Polishing watch hands with Cape Cod - DIY

[KJ2020]

We've all gotten our watch hands scratched up somehow, so what can we do? I tried some Cape Cod on a whim once and it turns out to be a pretty decent technique. The big pleasant surprise is that if you are careful and dont gouge into the lume recklessly, it survives the treatment intact.

Here is our scratched hand

First, anchor your hand somehow. I used a small staking plate and some bracelet tape. Cut a small wad of Cape Cod and use plastic tweezers to grip it.

Gently rub a dub dub

Gently swipe off the excess Cape Cod with a lens cloth. I like Zeiss - these are better than microfiber, no scratching at all.

When there is just a thin film left, I add a tiny spray of ROR cleaner onto the cloth, pull it taut over my forefinger, wave it in the air to let it dry a little, then do the final swiping for the ultimate clean.

Repeat the whole process until you are happy with the results. Keep in mind many rep hands have a brass colored core so you can't do this indefinitely. Better quality hands can hold up pretty well to some moderate polishing.

Note: Don't despair if you get a little Cape Cod residue in the lume. Submerge the hand (by itself) in a little glass jar of water with a drop of mild dish soap. Put the jar in an ultrasound cleaner for about 60 seconds, the lume will come completely clean.

Before and after

 

[guru]

Thanks KJ, good post. I have done this before and started with the side. I don’t have any pics but you can make them almost look like gen hands.


Sent from iX

 

[GingerBubba]

That's it! I've decided!!!! I'm sending you ALL of my hands off every watch for the spa treatment!!! #BetterThanNew

We'll start to see reference to this pop up on sales threads: '....reworked case, a Gen datewheel, clean factory insert and KJ Spa Hands.'

Awesome work!

 

[KJ2020]

Thanks KJ, good post. I have done this before and started with the side. I don’t have any pics but you can make them almost look like gen hands.


Sent from iX

Good point about the sides bro. I usually sand the excess lume off and polish up the edges just with 7000 grit sandpaper. I should try the Cape Cod there too. I put the hand on a toothpick for edge sanding, using an opposing finger for back resistance.

 

[KJ2020]

That's it! I've decided!!!! I'm sending you ALL of my hands off every watch for the spa treatment!!! #BetterThanNew

We'll start to see reference to this pop up on sales threads: '....reworked case, a Gen datewheel, clean factory insert and KJ Spa Hands.'

Awesome work!

Haha, good one bro! This is really easy to do.

 

[Debellum]

Wow ! Amazing work mate !

Junio M.

 

[p0pperini]

This is really easy to do.

LOL. I mean... for some people maybe.

Just gimme a sec - I'll prove that it really ISN'T easy to do, and in fact it's very easy whilst attempting this technique to lose the hand entirely, bend the hand in half, or set fire to it...

Anyway, joking aside (I'm really not joking)... This is another awesome KJ tutorial, thank you sir!

 

[muiramas]

Good guide. I found myself doing this last year when I popped the bezel - and accidentally the crystal off a 1680 rep and bent the second hand in the process. It got scratched when I bent it back into place and a cape cod sorted that out. Good call on using it to rub off the sharp edges - but care should be taken not to bend that hands - rep hands are really flimsy.

LOL. I mean... for some people maybe.

Just gimme a sec - I'll prove that it really ISN'T easy to do, and in fact it's very easy whilst attempting this technique to lose the hand entirely, bend the hand in half, or set fire to it...

Anyway, joking aside (I'm really not joking)... This is another awesome KJ tutorial, thank you sir!

I'm in the same boat. Most of what I've learned about this sort of stuff is done by fixing (trying to fix) an earlier mistake I made. Usually, the only fix that works for me is sending the watch in pieces to someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[StreetFighter]

Great work. I like to try things, but I shouldn't 'practise' on a decent working watch - I broke a clone 3135 trying to fit a DW to a JF16610.. so I have learned my lesson, leave the fiddly stuff to those with experience and a steady hand.

 

[AlphaProt]

 

[manodeoro]

KJ2020 ... great work and great thread !!!

When I have some hands to be polished I just ask my friend "Peggy Sage" ... she does great for 2.20€ only

Next time I'll do that I'll take some "before / after" pics

 

[SS72]

KJ2020 thanks again for another great contribution.

 

[Usernametaken]

Wow the results are amazing, exactly what I was looking for


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[butler182]

Great post KJ2020 ! Just gave an upgraded hand set I purchased for my Noob Daytona a little spa treatment and it worked really well. However, I found the cape cod cloth to be a little hard to control and messy and was worried about effing up the lume...so as an alternative I sanded down a flat edge on some peg wood and then wrapped a piece of Zeiss cloth around the flat edge. Then dabbed the flat edge onto the cape cod cloth to pick up some polish. Then started rubbing away. The flat edge of the peg wood gave me some really nice control. I hit the dial markers as well and really got them gleaming too....with zero cape cod polish getting on the dial. I'm not sure the results are quite as good as using the cape cod cloth directly, but it certainly made a huge improvement IMO and was a bit easier and less messy.

 

[KJ2020]

Nice bro, I use the pegwood and Zeiss cloth combo to clean dials. I spray a mist of lens cleaner on the readied tight cloth, wave it around a little to let the fluid evaporate some then you can gently swipe away all kinds of grease, debris etc from all dial nooks and crannies. Same rule applies as on hands, if the fluid leaves spots it was too wet. It should clean and then completely disappear.

 

[butler182]

Nice bro, I use the pegwood and Zeiss cloth combo to clean dials. I spray a mist of lens cleaner on the readied tight cloth, wave it around a little to let the fluid evaporate some then you can gently swipe away all kinds of grease, debris etc from all dial nooks and crannies. Same rule applies as on hands, if the fluid leaves spots it was too wet. It should clean and then completely disappear.

Thanks for the tip...will definitely give that a try next time I have a watch open.

 

[gunsmoke16610]

The level of detail and information you provide to RWI is incredible and much appreciated sir

 

[Mike116]

Nice work mate. I had a local watch smith whos since retired use what he called a leather stick which is just a thin stick with some soft leather glued on the end. The shine he got from the leather was amazing especially the indices

 

[KJ2020]

Nice work mate. I had a local watch smith whos since retired use what he called a leather stick which is just a thin stick with some soft leather glued on the end. The shine he got from the leather was amazing especially the indices

Interesting, might give that a try.

 

[Mike116]

Interesting, might give that a try.

Im pretty sure it was professionally made tool from memory. Theres zero scratches on the dial when he did my tc indicesThe guy used to service omegas in detroit in the 70s so it may have been al left over from those days