Rolex Submariner Brushed Steel Restoration at Home with Scotch Brite Before and After

[joli160]

Originally Posted by JayJ

This is the proper way to do it.
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthrea...ght+work+space

Though the results look good on the video I think you should use the technique as mentioned in the link to get an even more uniform look.

[cichjin]

I didn't watch the whole thing, so not sure if you mentioned reasons for not doing so, but I would have removed the bracelet first before working on it.

[RolexAuthority]

Must have rounded off the back of the clasp doing that it was excruciating to watch like being kicked in balls

[Rolex fan 61]

Originally Posted by Macan Turbo Guy

two words....

no

Fully agree

[Lash L]

I think you should have used a surface with more grit as your work area. Maybe a rough concrete sidewalk.

[volvo]

Good job, thanks for the info.

[Psmith]

A tad bit brutal, but if you're happy with the result then why not - it's your watch after all

[brandrea]

As long as you're happy. I'll continue to use RSC.

[SeaAndSky]

Well since you're asking, leave it alone until service and then let professionals polish it and restore it. It's a very expensive watch and you're evidently bothered by scratches and scuffs and the solution is to drag a Scotchbrite pad over it. Yeah, okay. It is so liberating to just accept that a watch on the wrist is going to get scratched and dinged. I've always loved the look of well worn but well maintained machines and tools. The wear makes them even more beautiful to me. I thinks the overly polished watches look silly. Let the scratches and scuffs build up for awhile and I bet you'll quit caring about them.

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by joejeweler

In actuality,.....re-brushing a SS Rolex bracelet would be MUCH easier with the watch ON and wearing it, as the links are supported safely and you'll be hitting the direct areas on the bracelet which are prone to scratch while wearing. If you have sensitive skin, a zip lock baggie can be placed between the inside of the bracelet and your wrist,so you don't irritate your skin if you go wide off the edge with some strokes of the pad.

It's not usually necessary to worry about getting super close to the bezel either, as those areas aren't as prone to scratch as is the back and sides of the bracelet,....mostly from the usual way we all lay are arms on tables. For this reason I wouldn't bother to remove the bracelet either,......but would not press the watch flat like what was shown.

I've done my own at times, and found just hand holding the watch in one hand across the knuckles or palm helped to control the work.

Also,...this would be MUCH easier by cutting a smaller strip of the Scotch-Brite, say ONE INCH wide X about TWO INCHES long. This will give you much better control.

For all you nay-sayers,.....when you get a service do you think Rolex is doing the refinish "BY HAND"?

I doubt it,......the band is probably pressed up against a brush finishing wheel with a similar material,......and I can tell you that will take more metal off than the TINY amount removed by hand. Probably some finalized "blending" with a hand pad also.

By the way,.....I was a bench jeweler/diamond setter for 35 years,.....and this is so simple a procedure with such a great result, that those who are against it don't know what they are talking about. (done with reasonable care of course)

......but do it on the wrist OR possibly with the watch wrapped around a plastic soda bottle perhaps to support it properly. (and ALWAYS OVER a cushioned surface in case you drop it.)

Also,....The GREEN Scotch-Brite pads are a big rougher texture than the RED version. I personally like the Red pads for the finer finish and sheen produced. It's the Red version that a lot of Titanium Bicycle Frame makers use to brush finish their frames. Red removes a hair less actual metal too.




Well,...if you think about it,.....ALL Subs come from Rolex already SCRATCHED. That's what a Brush Finish IS!. Just a controlled and uniform scratching is all......

Excellent post. LOL Thanks for helping provide some insight to the uninformed and paranoid.

These are tool watches, FFS. They are designed to be worn to hell and back, and then out to dinner later that night.

A friend of mine owns a Delorean. The entire body of that car is made up of brushed stainless steel panels. Do you know what they recommend for scratch repair? Yup. Green Scotchbright pads!

[redhotmurc333]

To each is own and if it works for you then GOOD ON YOU!
For me, I have purchased Pre owned Vintage watches that have had the in service rolex polishings etc... and with that there was nothing I could do... But Personally, non of my watches that I have bought brand new have ever been polished out... maybe and just maybe if there was an event where a huge unbearable gouge were to occur somewhere, maybe I would THINK about having it fixed but even then I would think twice... yet alone would I ever do it myself... never~ Because first and utmost these are watches made to be worn and are going to obtain scratches along the way whether u like it or not... I mean the first time taking off the protective stickers off a brand new watch, for me, takes time but once done, I just wear em like they were designed to be and if a scratch occurs... so be it, just adds more character and history~
But again it is your watch and if you are comfortable with doing it than more power to ya~

[DaytonaOriginal]

Is it me or after the rubbing with Scotch the metal appears "lifeless" "dull" for me a big NO