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Got My First Scratch :(

LaurieAnn

LaurieAnn

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2011
215
85
I baby my Apple Watch S2 more than any Apple device I've owned. I have consistently worn long sleeves since I got it a couple months ago so it's always covered. One morning I woke up and noticed this ugly scratch in the lower left corner(I wear it to bed to monitor my sleep and heart rate). I have no recollection of how it got there. Perhaps I am sleepwalking at night and smacking my watch against stuff. Seeing this, put me in a really nasty mood the entire day. This is the first scratch I've ever gotten on any of my electronic devices. It could be worse.... the scratch could have been across the center of the face. A screen protector is now on it's way from Amazon.

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Wow. That is crazy. I have smaller and less severe scratches on my Gen 1/S0 after 18 months of doing nothing to protect it. I wonder what you could have hit with it? You would sure think you would recall something like that wouldn't you? Really odd and unfortunate :(
 
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LaurieAnn said:
I baby my Apple Watch S2 more than any Apple device I've owned. I have consistently worn long sleeves since I got it a couple months ago so it's always covered. One morning I woke up and noticed this ugly scratch in the lower left corner(I wear it to bed to monitor my sleep and heart rate). I have no recollection of how it got there. Perhaps I am sleepwalking at night and smacking my watch against stuff. Seeing this, put me in a really nasty mood the entire day. This is the first scratch I've ever gotten on any of my electronic devices. It could be worse.... the scratch could have been across the center of the face. A screen protector is now on it's way from Amazon.

View attachment 695401
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Sorry to see your damaged watch. The Ion-X Glass on the Apple Watch is the same glass used on the iPhone. That said, it is fairly durable, but given the circumstances and the right surface area, It can scratch as you can see.

You're doing the right thing by getting a screen protector to prevent any further damage. And I'm certainly not trying to make you feel bad about your purchase, but that's why I like the stainless watch with the Sapphire display. Although the price point is significantly steep, I feel the Sapphire really prevents scratches or issues with inadvertent accidents.
 
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bopajuice said:
I think you can have it buffed out. Take it to a jeweler. I got a scratch on the face of my Rolex. They buffed it out no problem.
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This would not work for the OP. She as an aluminum :apple:Watch that has a glass crystal. If she had the SS :apple:Watch with a sapphire crystal she could have this done. Jewelers use a buffing wheel with an abrasive (similar to diamond dust) polish to polish sapphire. This would damage glass. Here are some ideas to try.

http://mashable.com/2014/06/28/phone-screen-scratches/#_rYcezWEdaqV
 
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LaurieAnn said:
I baby my Apple Watch S2 more than any Apple device I've owned. I have consistently worn long sleeves since I got it a couple months ago so it's always covered. One morning I woke up and noticed this ugly scratch in the lower left corner(I wear it to bed to monitor my sleep and heart rate). I have no recollection of how it got there. Perhaps I am sleepwalking at night and smacking my watch against stuff. Seeing this, put me in a really nasty mood the entire day. This is the first scratch I've ever gotten on any of my electronic devices. It could be worse.... the scratch could have been across the center of the face. A screen protector is now on it's way from Amazon.

View attachment 695401
Click to expand...

Do you wear a ring on the opposite hand? Maybe that could have scratched it. If you have AppleCare maybe you could have it fixed or replaced.
 
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Newtons Apple said:
Actually her Watch face CAN be buffed out. A jeweler that knows what he is doing can clean that up.
Click to expand...

I agree that this is not impossible, but OP should try some of the methods suggested in @Julien's link. Those are basically soft abrasives, which is exactly what a good jeweler would use on a glass screen. They may not entirely get rid of the scratch (since it looks deep in the pic), but they will help.
 
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How many of those solutions in Julien's link are for removing scratches from the body of the device vs the display? Many of those seem like they would be a risk to scuff the display or remove coatings. I am not sure I would feel comfortable trying the majority of them on my displays.
 
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After much thought, I suspect the scratch came from playing with my dog who gets pretty hyper. She has really sharp claws. Unfortunately I didn't keep track of my purchase and I'm beyond the 60 days from date of purchase to be eligible for Apple Care. I got the watch on Jan 27th. Lesson learned. I also read a lot of forum discussions from various sites that Apple Care does NOT cover accidental damage like scratches. I've read people getting quotes from $199 to $269 to fix the screen.

Isn't there some protective anti oil/fingerprint coating on the glass? Maybe I just scratched that and the glass is OK. I may try the toothpaste trick if it doesn't damage the coating. If that doesn't work, I'll just slap a screen protector on it and hope it hides the scratch.
 
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LaurieAnn said:
After much thought, I suspect the scratch came from playing with my dog who gets pretty hyper. She has really sharp claws. Unfortunately I didn't keep track of my purchase and I'm beyond the 60 days from date of purchase to be eligible for Apple Care. I got the watch on Jan 27th. Lesson learned. I also read a lot of forum discussions from various sites that Apple Care does NOT cover accidental damage like scratches. I've read people getting quotes from $199 to $269 to fix the screen.

