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Buffing out SS watch?

E

epicnemesis

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 30, 2008
55
20
Anyone have any experience with this? Best practices? My watch fell on asphalt and then I managed to step on it a little (don’t ask..4 years with the S0 with no incidents, 1 week with the s4 and this happens) bottom line is the sapphire did its job, no scratches at all, no dents on the body of the watch some how, but there is a patch of scratches I’d rather not have.
I figure I can be an ******* and return it since I’m in the return window, or I can buff it and call it a day.
 
epicnemesis said:
Anyone have any experience with this? Best practices? My watch fell on asphalt and then I managed to step on it a little (don’t ask..4 years with the S0 with no incidents, 1 week with the s4 and this happens) bottom line is the sapphire did its job, no scratches at all, no dents on the body of the watch some how, but there is a patch of scratches I’d rather not have.
I figure I can be an ******* and return it since I’m in the return window, or I can buff it and call it a day.
Click to expand...

As someone else mentioned, the Cape Cod cloth will work to remove light scratches, however, if the 316 L stainless is gouged, that would be permanent. Which I’m assuming if it hit asphalt, it’s likely more than just lightly scratched, as the stainless is relatively soft and dense.
 
mavis said:
This happened to me, right when I first got my S0 back in 2015. I posted about it here, with before and after pictures - basically I just used Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish, and was able to remove a massive gouge almost completely.

Original post with pictures, here: The Apple Watch SS scratch thread [MERGED]
Click to expand...

I totally realize its your preference of what you want to use, but I do *not* suggest using Mothers Mag polish. Especially for someone that has never used it before, any excess amount of paste could it wedge itself between the display and casing or in advertently lodge itself into the speaker holes or any other ports. Cape Cod cloth is a much safer bet, if given the circumstance to use one or the other.
 
Relentless Power said:
I totally realize its your preference of what you want to use, but I do *not* suggest using Mothers Mag polish. Especially for someone that has never used it before, any excess amount of paste could it wedge itself between the display and casing or in advertently lodge itself into the speaker holes or any other ports. Cape Cod cloth is a much safer bet, if given the circumstance to use one or the other.
Click to expand...

I suppose Cape Cod is easier to use, but having used both, I recommend Mother's for deep scratches/gouges (which is what the OP says he has). Just sharing my experience, and in the thread I linked to, others posted with exactly the same results I had: using 800/1000/2000 grit sandpaper, followed by Mother's, deep gouges are completely gone. But if all you've got are tiny little hairline scratches, then absolutely - Cape Cod is the way to go. It's what I've used every couple of months for the past three and a half years, to keep three SS AW's looking perfect.
 
I strongly share RP's concerns about getting paste and grit into the watch, but I want to say that if you are going to use anything stronger than the CC cloth I would suggest spreading the paste very thinly on a piece of paper and using the paper on a piece of glass or flat-ground stone or other hard, flat surface. The same would apply to any abrasive paper. If you don't, there's a risk that you're going to get some dishing or other visible profile changes in the watch case.
 
epicnemesis said:
Anyone have any experience with this? Best practices? My watch fell on asphalt and then I managed to step on it a little (don’t ask..4 years with the S0 with no incidents, 1 week with the s4 and this happens) bottom line is the sapphire did its job, no scratches at all, no dents on the body of the watch some how, but there is a patch of scratches I’d rather not have.
I figure I can be an ******* and return it since I’m in the return window, or I can buff it and call it a day.
Click to expand...

Did you happen to buy your watch with a credit card? If so you may not need to be an "******* and return it". Many credit cards offer at least 60 days (and up to 120 days) of purchase protection/insurance and will cover every cent of a repair on a product you purchase nearly unconditionally. You can either dig out your cardmember benefits pamphlet, google for "[your credit card name] cardmember benefits PDF", or just call the number on the back. My mother dropped her Apple Watch on the floor last year 65 days after purchase with no AppleCare and her Chase United card covered the entire ~$299 repair.
 
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