Microfiber Cloth Scratching...

[ajh77]

I have a 2 tone gmt master 2. I purchased it in Oct 2015.

So, I got the microfiber cloths that are used for eye glasses and the ones from Veraet cloths.

I am just amazed that every time I try and wipe off a finger print or water stain, the act of gently rubbing the gold scratches it, is this normal ?

It is driving me a little crazy


Thank you!!

[Luke Warm]

Your cloth may be contaminated with microscopic grit. Why not try lens cleaning wipes such as Nice'n Clean or similar. I find they do a better job of cleaning the watch.

[cop414]

While I don't own any pm watches I do believe that gold is quite soft and very susceptible to fine scratches. Also if you're wiping the cloth against the gold without rinsing it off first you're rubbing microscopic grit onto the polished gold surface. You now have grit on the cloth and micro scratches on the pcl's.

[samsam]

Well, I have the same watch and I have to say that it's not the microfiber that's scratching it IMO, you just didn't see the scratch until you actually cleaned the metal! 😂
Gold is a little softer than SS so I use a little piece of cape cod cloth once or twice a year (on polished parts only) to touch it up a little. Works for me!
As a general rule of thumb, you see and notice the scratches, others don't. Enjoy your watch!


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[rick101]

part of having PCLs i'm afraid pal

[Chadridv]

Get ready for a lot of sarcastic responses.

I'll try to play it straight though. Think about washing a car, would you take a take a towel and start wiping down the car before you actually washed it? Never. That would obviously smear dirt, sand, oil into the paint.

Anyhow, when I clean my watches, I always start by spraying the hell out of it with Veraet. I wipe it down lightly with my finger tips, I then rinse the watch off really well, and dry it. After the watch is very dry I wipe it down with the cloth.

This process prevents wiping in dirt, dust and oil and generally keeps you cleaning cloth cleaner for a longer period of time.

[droptopman]

^good analogy and good advice. I generally just use a soft soap like a good hair shampoo. Or liquid hand soap.
Also wash your micro fiber cloths regularly. I just throw them in the washing machine.

[ajh77]

Ok...thank you very much. I will get the scratches polished out and then from now on use those ... thank you very much!!!

[Patton250]

Originally Posted by Chadridv

Get ready for a lot of sarcastic responses.

I'll try to play it straight though. Think about washing a car, would you take a take a towel and start wiping down the car before you actually washed it? Never. That would obviously smear dirt, sand, oil into the paint.

Anyhow, when I clean my watches, I always start by spraying the hell out of it with Veraet. I wipe it down lightly with my finger tips, I then rinse the watch off really well, and dry it. After the watch is very dry I wipe it down with the cloth.

This process prevents wiping in dirt, dust and oil and generally keeps you cleaning cloth cleaner for a longer period of time.

Very true. No sympathy here for any type of scratches. Seems to be treated more like an accomplishment than anything else. Good advice on cleaning though.

[Onikage]

Have to agree with rinsing it off often. If you just buff a watch that has been worn you're basically rubbing the daily grit and grime into it. I never polish mine but often rinse and use a nylon brush with liquid soap. It looks as good as the day I got it. It hasn't incurred any of the dull swirlies shown in your pic.

[Rolex57]

Some advise, if you want to properly clean it, I suggest you use water and soap only to wash it, and then use a hairdryer on cool to dry it off. I wouldn't use a micro fibre cloth on any watch that's been worn for a while as you just get grime buildup on the bracelet.

Aside of using a microfiber cloth to clean it after I wash mine, I only use it to clean up the crystal from fingerprints and to rest the watch on when I'm not wearing it.

[mike]

Originally Posted by Chadridv

Get ready for a lot of sarcastic responses.

Perhaps. If so get ready for a lot of banning.

[SearChart]

But how do you clean the microfibre cloth? Can I wash it?

[Partagas]

I've had good success keeping my watches clean (including a YG Day-Date) just using hot water and foaming hand soap, and washing gently with clean hands.

[DJExplorer]

Get the Veraet WristClean watch spray.
Always use this first before putting the watch near a Microfiber cloth.
"MicroMarring" is reduced by using the Veraet cloths but as other say, spray/rinse it beforehand.
It'll also come up 100% better than just using the cloths.
Wristclean often have deals/discounts.

[RolexxxeloR]

I don't think the car example is very good. A car is exposed to the elements. A watch, even a dirty one, not so much.

The cloth isn't scratching your watch. It's probably your shirt cuffs, especially heavily-starched ones. Also, the scratches could be from resting your arm on tables, desks, and such... Rubbing a dust particle into your watch with a microfiber cloth is not scratching it. That's ridiculous.

[Sublover2166]

Originally Posted by SearChart

But how do you clean the microfibre cloth? Can I wash it?

Wash them in the washer with your clothes. Air dry only. Do not put in dryer with clothes and dryer sheets! I use microfiber cloths on my glasses to clean them with a liquid spray cleaner. Wash them often.

[RolexxxeloR]

Furthermore, it has nothing to do with gold being a PM. Yes, it's softer than SS, but it's not butter. You hear these same complaints of scratches from people with SS PCLs, too...