Isn't there some protective anti oil/fingerprint coating on the glass? Maybe I just scratched that and the glass is OK. I may try the toothpaste trick if it doesn't damage the coating. If that doesn't work, I'll just slap a screen protector on it and hope it hides the scratch.
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Apple does not cover cosmetic damage. And the coating on the Apple Watch display is the Olephobic coating. It acts as a protectant from minor abrasions and fingerprints. It does eventually wear off.

Also, toothpaste might remove some of the scratch off of the glass, but being your scratch looks fairly deep, I think it's likely it will still remain. And also in my opinion, no jeweler will be able to remove a scratch of that magnitude on the display of your watch, being it's glass and not Sapphire.

Glass has different consistencies than sapphire does when it's scratched and it's very difficult to remove, if at all, when the display is damaged such as yours.

I agree with the screen protector. Good luck with and let us know how it goes.
 
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SDColorado said:
Depending on your method of payment, you may have purchase protection through your credit card. American Express, for example gives you 90 days of protection against theft and accidental damage
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Definitely worth checking if credit card used for purchasing has some automatic purchase protection.

From my experience trying unsuccessfully to take clear photographs of surface scratches on glass, this might not be a scratch, but possibly a crack. Be careful if it starts getting longer or if there is any distortion around it when the display is on.
 
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LaurieAnn said:
I baby my Apple Watch S2 more than any Apple device I've owned. I have consistently worn long sleeves since I got it a couple months ago so it's always covered. One morning I woke up and noticed this ugly scratch in the lower left corner(I wear it to bed to monitor my sleep and heart rate). I have no recollection of how it got there. Perhaps I am sleepwalking at night and smacking my watch against stuff. Seeing this, put me in a really nasty mood the entire day. This is the first scratch I've ever gotten on any of my electronic devices. It could be worse.... the scratch could have been across the center of the face. A screen protector is now on it's way from Amazon.

View attachment 695401
Click to expand...
Exchange it, do you have apple care?
 
Congrats on your first scratch! Now you don't have to baby it so much and can stop worrying about it.

Are you sure it's a gouge in the glass and not material rubbed off of your dog's claws? No fingernail, animal's or human's, is harder than glass (that I know of).
 
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BarracksSi said:
Congrats on your first scratch! Now you don't have to baby it so much and can stop worrying about it.

Are you sure it's a gouge in the glass and not material rubbed off of your dog's claws? No fingernail, animal's or human's, is harder than glass (that I know of).
Click to expand...

It's not so much that the OP is worrying about the scratch as she is mystified how the scratch happened initially, then realized it subsequently happened from Her Dog after the fact.

And, I have read other posts where a Cats/Dogs nail had scratched the Ion-Glass on the Sport Watch with pictures attached. Perhaps with debris embedded into the nail could have caused the scratch, force, angle of the nail, etc . A lot of variables to consider. And my opinion, I was not impressed with the Ion-X Glass durability when I did own my Sport Watch.
 
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BarracksSi said:
Congrats on your first scratch! Now you don't have to baby it so much and can stop worrying about it.

Are you sure it's a gouge in the glass and not material rubbed off of your dog's claws? No fingernail, animal's or human's, is harder than glass (that I know of).
Click to expand...
I worked pretty hard trying to buff it with a microfiber cloth and my fingernail under the cloth. It didn't budge. It's definitely a scratch. Luckily I don't think it's a crack. You're right. No more stress about worrying about getting a scratch.
[doublepost=1491867388][/doublepost]
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Well I just applied the Amorsuit like 5 minutes ago. I think it hid the scratch fairly well. I'm going to not wear it until tomorrow morning to make sure the Armorsuit has enough time to adhere strongly.
 
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LaurieAnn said:
I worked pretty hard trying to buff it with a microfiber cloth and my fingernail under the cloth. It didn't budge. It's definitely a scratch. Luckily I don't think it's a crack. You're right. No more stress about worrying about getting a scratch.
[doublepost=1491867388][/doublepost]View attachment 695663 Well I just applied the Amorsuit like 5 minutes ago. I think it hid the scratch fairly well. I'm going to not wear it until tomorrow morning to make sure the Armorsuit has enough time to adhere strongly.
Click to expand...

That Armorsuit appears to have worked great! I will remember that if I ever scratch mine.
 
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LaurieAnn said:
Well I just applied the Amorsuit like 5 minutes ago. I think it hid the scratch fairly well. I'm going to not wear it until tomorrow morning to make sure the Armorsuit has enough time to adhere strongly.
Click to expand...

The screen Protector made a huge difference. I can barely even see the scratch at all.
 
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LaurieAnn said:
I worked pretty hard trying to buff it with a microfiber cloth and my fingernail under the cloth. It didn't budge. It's definitely a scratch. Luckily I don't think it's a crack. You're right. No more stress about worrying about getting a scratch.
[doublepost=1491867388][/doublepost]View attachment 695663 Well I just applied the Amorsuit like 5 minutes ago. I think it hid the scratch fairly well. I'm going to not wear it until tomorrow morning to make sure the Armorsuit has enough time to adhere strongly.
Click to expand...
Where it can be bought???
 
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