Will Space Gray Aluminum color wear or chip off with dings?

[silvermx5]

Whatever you get, it'll be outdated soon enough. Get the one you're reasonably comfortable with. When the new models come out, people will have the newer version, while you're stuck with the first generation that you paid close to $1000, including bands you bought for it, and you're hard-pressed to upgrade.

Aluminum will scratch, stainless steel will scratch, gold will scratch. Pick your poi$on.

In jewerly watch world there are ways to polish scratches in a watch's case:

Professional done polished with a special paste (different grades depending on the watch case material and how severe the scratches are) and buffing pad+Dremmel

DIY

Cape Cod flannel for SS mirror like finish

Special sanding pad for Satin finsh

I've done the DIY for my Tag Heuer watches. Very easy.

Do not know if it'll work on the Apple SS or Apple Sport

Google it

 

[Wallabe]

If Apple made a wrench, I wonder if we would need a case for it.

 

[Promius]

My Space Grey aluminum 42mm just got scratched on the crown. Really bad. Coming out of an airplane something caught my wrist. I'm wearing a jacket over my watch and it still scraped it. The finish is gone and I see white/silver

 

[frifra]

My Space Grey aluminum 42mm just got scratched on the crown. Really bad. Coming out of an airplane something caught my wrist. I'm wearing a jacket over my watch and it still scraped it. The finish is gone and I see white/silver

Would you mind posting a picture?

 

[Promius]

 

[rsanchezsaez]

Unfortunately, the Apple Watch Sport Space Gray chips quite easily. I've been quite careful but mine got some chips after just a few days. See the attached picture, those are chips on the aluminum enclosure.

It's the same problem that occurred with the original black iPhone 5, that's why the space gray iPhone 5s is much lighter in color.

Anyway, I'm not too annoyed, I can live with it. However, I won't get this color when I buy an upgrade in a few years.

 

[derekreilly]

Mine also has a few little chips on the aluminum right next to the glass bottom left and upper right after just a few days of use. I have no idea how they got there.

 

[Wackery]

View attachment 562862 Mine also has a few little chips on the aluminum right next to the glass bottom left and upper right after just a few days of use. I have no idea how they got there.

Theres a thread about that dent if you search, i would return/exchange it for a new one

 

[Packfan99]

Almost 6 weeks in and I beat mine relentlessly. Not a mark on it.

 

[rsanchezsaez]

@Wackery Could you provide the link to the thread?

 

[jmh286]

Almost 6 weeks in and I beat mine relentlessly. Not a mark on it.

+1

I wore mine this past weekend while building bunk beds for my daughters. I banged it around pretty good and I haven't noticed any scratches on the coating or the screen.

 

[Gjwilly]

View attachment 562862 Mine also has a few little chips on the aluminum right next to the glass bottom left and upper right after just a few days of use. I have no idea how they got there.

Anodizing can be thought of as similar to rust.
It "grows" on the surface of the aluminum and penetrates into it. The more surface area, the better the growth, and the thicker the anodizing.
Sharp edges are horrible with anodizing because edges have minimal surface area, hence minimmal growth.
That's what you're seeing with those little chips.
Apple rounded all the corners on the iPhone 6 and on the Apple Watch but that little seam around the glass still has a sharp edge which is the weak point.
It was the same with the diamond chamfers on the iPhone 5. Almost all of the chipping occurred on the edges because that's where the anodizing was the thinnest.

 

[Wackery]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/chipped-out-of-box.1888317/page-2

@Wackery Could you provide the link to the thread?