[AK797]

Originally Posted by SamSam

Well, I have the same watch and I have to say that it's not the microfiber that's scratching it IMO, you just didn't see the scratch until you actually cleaned the metal! ��
Gold is a little softer than SS so I use a little piece of cape cod cloth once or twice a year (on polished parts only) to touch it up a little. Works for me!
As a general rule of thumb, you see and notice the scratches, others don't. Enjoy your watch!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Onikage]

Originally Posted by RolexxxeloR

I don't think the car example is very good. A car is exposed to the elements. A watch, even a dirty one, not so much.

The cloth isn't scratching your watch. It's probably your shirt cuffs, especially heavily-starched ones. Also, the scratches could be from resting your arm on tables, desks, and such... Rubbing a dust particle into your watch with a microfiber cloth is not scratching it. That's ridiculous.

Disagreement here. It depends on what the dust particle consists of. Abrasives can be airborne, ie sandblasting. Dust is the cause of bracelet stretch after all. Quite dangerous stuff to watches.

[SamiKssiaa]

That's what scares me about gold, I always hear that they're "soft as cheese"

[DJExplorer]

Originally Posted by RolexxxeloR

I don't think the car example is very good. A car is exposed to the elements. A watch, even a dirty one, not so much.

The cloth isn't scratching your watch. It's probably your shirt cuffs, especially heavily-starched ones. Also, the scratches could be from resting your arm on tables, desks, and such... Rubbing a dust particle into your watch with a microfiber cloth is not scratching it. That's ridiculous.

It was a good example I feel.
On a fresh piece of gold, take a microfiber cloth, clean & rub a well used watch with it.
Then use that same cloth on that said fresh piece of gold, rub it as if you were cleaning the gold. Then see the results.
You may well see the resemblance to washing your car and having swirl marks afterwards.
And yes, this will happen to any highly polished surface, just that gold is not as hard as SS as you know.

The way to reduce these swirls/micromarring is to as mentioned by others. Rinse the watch before.

[chloebear]

I love pcl, but had to go brushed because I couldn't live with the scratches. I use Veraet as well. It works great, but I still seem to scratch the brushed surfaces no matter how careful I am.

[Brian Page]

It's gonna happen, but I have to say that I litteraly wash my watch every single day. Maybe I'm OCD but I like to put it away clean. I also am addicted to Zeiss lens wipes. Been using them for years with my camera equipment and carry one or two in my pocket every day.

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[RolexxxeloR]

I'm not talking about sandblasting. Obviously, there are airborne abrasives that could scratch a watch if rubbed into it, but I'm talking about dust from clothing, an office setting, etc... To be honest, I wipe my watch with a microfiber cloth every night--maybe I'll blow on the watch first if I feel it's dusty.

Somebody else alluded to it before: You didn't notice the scratches until you cleaned the watch. Stop being foolish--the cloth isn't scratching the watch. Rolex tells you to use a microfiber cloth. Relax.

[Chadridv]

Originally Posted by RolexxxeloR

I don't think the car example is very good. A car is exposed to the elements. A watch, even a dirty one, not so much.

The cloth isn't scratching your watch. It's probably your shirt cuffs, especially heavily-starched ones. Also, the scratches could be from resting your arm on tables, desks, and such... Rubbing a dust particle into your watch with a microfiber cloth is not scratching it. That's ridiculous.

Yeah Im not talking about tar and road debris being on your watch. But I am talking about dust, dirt, oil and other particles that generally make up what we'd all consider a "dirty" watch. Just like a car, you have to rinse it, wash it, and dry it before you start wiping it down and polishing.

The process is the same.

[RolexxxeloR]

Originally Posted by Chadridv

Yeah Im not talking about tar and road debris being on your watch. But I am talking about dust, dirt, oil and other particles that generally make up what we'd all consider a "dirty" watch. Just like a car, you have to rinse it, wash it, and dry it before you start wiping it down and polishing.

The process is the same.

But there is tar and road debris on a car? So it's not the same. Only a fool would dry-wipe a dirty car.

[RolexxxeloR]

OP, your PCLs will get worse. The bracelet will still shine, and nobody will know the difference. But if the scratches bother you, you have 3 choices: Start polishing yesterday, sell it, or learn to live with it.

[Chadridv]

Originally Posted by Chadridv

Yeah Im not talking about tar and road debris being on your watch. But I am talking about dust, dirt, oil and other particles that generally make up what we'd all consider a "dirty" watch. Just like a car, you have to rinse it, wash it, and dry it before you start wiping it down and polishing.

The process is the same.

Originally Posted by RolexxxeloR

But there is tar and road debris on a car? So it's not the same. Only a fool would dry-wipe a dirty car.

I don't think you're getting it.

[mschafer]

Here's a tip from cleaning optical lenses: first blow of any dust, dirt and other hard items from the surface, then moist a micro fiber cloth with (lens) cleaner and whipe the lens/filter. Use another part of the cloth to polish off any smears. Or redo the last step to remove all contaminant. Translated to watches, you could also just shower or rinse the watch prior to polishing so all hard particles are removed prior to the last step, polishing. Personally i do see some scratches on my PCL but im not really bend out of shape about it. The next service will make it like new, until then, i say cheers.