Plexi crystal polishing

sota0003

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I looked here but couldn’t find anything on the search engine even though I’m pretty sure we have something somewhere. The new Allesandro Stafetta watch has a plexi Crystal that I need to polish. I’m pretty sure I’m going to replace it with a sapphire crystal depending on the cost. Found a guy that’s regional that’s an old Rolex dude so at least I have somebody I can trust. I’m sure it’s easy but do you guys have any tips for plexi Crystal. What’s the average fair going rate for a sapphire crystal replacement? I’m guessing somewhere around $100. Thoughts?
 




https://www.maxim.com/style/watch-scratch-fix-2018-1

https://blog.esslinger.com/how-to-re...sanding-stick/

files in the link below off Google Drive for watch crystal replacement

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...jhTT2hzZTdpaWs

Many unbreakable plastic watch crystals are made of tough acrylic plastic that can be susceptible to scratches. Don’t just throw out your old crystal when you start to see scratches on it, use this guide to polish those marks away with the help of a sanding stick and a polishing stick.

Be aware that you can only polish away scratches. If your crystal has very deep scratches, we recommend that you use a motorized method to remove them as it will take a lot of effort to do it by hand. And, if your crystal is chipped or cracked you cannot fix it by polishing and you will have to replace it completely. Check out this link to learn How to Replace a Watch Crystal.


Remove Scratches from a Plastic Watch Crystal Tools - Sanding_Stick-T
Tools Needed:


Remove Scratches from a Plastic Watch Crystal - Remove Scratches from a Plastic Watch Crystal
Step 1



The first thing you should do is prepare your watch for polishing. To protect the finish on the watch case while you buff the watch crystal, you will want to take your polyimide tape and use small pieces about an inch and a half long to cover the metal around the crystal. Overlap the pieces of tape to completely cover the metal around the watch crystal and give your watch the illusion of having a mane.


Step 2


Once you have covered all the metal, examine the scratches in the crystal again, more closely:

If they are deeper scratches, you will want to follow this guide all the way through, starting buffing with the sanding stick. You will want to be sure to use a fine grit 4/0 sanding stick, to avoid doing unnecessary damage to the watch crystal.

If the scratches on your crystal are fairly light ones that don’t appear to require much work to remove, you can skip ahead to Step 6 and start right off with polishing your crystal.

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Step 3



You’ll start by buffing away the deep scratches on the crystal. Hold your watch case with its protective tape securely in your non-dominant hand. Be sure to keep your fingers from the edge of the crystal so you have room to work the sanding stick. Then, take the sanding stick in your other hand and carefully begin to buff away the scratches. Use medium-light pressure against the surface of the crystal and move in nice even strokes covering the whole surface of the crystal to avoid over buffing one area. Be sure to keep the crystal and sanding stick on an even plane toward each other to maintain the flat surface.

If you are working with a curved or domed crystal, be sure to always keep the buff moving against the crystal along the curve so you can maintain the nice curved edge. You will use a little more angled buffing in this situation.

Step 4

Stop frequently and take the sanding stick away from the crystal to check your progress and make sure that you are not over polishing any particular section.

After you get a feel for how your buff is working with your plastic crystal, you can increase the pressure between the sanding stick and the crystal to work more quickly but be careful not to over sand and accidentally create grooves in your crystal.

Step 5

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until you can no longer see those deep scratches you noticed when you started. Be aware that it might take longer than you expect to polish a plastic crystal by hand.

Once those scratches are gone you can trade your sanding stick for the polishing stick to smooth away any rough patches you created and light remaining scratches.



Remove Scratches from a Plastic Watch Crystal - Sanding_Stick-2
Step 6


Next, set your watch case aside so you can apply your crystal polishing compound to your polishing stick. Hold the polishing stick firmly in one hand and rub the polishing compound against the felt end of the stick with even strokes using medium pressure. Roughly five strokes should be sufficient to lightly coat the felt polishing stick in the compound.

When the polishing stick is coated with the crystal polishing compound you can set the compound aside and take up the watch case again.

Step 7

Use your polishing stick to remove any remaining faint scratches with even strokes across the crystal face being sure to get around the edges of the face as well to remove any remaining signs of scratching from the surface.

Sanding_Stick-3-1024x360.jpg




Step 8
Remove Scratches from a Plastic Watch Crystal - Remove Scratches from a Plastic Watch Crystal


Once everything looks smooth and even, set your polishing stick aside and remove the polyimide tape from the watch case.

Then, use your soft cleaning cloth to remove any remaining excess polishing compound from the face of the crystal and any remaining adhesive from the watch case.

Finished

When that is complete, your crystal should look just like new and you can start wearing it again. For other handy methods for polishing watch crystals, check out our Learning Center for more articles

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...jhTT2hzZTdpaWs
 
Sounds like it’s a lot more work than it probably is. The scratches are really really fine so I’m guessing nothing other than the poly watch polish will be needed. Am I assuming correctly?
 
This is an easy and a cheap way to get rid off scratches on acrylic watch crystals. To remove and buff out the unwanted scratches you will need a few of the household items: microfibre clothe, toothpaste and nail filler. You don't have to buy a new crystal for your vintage watches just because of a few scratches, just use this "do it yourself" (DIY) method and it should work magic. Maybe practice on cheaper watches before trying this on your expensive vintage timepieces.

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It shouldn't take you any longer than watching this 37 second video below four or five time.

Simply apply the Polywatch polish to the plastic watch crystal and polish it with a cotton cloth for two or three minutes.

 
Do you have a Dremel moto-tool? If so, use it with a buffing wheel bit. Use some "jeweler's rouge" buffing compound. Set the Dremel at the lowest speed it will maintain running with some pressure on the buffing wheel. Keep it moving. It won't take long to remove the scratches, Finish buffing by hand with some creme polishing paste.

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i have used toothpaste it worked-

-i'd keep the poly crystal BRAD and skip paying for sapphire... because...i enjoy the light weight of poly lately and i like to keep money i already have-
 
Thanks guys. Sounds easy. What’s an average sapphire install and parts cost? $100ish I’m guessing??
 
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