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So I ventured into the realm of polishing my watch...

parseckadet

parseckadet

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 13, 2010
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Denver, CO
So I always knew that I would eventually give my SS Apple Watch a polish at some point. I got the SS version because I wanted the toughness of the sapphire screen, but the polished steel always gave me pause. Recently I accidentally gave my watch a couple scratches I just couldn't ignore when I banged it into a wall. So I went searching for instructions and was inspired by this video:

In it Dom uses Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish and a small cloth. I went and found the same stuff at Walmart and gave it a shot. I have to say, the results look great, and the pesky scratches that were bothering me are gone.

But I would like to caution everyone about this stuff. You have to be REALLY careful not to get it into the ports, which is harder than it would seem. When in the canister, the polish appears to be waxy, and I figured it would be easy enough to keep it in check. But as soon as I applied it to the watch the polish turned into a liquid and went everywhere. Despite my efforts, some wound up inside the speaker port.

I thought this would be no problem, I finished up my work, buffed everything off the watch, then ran to the sink to run some water over the watch. The ports looked clear and there were no signs of polish anywhere. But then I set a timer to remind me of something in a few minutes, and when it went off... no sound even though the watch was not muted.

I had a brief panic moment. Had I just ruined my watch? I was getting ready to make a Genius Bar appointment, really glad that I had paid for AppleCare, when I realized I had a can of compressed air. So I blew that into the speaker port and tried the timer again. This time I could actually hear something. So I went back to the sink and alternated between rinsing and blowing compressed air through the port. Each time I did the speaker got louder. Eventually everything was back to normal, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Later I discovered this video:
In it they mention that you can get cloths that are pre-soaked with polish. That is definitely what I will use the next time I give this a try!

So how about it? Anyone else try polishing their watch? What products did you use?
 
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I haven't yet polished my AW just like I haven't polished any of my other watches.

And, after polishing other things (car, tuba, whatever) with paste, the potential to get paste inside the AW's ports isn't surprising.

You can still use the same stuff if you rub it into the rag, rinse it for a bit, then let it dry. The goopy paste compound's function is to carry the polishing particles; but if you embed the particles into the rag, you don't need the goop anymore, and you have less chance of clogging the ports.
 
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I've also tried cape cod, works great. It's like a moist cloth that's leaves a grey wet residue on the watch. Then just polish that away with microfiber cloth. Nothing gets in the ports and the end result is superb. I don't know where you are located but just google it. That's how I ordered mine.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Cape-Metal-Po...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
711mj84FvoL._SL1280_.jpg
 
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The video used too much polish. You really only need to apply a near invisible layer on the AW. If it looks like a paste, you've used too much. A little goes a long way.
 
With the cape cod, I cut off a little square and use that for the whole watch, Don't need much and it does not have a heavy amount of polish.
 
AndrewR23 said:
No. In fact apple says it's fine to polish the watch. That's what they told me a few weeks ago.
Click to expand...

Polishing can be done in many ways. I'm just suggesting folks use caution. Many compounds are petroleum based and are powerful solvents. The dry cloths are probably a safer. There is no way Apple can issue a blanket statement here. Instead of dismissing what I said, just use some common sense.
 
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Mr. Buzzcut said:
Polishing can be done in many ways. I'm just suggesting folks use caution. Many compounds are petroleum based and are powerful solvents. The dry cloths are probably a safer. There is no way Apple can issue a blanket statement here. Instead of dismissing what I said, just use some common sense.
Click to expand...

Common sense also dictates you don't slop it all over like toothpaste. Done properly, you don't put it in a situation where the solvent can attack the glue.
 
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image.jpeg image.jpeg Here is my almost one year old SS version. I usually polish once a month. It's pristine. I would hate to see what it looked like without polishing. I have zero micro scratches on my watch body or crystal. Any marks in the photo are just pieces of dust.
I use a Cape Cod cloth, kitchen paper to remove the black stuff that the cloth leaves behind, then wash the watch body under a warm tap using a sponge. Then I dry it, polish to a lustrous shine with a microfibre cloth that's it. Easy. I keep the Cape Cod cloth away from the screen. So - after polishing now 12 times or more, the watch looks and operates perfectly. No speaker or mic issues either.
(Also, just recently I got a grey 3M Scotchbrite pad and removed several scratches from my link bracelet and Milanese loop clasp too - this pad worked amazingly well! It looks brand new again - I can post pics if anyone wants to see it)
 
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Defender2010 said:
View attachment 627438 View attachment 627439 Here is my almost one year old SS version. I usually polish once a month. It's pristine. I would hate to see what it looked like without polishing. I have zero micro scratches on my watch body or crystal. Any marks in the photo are just pieces of dust.
I use a Cape Cod cloth, kitchen paper to remove the black stuff that the cloth leaves behind, then wash the watch body under a warm tap using a sponge. Then I dry it, polish to a lustrous shine with a microfibre cloth that's it. Easy. I keep the Cape Cod cloth away from the screen. So - after polishing now 12 times or more, the watch looks and operates perfectly. No speaker or mic issues either.
(Also, just recently I got a grey 3M Scotchbrite pad and removed several scratches from my link bracelet and Milanese loop clasp too - this pad worked amazingly well! It looks brand new again - I can post pics if anyone wants to see it)
Click to expand...

I would be really interested to see the Finnish on your link bracelet please was wondering about doing mine.
 
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
xraydoc said:
Yes, please. My link bracelet, after 8 months of near daily wear, looks quite weathered.
Click to expand...

Here's a couple of pics guys. All the little scratches are gone from my link bracelet since using the grey 3M Scotchbrite pad. You have to be very careful and light handed. Even 3 or 4 strokes of the pad can remove scratches. You must also follow the lines of the brushed steel so there are no horizontal brushes seen on the bracelet.
Edit- a few little bits of lint/fluff showed up on the photo.
 
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Defender2010 said:
View attachment 627862 View attachment 627863

Here's a couple of pics guys. All the little scratches are gone from my link bracelet since using the grey 3M Scotchbrite pad. You have to be very careful and light handed. Even 3 or 4 strokes of the pad can remove scratches. You must also follow the lines of the brushed steel so there are no horizontal brushes seen on the bracelet.
Edit- a few little bits of lint/fluff showed up on the photo.
Click to expand...

That looks really good what scotchbrite was it you used?
 
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