Stainless Steel scratching and solution

[its93rc]

My god people throw the term 'OCD' around far to easily.... so disrespectful.

Anyway, the has been shared around but good for those who missed, I need to get some!

First sentence: I agree. I suffered from minor OCD as a child to my early teens, due to anxiety, and I do not find it funny how people compare a scratch on a watch to a serious mental disorder. I do not care much about the improper use of 'OCD' these days as it's used quite often in a joking, lighthearted matter --and I've learned to laugh about it too-- but other sufferers of OCD might perceive it as rude.

Second Sentence: Yes, it works and it's pretty cheap too.

 

[seatton]

Might be stupid question but if you continue to polish the watch daily, are you removing some of the stainless steel surrounding from the watch each time??

Will it eventually start to wear down the steel from the watch? Lol

So after years of polishing the layer of steel will be thinner as you have removed so many layers?

Eventually his watch will be as thin as Apple Watch 2 LOL.

 

[macAllen]

Picked up the Spigen watch case for $15 to prevent scratches at work. Also got this leather band for $30, both on amazon.com

I did too! Then it created so many scratches on my SS. Stupid how a case prevents major scratches but at the same time puts on smaller fine clusters of scratches.

I just want to report back that this product is great for the SS Apple Watch and it restored the watch in a matter of perhaps 2 to 3 minutes (warning don't use on aluminum Sport Watch).

Then I got this and restored it to a shine... However, Under sunlight or bight light you can see micro scratches swirls that resemble a old car that has gone though major carwashes.

So in short...Its a temporary superficial fix... Just deal with it and take it to a jeweler later on the year...

 

[5105973]

I had my watch since the wave of shipments and so far I only have a few tiny scratches that you can only see when the watch smudges are wiped clean with micro fiber cloth and only when u look very closely.

Me, too. I even started wearing a silver charm bracelet on the same wrist as my Apple Watch when I was traveling last week, since I hate wearing jewelry on my dominant hand. I decided to risk any scratches from the bracelet because if weeks of gardening and yard work left me with only one teeny tiny scuff composed of shallow micro scratches, I figured this watch was tougher than people make it out to be. My watch is fine. I joke about my middle aged eyes but if I take my distance glasses off and hold the watch up to a bright light I can see flaws the same as anybody else. There just aren't any worth polishing out. Just the teeny tiny scratches you're describing. In a year there might be enough worth buffing out, maybe. If I were to do yard work all year round, which I do not.

Still, if people want to buff their watches to perfection, go for it. The watch will become obsolete before you wear out the steel anyway. At least we know of an option that works well, so thanks to those sharing their experiences with different products.

 

[jaymc]

I did too! Then it created so many scratches on my SS. Stupid how a case prevents major scratches but at the same time puts on smaller fine clusters of scratches.




Then I got this and restored it to a shine... However, Under sunlight or bight light you can see micro scratches swirls that resemble a old car that has gone though major carwashes.

So in short...Its a temporary superficial fix... Just deal with it and take it to a jeweler later on the year...

Micro scratches I can deal with, it's the big scratches I'll be using at work (humping luggage) are what I want to prevent.

 

[Jack426]

First sentence: I agree. I suffered from minor OCD as a child to my early teens, due to anxiety, and I do not find it funny how people compare a scratch on a watch to a serious mental disorder. I do not care much about the improper use of 'OCD' these days as it's used quite often in a joking, lighthearted matter --and I've learned to laugh about it too-- but other sufferers of OCD might perceive it as rude.

Second Sentence: Yes, it works and it's pretty cheap too.

I didn't state it in my first post, but I'm in my late teens and suffer from both, and I agree that it's not funny. I can laugh off my attention to details, trying to be perfect, and being a neat freak related to the Personality Disorder (OCPD.) OCD, on the other hand, is annoying and gets in the way of everyday life.

Anyway, my OCPD dictates that to keep my AW clean and scratch free, I'll probably end up polishing it. Now if only Apple made a polished aluminum MacBook, iPhone, iPad, etc. That way I can polish out all the scratches!

 

[jjlannoo]

Picked up the Spigen watch case for $15 to prevent scratches at work. Also got this leather band for $30, both on amazon.com

That case looks way worse then scratches. Tho if your going to beat it up at work I guess I understand. I'm just gonna let mine scratch up.

 

[cruzmisl]

I bought the full body armorsuit but didn't like how the sides worked. So I just used the top, bottom & button covers. I think these two areas are the most likely to receive damage besides the screen.

When you're looking at it from a normal distance you can't really tell it is there. I haven't worn a daily watch in a few years so this is really just on until I get used to being more careful with my wrist area. I'm not worried about microscratches, just deep gouges from not being careful.

 

[DDustiNN]

I posted this in the old thread but this one seems to be more active (and talk about the exact two products I'm wondering about), so I'll repost:


I've had my watch for 6 days and just noticed a scuff/scratch on the left side. Absolutely no idea where it came from. Looking through this thread, I am impressed with how easily this can be fixed.

My question is:
Which is the better option? Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish, or the Cape Code polishing cloth?

Of course I won't be overusing either one, but I would like to have something to use every now and then to clean up the inevitable scratches.

 

[5105973]

Ouch! That scuff would bother even me and I'm not too picky. Since that slot is so close to the scratch people are probably going to recommend you use the pre-treated cloth. The paste is likely to get into crevices.

