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Refinishing a rolex case and bracelet

Dr Fun Socks

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Judging by cousins it wont be back in stock until mid September. Could be that they closed down for lockdown or something? Either way im happy to share the love and send some your way :)
 

mclarendude

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That's very kind my friend. I'm gonna search a bit more and if I don't find it, I'll send you a pm :)
 

Dr Fun Socks

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@Dr Fun Socks

How about this? Seems like it is the same as Polinium but for SS and Titanium.

Polinoxx.

https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/pol...m-470.513.html

I'm willing to try it out.
Kind of makes sense in that it has stainless written on it. Im very interested to see the results though. After i had a look back at polinum on cousins last night i saw all the different wheels they recommend to use with it so ive got a few of those in my basket now. This is an expensive hobby haha!
 

Dr Fun Socks

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oascom have you got any experience with this stuff mentioned above or do you only use the yellow polinum?
 

mclarendude

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Just got the Polinoxx and went at it.

Meh.

I still had to use the green compound to get most scratches.

Before:

3a2fcd5f082d576414c82429b1f26507.jpg

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ec0d7a8510cedfd505d0a9011c7dd4c3.jpg


After:

76eae0decd51f93a174c7f64e886543e.jpg

17d09bb9c44dc41f4310bef84ba1400f.jpg

d4a9c6cfb2410df219730b78f8129095.jpg

f6eecbe79bf497a46648df9ada73d751.jpg

a82db000368a0f690552ddc8e5367c39.jpg



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Dr Fun Socks

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mclarendude ive been doing a lot of reading on this recently. Turns out there are 4 stages to polishing. First you need a cutting compound to remove the scratches. Then you need a medium compound to smooth it over. Then a polishing compound to get the shine, and finally a finishing compound such as rouge or pollinum/polinoxx. Obviously you would need 4 different wheels to achieve this. The last is wdr, a very soft wheel, before that its called g grade loose cotton. Before that i forget but its easy to find out. When ive got a few quid spare im going to go balls out, order two double ended bench grinders with variable speed (about £50 each from ebay) and get all the recommend wheels and compounds for each stage and see if it makes any difference. I got a little swansdown wdr wheel for a few quid just to see what its like this week. Man its soft! Ill report back if/when i get more useful information but polishing is definitely a bit of an art!

https://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/polishing-guide-for-metals
 
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Dr Fun Socks

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My current favorite YouTube watchmaker, Red Dead Restoration, uses diamond paste compounds and his results are pretty darn good.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCci1MUB7x7yRkwgqIFpD7WA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...or-20&linkId=ab427a78e2b1011762e0f2fc0f068a57


Giving that a try too.

I had a look though the videos but I couldn’t see where he was refinishing a case, just servicing movements. Where is he using lapping paste? Its good stuff for flat surfaces i used to use it in tool making. You need a very hard very flat surface to use it on ideally. Ive used surface plates in the past but there’s nothing wrong with an offcut of marble or granite worktop if you can get one cheap or free from a local maker. Ive got a few nice chunks in the garage from jobs ive done!
 

mclarendude

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I had a look though the videos but I couldn’t see where he was refinishing a case, just servicing movements. Where is he using lapping paste? Its good stuff for flat surfaces i used to use it in tool making. You need a very hard very flat surface to use it on ideally. Ive used surface plates in the past but there’s nothing wrong with an offcut of marble or granite worktop if you can get one cheap or free from a local maker. Ive got a few nice chunks in the garage from jobs ive done!

On their latest Breitling video, they use it!


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mclarendude

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I had a look though the videos but I couldn’t see where he was refinishing a case, just servicing movements. Where is he using lapping paste? Its good stuff for flat surfaces i used to use it in tool making. You need a very hard very flat surface to use it on ideally. Ive used surface plates in the past but there’s nothing wrong with an offcut of marble or granite worktop if you can get one cheap or free from a local maker. Ive got a few nice chunks in the garage from jobs ive done!

On their latest Breitling video, they use it!


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Dr Fun Socks

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On their latest Breitling video, they use it!


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Ive just seen it on the bezel. I can only assume its a very high grit diamond paste due to the brushed end finish. Not sure if its any different to a rough polishing compound? Every time i used lapping paste at work it was to ensure a 100% perfect fit. Be that between a peg in a hole or two sides of a mold tool being perfectly parallel. Im sure it could work im just not convinced lapping paste should be used with a cotton dremel attachment!
 

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That's right!
If you use it only for fixing watches it is very expensive but if you could use it for other work too like sharpening tools, knifes etc. then it is OK.
 

p0pperini

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It’s a very nicely branded package, but I really can’t see how the extra cost is justified over a £50 buffer off the Bay.


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Dr Fun Socks

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Tried some polinum on my new swansdown mop, results are very very good! I didnt even go through the other compounds, just wanted to see what it was like. Perfect mirror finish. Ive got the rest of the stuff i mentioned above in the post so ill report back when ive had a go with it. On a side note, tried the bergeon 6085-e2 that people rave about. Dont like it at all! Maybe my wheel is just spinning too fast but the results are shocking. So much easier to control with the rubber blocks, at least for me.