike
Пікірлер: 54
Use an electric potters wheel instead rod the lazy Susan. Use a laser pointer hung over the wheel to finger the center point. Trace the outline of the watch case onto the paper and use a compass or such to mark the center point. Then put the case on the traces outline. For the satin finish, I use the grey scotch brite which is a fine satin finish. When the potters wheel starts, place the scorch brite on one spot and don’t move your hand. Let the wheel turn to give the even circular brushing. When done, give the circular brushing a wipe with capecod polish cloth. It won’t remove the satin finish. It will give it a luster. For the deep scratch, use a buff stick from Bergeom or 1000 grit sandpaper. Don’t be afraid to get it out. Hope that is helpful.
@WatchWithMike
10 ай бұрын
Those are all creative solutions! I just did another stainless steel watch case project and I used the gray Scotch-Brite with very good results. I've also been getting more aggressive about removing deeper scratches, but trying not to damage the sharpness of the body lines. It is a delicate balance! Thanks for watching and joining the conversation!
@marcn8750
10 ай бұрын
@@WatchWithMike you are welcome. Together we are stronger 💪🏼 For deeper scratches, you can use a simple but effective burnishing tool. It’s smooth and hard and you rub it over the scratch. It will “smoothen” out the scratch and won’t remove material. You then will have an easier time with the polishing to remove it completely. Google burnishing tool. Dentist also use it for dentures and such. In fact, look at dental tools. Much cheaper than watch tools and often serve the same function.
Gotta say this came out waaaay better than I ever thought DIY would. Great work!
@WatchWithMike
Жыл бұрын
@Hello World - Thank you for the nice words! The results exceeded my expectations!
Very nice job ! That’s the way I also try to do any finishing job. You make me feel good!
@WatchWithMike
6 ай бұрын
Excellent! Thanks so much for watching! 😁
Very nicely done! I like also how creative you are with both tools and techniques (e.g. lazy Susan, watch baskets on a stick). I am learning things here I haven’t seen on any other KZread channel. Keep up the great work!
@WatchWithMike
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much! 😄 I am figuring it out as I go, so you will see a lot of improvising on my channel. Necessity is the mother of invention! 👍🏻
Great, GREAT work, thanks for sharing!!!
@WatchWithMike
9 ай бұрын
So glad you liked it, thanks for watching! 😁
Great job Mike. I was looking for exactly this kiind of procedure.
@WatchWithMike
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Perry! I'm glad it helped. Good luck with your project! Feel free to stop back and let us know how it went.
Very nice and detailed job!
@WatchWithMike
10 ай бұрын
Thanks! I'm really happy with how it came out. I appreciate you watching!
Lovely work!
@WatchWithMike
2 ай бұрын
Thank you! This was a very fun project. 😁
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 me encanta! Gracias Mike, ya se cómo restaurar mi seiko Monster.
@WatchWithMike
3 ай бұрын
Excellent! Good luck with your Seiko!
Great work my friend
@WatchWithMike
9 ай бұрын
Thank you very much!😁
What were you applying to the grinder pads? How do you describe the wheels on the grinder so that I could buy them for myself.
Nice video. Brush first and then polish.
@WatchWithMike
Жыл бұрын
Interesting thought. Would you then mask the brushed surfaces before polishing? If so, I wonder if the masking tape would stay on.
@marcn8750
Жыл бұрын
@@WatchWithMike no need to mask the brushed areas. Polish the areas to be polished. The brushed areas will not get “un-brushed” if you accidentally let polish on to it or your hand slips.
nice work bro
@WatchWithMike
8 ай бұрын
Thank you! It was a very fun project.😁
Parabéns pelo excelente trabalho
@WatchWithMike
3 ай бұрын
Thank you! 😁
You could sit there and slowly clip the strands from the polishing wheel. Or you could simply turn it on and hold the blade close to the wheel and let it cut the strands for you.
@WatchWithMike
7 ай бұрын
Interesting idea! 👀
Great video thanks for sharing... I'm always so worried using a polishing wheel that i will lose the sharp lines?
@WatchWithMike
7 ай бұрын
Stainless steel is very resilient, and I only used a soft buff. I always try to do one plane at a time, and you should be fine as long as you don't hurry and roll over the edges. With softer metals it becomes more of a risk, but I use less aggressive compound and extra care.
Very nice, meticulous work, Mike! I greatly enjoyed watching your process (with mathematical narration!) and look forward to attempting a similar project. I was wondering if a low speed dremel with the proper tip insert could be used in place of the manually rotated lazy susan, to complete the detail work on the brushed finished areas. Any thoughts?
@WatchWithMike
6 ай бұрын
Thanks Michael! Are you suggesting using a Dremel tool to rotate the case, or to apply the scratches? The thing I liked about my method is that you can go very slowly and see your progress clearly. I have done a couple of other brushed finishes since doing this case, and brushing by hand with the Scotch-Brite pads moves pretty quickly, so power tools really aren't required.
@michaelking8681
6 ай бұрын
Actually, what I was wondering was if a low speed, handheld dremel tool, with a brushing tip could be used to go over the brushed stainless surfaces (while holding the watch case with the other hand). I am presuming that the meticulous masking of the polished surfaces would be done first, as per your video.@@WatchWithMike
First O yeah!
@WatchWithMike
Жыл бұрын
One chicken dinner coming up! 😁
@coyotecarguy2076
Жыл бұрын
@@WatchWithMike 🙃
Very interesting video. Well presented and explained. There is one question please. What type of polishing wheels are used for the black first cut and then the green polishing cut? Do I need a hard one for black and a soft one for green? Would very much appreciate your advice. Many thanks.
@WatchWithMike
10 ай бұрын
Great question! I used soft cotton wheels for both cuts, but I should have used a harder wheel with the black polish if I wanted it to go quicker. I'm still getting used to the buffer, so I didn't want to get too aggressive. I have another stainless steel case project I am doing this weekend, and I'm going to try out the black compound on a harder felt wheel.
@alltruetv
5 ай бұрын
Do u think a Dremel tool could work?
Hi great video What grit is the Green 3M material?
@WatchWithMike
6 ай бұрын
The green 3M pad doesn't have a grit number, it is simply called "final stripping pad". 🤨
I have a casio md501 which has a similar case with the decorative bevel.. I wanted to know which finish did you end up going with for the bezel..
@WatchWithMike
Жыл бұрын
@Pratik Waingankar - I only polished the bezel lightly because I didn't want to damage the printing. The bezel on this watch was not brushed. All of the photos I've seen of the Casio MD501 have more of a matte finish, which is half way between polished and brushed. I would suggest just giving your bezel a (gentle) cleaning and light buffing, because you don't want to remove the numbers.
@pratikwaingankar5943
11 ай бұрын
Hi.. thanks for the info.. I got confused between my 1969 Seiko 5 6119 and the md501 the Seiko has a decorative bevel so I wa thinking I will keep that bevel and the crystal ring gloss and the other surfaces matt.. your videos really help.. watching your Timex teardown atm cause I have one on with the second hand has fallen off
why do so many say it's best to look for an unpolished watch?
@WatchWithMike
3 ай бұрын
Over polishing can change the lines of a case. I guess watch "purists" want to see the time piece in its original form.
@marcd7332
2 ай бұрын
Polishing is fine when done well, bonus points if they use laser welding, unless you have a very valuable and hard to find vintage watch where anything done to it would lower its value there’s nothing wrong with polishing regular watches.
@WatchWithMike
2 ай бұрын
@@marcd7332 Agreed! 😄