How to polish a watch crystal?

Midget

Midget

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Jun 1, 2002
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I'm wanting to take out some scratches on my Seiko 5 crystal. Any suggestions? Is it possible?

I think the material is "hardlux" or "hardlex" or something. Not sapphire.

Thanks.
 
If it is glass, you are pretty much SOL. Really, the only watch crystals that polish well are plastic ones. I have never had any success in having a mineral glass crystal polished.
 
I don't believe glass crystals polish either. You'd be better off replacing it if the scratches are that bad.
 
Not a cure-all, by any means, but you might try buffing with a little toothpaste. I've used it to not so much take out scratches, but reduce how annoying they are.
 
Don't bother. As a long time Seiko Auto 5 wearer, I can tell you the only ones that polish are the Polycarbonate (plastic) and occassionally, the softer glass ones.

Seiko does offer an "armoured" crystal as a replacement, but trust me: eBAy. There are alot of dealers in Hong Kong who sell real Seikos for $25-$35, plus shipping.

I bought a good used one on eBay last night for $13 + Shipping.

I've considered going to an auto watch with a sapphire crystal, but i spend too much on flashlights.
 
Consider posting your question in the general discussion area of timezone.com forums. You will get some excellent advice from horologists and fanatics alike.

If your crystal is coated with an anti-reflective coating you may be in luck, since you will be able to remove all of the coating and if the scratches go no further than the coating it should look like new. If they go deeper than that you may still be able to get them out with the right advice.
 
You're probably out of luck, as others already suggested. I occasionaly wear my Seiko 5 (from 2002) and it got its first scratches within days of wearing it. But then, I manage to scratch sapphire as well! Recently destroyed the resale-value of an '86 cal. 1045 Speedmaster Automatic that way. :grumpy: But then, that's more of a tool and certainly not a dress-watch. Sh!t happens. Knife-blades scratch too unless never used.

The glass used on Seiko 5's is plain mineral crystal. The only way to polish it out would be to buff it with professional-grade diamond-paste in various grits, all the way down to an extremely fine one. Never found a consumer-accessible source for that stuff. Would come in handy for sapphire, too!

I'd just accept it the way it is. It's a cheap watch, excellent as it is for the money, and you can always buy a new one - likely to be more economical than replacing the crystal.
 
PhilAlex,

can you explain a little more on this "armoured crystal" replacement?

what do i search for under ebay to find these things?

is it a whole replacement? or does it cover my existing crystal, or what?

sorry for my ineptitude, im pretty new to watches it seems.


thanks.
 
I've used Brasso. The watch was a Seiko but I'm not sure what material the crystal was.
 
Midget, way back in the late 70's/early 80's I wore a Rolex Date. It had a mineral glass crystal. BTW, mineral glass crystals scratch easier than the Hesalite (plastic) crystal that's on my Speedy Pro.

Once every six months or so, I'd take my Date down to my local jewelry store and have them buff out the scratches. When they were through with it, it looked like new.

All that said, you might see if you can get this done to your crystal. It's quick and cheap. My jeweler did it for free...
 
I've never used it, but I keep seeing commercials for a product called Liquid Lense. It's primarily used to get scratches out of glass lenses. I imagine it would work as well with watch crystals, provided it does what it advertises on lenses.
 
Originally posted by L.O. Little
Midget, way back in the late 70's/early 80's I wore a Rolex Date. It had a mineral glass crystal. BTW, mineral glass crystals scratch easier than the Hesalite (plastic) crystal that's on my Speedy Pro.

Once every six months or so, I'd take my Date down to my local jewelry store and have them buff out the scratches. When they were through with it, it looked like new.

All that said, you might see if you can get this done to your crystal. It's quick and cheap. My jeweler did it for free...
Click to expand...

I think you are wrong about that.. Prior to sapphire, Rolex used plastic on all watches as far as I know. I have several Rolex dating back before sapphire crystals. They are plastic crystals and are easy enough to buff out with some Simichrome or Polywatch.
 
to buff it out buy a nail buffer. The kind that women use to buff out their fingernails. Make sure that it has a multiple surfaces. Use the medium to take out the scratch and the fine to buff out and polish the crystal. Works great.
 
Originally posted by BobHWD
I think you are wrong about that.. Prior to sapphire, Rolex used plastic on all watches as far as I know. I have several Rolex dating back before sapphire crystals. They are plastic crystals and are easy enough to buff out with some Simichrome or Polywatch.
Click to expand...

You know, I think you're right about me being wrong! I just checked the Rolex FAQ over at TimeZone and saw NO mention of mineral glass crystals. I can't believe I had that watch for almost ten years and never realized that! Thanks for correcting me in such a polite manner. I mean that, no sarcasm intended. Good manners are all too rare these days...
 
I tried the brasso idea, to no avail. I buffed it for about half an hour when I was mindlessly watching some cartoons.

I'll try some of the other ideas.

Thanks guys.
 
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