glass cover scratch - repair?

fryup

Slight scratch on my wrist watch's glass cover..you can feel a slight indent with your fingernail.

anyway of masking it?

*got quoted €40 for a replacement cover which was a bit steep i thought.😶

banie01

All depends on what the glass is.

Sapphire, you are stuck with it.

Mineral glass, you may be able to polish it out with a Dremel and polishing paste but, in reality you are stuck with it.

Acrylic, usually no issue in polishing out scratches as a few of my watches will attest.

I usually take off the bezel and mask up the case of the watch before polishing the glass. You don't want to alter the finish of the metal/case. Polywatch is the usual recommendation for crystal polishing but, I am a fan of car polishing compound like t-cut as I usually have some lying around.

Wibbs

+1 for T cut on acrylic. Works like a charm and IMHO better than polywatch. I've also used fine grades of sandpaper to take out the worst scratches and finished with the T cut.

You can polish mineral glass but it's very difficult, or I found it so. Takes ages even with a dremel because you can't use high speed or you'll heat up the glass and it's likely to crack. The polishing paste used is toxic with it.

fryup

here's a pic of scratch, its a mid-range Rotary watch..what type of glass do you reckon?

Wibbs

Chances are it's acyrlic. Try a small dab of toothpaste on the mark and polish it and see if it softens it or removes it. If so you're quids in. 🙂

fryup

tried that yesterday but to no avail, how long do i need to rub?

*would very fine wet sandpaper do the trick - if so what grade?

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118601409#Comment_118601409

tried that yesterday but to no avail, how long do i need to rub? Oh er matron... :)

If you saw no change after a few minutes of moderate pressure it looks like it's glass of some nature Fryup. Sandpaper won't touch it either, but if you were to try go no lower than a 1000 grit.

Most likely it's mineral crystal. If it was acrylic you'd have tonnes of scratches already. Acrylic is mostly found on vintage watches or 10 euro Casios.

If it's mineral crystal you'd be nuts to try and polish out the scratch. Crystal replacement is quicker and simpler, and cheaper if you value your time. If you go down that road you'll regret it and wish you'd spent the €40.

fryup

its a watch i wear only on the odd occasion, so 40 quid doesn't seem justified really

i see this ebay seller is selling replacement glass covers - would they suit? and is it tricky to take off & replace existing cover?

You need a crystal press to do it. By the time you buy one and the crystal, shipping etc ... you'd have spent 40 or more. It's not rocket science but the crystal can crack easily. Improperly fitted it will impair the water resistance.

If you only wear it the odd time and you consider 40 too much then I would just live with the scratches.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118603749#Comment_118603749

yeah 40 euro isnt to bad at all really for a new crystal.. you'd pay a lot more for something in a higher end watch... didnt someone end up paying north of 1k for a rolex smashed milguass recently? not exactly a like for like comparison...

hitemfrank

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118614664#Comment_118614664

Yep. 1550 to be exact (with servicing and polishing)

fryup

was it you hitmefrank who forked out that much?????? - are you a lotto winner?

micks_address

in fairness its a 12k watch so worth fixing

hitemfrank

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118615587#Comment_118615587

It was covered on insurance and I'm certainly not a lotto winner.

Disposable income from having no kids or mortgage at the minute let me put money aside for the watch.

This is it

I replaced the sapphire crystal on my Tag Calibre 5. It was a barely noticeable mark on the crystal but it annoyed the head off me 😁 well worth the money.