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44 Silver SS Scratch-less Challenge

D

donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
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Great White North
I am challenging myself to keep my new 44 SS scratch-free (even from micro-scratches). I'm pretty good at not banging my watches on to surfaces and I'll see where this goes.

As I have learned from the 2 days I've been wearing and cleaning mine, the surface is not prone to scratching very easily as I suspected. I've worn the watch with all sorts of jackets with different material, cleaned it gently with a microfibre cloth several times and I still do not see any micro-scratches even under heavy lighting like the iPhone X flash light or under the sun.

I've always wondered if the stainless steel Apple is using this time is tougher. Although not a mention in their own description of the watch, I'm starting to believe it's a more durable material than the ones before it.

Is there a thin outer layer on it that'll eventually go and reveal the actual SS inside or not? Only time will tell and I will update my findings.
 
Stainless steel is stainless steel. Apple doesn’t use super special unscratchable steel.

It will scratch and it will scratch quite easily.
 
Best to just wear it and not thing about it! Keeping it perfect will make you crazy!
 
donster28 said:
I am challenging myself to keep my new 44 SS scratch-free (even from micro-scratches). I'm pretty good at not banging my watches on to surfaces and I'll see where this goes.

As I have learned from the 2 days I've been wearing and cleaning mine, the surface is not prone to scratching very easily as I suspected. I've worn the watch with all sorts of jackets with different material, cleaned it gently with a microfibre cloth several times and I still do not see any micro-scratches even under heavy lighting like the iPhone X flash light or under the sun.

I've always wondered if the stainless steel Apple is using this time is tougher. Although not a mention in their own description of the watch, I'm starting to believe it's a more durable material than the ones before it.

Is there a thin outer layer on it that'll eventually go and reveal the actual SS inside or not? Only time will tell and I will update my findings.
Click to expand...

Just for reference, the 316 L stainless steel and the surgical stainless steel bands on the silver iPhone XS are almost identical, there is no coating whatsoever. Only the gold And space black stainless have protective coatings.
 
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scratched after TWO days (supposing that i received it without scratches). Only noticible under direct sunlight...

i’m quite sure the SS loop band did it; i hope the regular SS loop band is not able to scratch the sapphire glass! what do you think, is it possible that regular SS will scratch the screen like the SBSS or it is not hard enough?

thank you
 
based on your experience, do SS watches scratch easily if you wear it while sleeping?
 
Just to clarify that part of the enjoyment for me is taking care of my stuff. I just like using well taken care of things. I'm that kind of freak that wipes my car before I retire for the day hehe...

My SS still looks pristine as we speak and I really don't understand how others get theirs scratched on day one.
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ipaddaro said:
based on your experience, do SS watches scratch easily if you wear it while sleeping?
Click to expand...
Depends on how you move while sleeping. Simple light contact with soft fabric won't hurt it but a wall or a head board might.
 
donster28 said:
Just to clarify that part of the enjoyment for me is taking care of my stuff. I just like using well taken care of things. I'm that kind of freak that wipes my car before I retire for the day hehe...

My SS still looks pristine as we speak and I really don't understand how others get theirs scratched on day one.
[doublepost=1539545318][/doublepost]
Depends on how you move while sleeping. Simple light contact with soft fabric won't hurt it but a wall or a head board might.
Click to expand...

i also take care of things.. although i think that tools should serve us and not the contrary. in any case, i think that the milanese loop scratched my watch on day 1...
 
I was at the Apple Store yesterday and impulsively bought the SS Apple Watch to trial for 14 days along with my SB SS Watch. What pushed me over the edge was a woman who was upgrading her Series 1 SS watch she had owned from Day 1, and it looked almost brand new. Hardly any scratches to speak of. And she never polished it and wore bracelets next to it. If I keep the SS I hope to have the same luck.
 
Kermit262 said:
I was at the Apple Store yesterday and impulsively bought the SS Apple Watch to trial for 14 days along with my SB SS Watch. What pushed me over the edge was a woman who was upgrading her Series 1 SS watch she had owned from Day 1, and it looked almost brand new. Hardly any scratches to speak of. And she never polished it and wore bracelets next to it. If I keep the SS I hope to have the same luck.
Click to expand...
I believe if you avoid contact with a solid surface with it, it will stay brand new. Simple wiping and cleaning won't hurt it.
[doublepost=1539553645][/doublepost]
ipaddaro said:
i also take care of things.. although i think that tools should serve us and not the contrary. in any case, i think that the milanese loop scratched my watch on day 1...
Click to expand...
Yep, the "loop" will scratch it for sure.
 
donster28 said:
Is there a thin outer layer on it that'll eventually go and reveal the actual SS inside or not? Only time will tell and I will update my findings.
Click to expand...
Actually time won’t tell. We’ll tell you. It’s not a miracle shell over steel. It’s steel. The watch is less than month old. Give it time. The micro swirlies will come, despite your best efforts.
 
donster28 said:
Just to clarify that part of the enjoyment for me is taking care of my stuff. I just like using well taken care of things. I'm that kind of freak that wipes my car before I retire for the day hehe...

My SS still looks pristine as we speak and I really don't understand how others get theirs scratched on day one.
[doublepost=1539545318][/doublepost]
Depends on how you move while sleeping. Simple light contact with soft fabric won't hurt it but a wall or a head board might.
Click to expand...

When you wipe your car or your watch you are scratching them. The only question is to what degree. IMO, any attempts to avoid micro scratches on the stainless will prove futile. Good luck. Let us know how long you make it. I’ll check back tomorrow. :p
 
Kermit262 said:
I was at the Apple Store yesterday and impulsively bought the SS Apple Watch to trial for 14 days along with my SB SS Watch. What pushed me over the edge was a woman who was upgrading her Series 1 SS watch she had owned from Day 1, and it looked almost brand new. Hardly any scratches to speak of. And she never polished it and wore bracelets next to it. If I keep the SS I hope to have the same luck.
Click to expand...
Keep us posted on your 14 days with both SS and SBSS. I had the SB for 14 days (had a defect) and wanted to exchange for another SB but sold out. So I’ve been wearing a SS for the last week and am 99% sure I’m sticking with it. It just looks like darn nice watch in every situation, with every outfit.
 
I found it more challenging to keep my link bracelet from scratches at the clasp over the years, especially when resting my hands at the desk or when working on my laptop.
My SS S0 itself is still in pretty good shape after all these years now and only suffers from some micro scratches if you look very very closely.
 
FatalFallacy said:
I found it more challenging to keep my link bracelet from scratches at the clasp over the years, especially when resting my hands at the desk or when working on my laptop.
My SS S0 itself is still in pretty good shape after all these years now and only suffers from some micro scratches if you look very very closely.
Click to expand...

The stainless link bracelet is the same 316 L stainless as the regular stainless Apple Watch. The problem with the link bracelet, is that it’s a brushed stainless, which will inevitably still show scratches on the most common areas, although they can be slightly polished out.
 
Relentless Power said:
The stainless link bracelet is the same 316 L stainless as the regular stainless Apple Watch. The problem with the link bracelet, is that it’s a brushed stainless, which will inevitably still show scratches on the most common areas, although they can be slightly polished out.
Click to expand...
You definitely don’t want to polish the link bracelet. You can however rebrush the finish with a scotch brite pad. I did it quite a few times and it looked quite nice.
 
Attached is an old pic I took after rebrushing a 6 month old link bracelet
 

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