I just bought a Zeppelin 100 jahre chrono watch, but it has some very fine scratches on the back. I could try to remove them with tooth paste or Cape Cod cloth, but I don't know how to do it, as I don't want to damage it further. Should I use a circular movement? I must mention that the back of the watch, where the scratches are located, has a brushed design in concentric circles.
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Zeppelin 100 Jahre, please help
- Thread starter watchcollector
- Start date
- 9/7/12
- 22,576
- 17,990
- 113
Anything you do to remove scratches is also to some extent going to have an impact on the engravings on the case back. If the scratches aren't too bad I would leave them there. If you want to remove them - and I assume you don't have any tools or equipment for brushing and polishing metals - then you need to imitate the brushing process they've used.
You can use a scouring pad, an old use one so that it's not too abrasive. If you remove the case back from the watch it will be much easier, put the case back on the scouring pad and rotate it 360° whilst applying moderate pressure - check to see if the scratches are gone, if not repeat.
You need to keep the case back 'centred' when you rotate it, the centre of the case back needs to be it's centre of rotation throughout the 360° or you'll have non-concentric circles on the metal. Ideally you should do this only a couple of times, the more you do it the more metal you're taking off and the softer the edges will be on the engravings.
You can use a scouring pad, an old use one so that it's not too abrasive. If you remove the case back from the watch it will be much easier, put the case back on the scouring pad and rotate it 360° whilst applying moderate pressure - check to see if the scratches are gone, if not repeat.
You need to keep the case back 'centred' when you rotate it, the centre of the case back needs to be it's centre of rotation throughout the 360° or you'll have non-concentric circles on the metal. Ideally you should do this only a couple of times, the more you do it the more metal you're taking off and the softer the edges will be on the engravings.
- 28/4/17
- 17,245
- 9,082
- 113
I would leave it as is. I would consider applying a protective cover to the case back to prevent any future scratches. As tripdog has mentioned, you would be removing more metal and possibly altering the engraving. I would also take precautions to never remove your watch and set it down in a way that may allow the bracelet to cause scratches to the case back. To maintain a pristine condition watch requires extreme levels of awareness. Realistically it is nearly impossible to prevent even the slightest of scratches if you actually wear your watch. Speaking for myself, I finally realized that as a watch is a tool to be worn. Now, I enjoy wearing my watches and those inevitable scratches only serve to add a unique character to each one.