It's weird, until my mid 20's I was really bonkers about scratches on new purchases. I once bought my future husband a watch but took it back for exchange because of a teeny tiny microscratch that the salesclerk could not see and gave me strange looks over my attempts to point it out to him. I would relax and be fine with marks once the newness faded. I just hated having a brand new acquisition be imperfect.

I was forced to grow out of that trait, though, by my mom's family and my dad's elders. Mom and her family all survived war refugee conditions and dad's survived The Great Depression and were appalled by my pickiness. I got a lot of lectures about what it's like to have nothing, not even a spare pair of underwear while hiding in a cave and praying for worn down hand me downs. It made an impact and made me rethink my attitude and how I was contributing to a wasteful and ungrateful society when I'd return a new purchase for a tiny flaw most people would never notice.

Lol, still...when my Apple Watch gets that inevitable honking huge scuff, I'm getting out the polishing cloth. But for me there will be a dilemma in preserving the smaller scratches I actually like while trying to get rid of the disfiguring one. Some of my current microscratches lend my watch a unique character and I want them to stay.

 

[Gjwilly]

Anybody with experience with this stuff know if it would scuff the sapphire if you rubbed a bit too close to the screen?

The abrasives in the paste are the same hardness as the sapphire in the crystal.
They're both corundum.

 

[kmj2318]

I prefer the look of a scratched up SS watch.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Might be stupid question but if you continue to polish the watch daily, are you removing some of the stainless steel surrounding from the watch each time??

Will it eventually start to wear down the steel from the watch? Lol

So after years of polishing the layer of steel will be thinner as you have removed so many layers?

Even after years of polishing I doubt you could change the dimensions of the stainless except maybe by microns. Polishing every day would even be a non issue.

 

[mac.cali]

Even after years of polishing I doubt you could change the dimensions of the stainless except maybe by microns. Polishing every day would even be a non issue.

I agree. Besides if you plan on upgrading the watch in a year or two, I seriously doubt you will see any noticeable change.

 

[doeboynmek]

It's so obvious that most people haven't ever worn SS watches in the past. They scratch, and polishing once a month is overkill and you're going to kill your shine in no time.

These things WILL scratch, and it's a watch, it's meant to show wear, it's inevitable. I have some SS watches that I haven't polished in a couple years, it's just the trade of the game.

I can't wait for the threads that start saying "My AW is no longer polished or shiny anymore HELP"

 

[nfl46]

This stuff works. But I only do it once to twice a year.

Once a month would be WAY too much!

 

[Oppressed]

I'm going to order these Cape Cod metal polishing pads I saw on Amazon. People said they're better for polishing the watch because they just have a small amount of the polishing compound already embedded into the cotton cloth and it works great. They're reusable and I think the $5 two pack package on Amazon should get me through at least a year if I polish every couple months. They have another one that has like 10 or 12 cloths for around $15. If they work well I might get that next time. The nice thing about the pads is that you don't have to get gunk everywhere or worry about putting on too much and getting it wedged in the mic opening or digital crown area or something.

I just used this exact product on my watch this morning and it works well. You can also pick it up at some Ace Hardwares.

 

[Newtons Apple]

It's so obvious that most people haven't ever worn SS watches in the past. They scratch, and polishing once a month is overkill and you're going to kill your shine in no time.

These things WILL scratch, and it's a watch, it's meant to show wear, it's inevitable. I have some SS watches that I haven't polished in a couple years, it's just the trade of the game.

I can't wait for the threads that start saying "My AW is no longer polished or shiny anymore HELP"

How will polishing "kill your shine in no time"?

The people doing that do this wish their watch to show wear and it should be their choice to do as they wish.

No going to hurt anything if done properly

 

[macduke]

I just used this exact product on my watch this morning and it works well. You can also pick it up at some Ace Hardwares.

That's good to know. I ordered the small package with two cloths as an add-on item in Amazon. Figured I'd try that and maybe order the bigger can if it's worth it. I like the idea of having something more like a cloth that I can just pull out to quickly polish without having to use gunk and do a whole lot of cleanup afterwords. Just rub it down, maybe finish with a microfiber and go! Seems like an easy solution and for me to keep up with additional maintenance like that I need it to be easy. My old watch was brushed stainless steel and it held up ok but still has quite a few scratches. They just aren't as noticeable. It does have a few small spots that aren't brushed and those are more noticeable. The main thing is I just want my screen to not scratch because the crystal on my old watch was horrible.

 

[GrimmsGirl]

I just noticed my first non micro scratch today. There are a couple of them, actually, on the watch case and my new link band. It was going to happen sooner or later, and I couldn't be happier that it was sooner. Now I can wear my bracelets on my watch wrist and not be worried about about them scratching the heck out of the watch.

 

[FrankySavvy]

I did too! Then it created so many scratches on my SS. Stupid how a case prevents major scratches but at the same time puts on smaller fine clusters of scratches.




Then I got this and restored it to a shine... However, Under sunlight or bight light you can see micro scratches swirls that resemble a old car that has gone though major carwashes.

So in short...Its a temporary superficial fix... Just deal with it and take it to a jeweler later on the year...

I am in the same boat, you can use this to remove the larger deeper scratches but it seems to put a swirl in the finish, only noticeable under direct light, so I wouldn't recommend for those small little micro scratches that you can only see in direct light pointed at a certain direction.

I'm so OCD about it, I just need to wear the watch and enjoy it.