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Steel Wool Grade Question

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grenchat

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Steel Wool Grade Question

Post17 Oct 2014, 23:38

:dwf: Greetings fellow vintage LED watch aficionados!

Recently I picked up a vintage ‘70s space-age ticker featuring a polished and brushed stainless steel case/band that’s in excellent working condition, however, the brushed stainless steel portion of the case has a couple of light scratches typical of vintage time pieces.

Before I take some pictures for the “Reviews and Latest Acquisitions” forum, I’d like to buff these scratches out with some fine steel wool. My question is which Grade # works best on brushed stainless steel? Also, I don’t wish to use any kind of buffing compound, as the case was designed with contrasting polished and dull brushed finishes.

Thanks in advance for any advice…

Jason

:pimp: ‘70s LEDs until the end of time!
"We are showroom dummies"- Kraftwerk
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767Geoff

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Re: Steel Wool Grade Question

Post18 Oct 2014, 06:20

Pot scrubber!

By 3m.


Steel wool will leave residue which will rust.

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grenchat

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Re: Steel Wool Grade Question

Post18 Oct 2014, 17:50

Greetings 767Geoff, and thanks for posting!

These 3M Scotch Brite products are highly touted on other watch restoration forums. I shall keep these in mind for other watches that I may obtain in the future, however, after closely examining the current subject under a loupe, I now realize that these tiny surface scratches reside on ¼” and ½” angled surfaces bordering a highly polished bezel. I would need something about the size of a pen tip to safely buff these without affecting the surrounding areas.

In any case, these are pretty minor and only visible upon close inspection, so next week if time permits I shall snap some photos for the “Reviews and Latest Acquisitions” forum.

:Prost: Happy Collecting and Restoring!

Jason
"We are showroom dummies"- Kraftwerk
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bruce wegmann

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Re: Steel Wool Grade Question

Post19 Oct 2014, 20:15

Mask the polished areas with heavy-duty packaging tape; that will preserve a razor-sharp demarcation between the brushed and polished areas.
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grenchat

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Re: Steel Wool Grade Question

Post22 Oct 2014, 19:31

Thanks for the advice, Bruce. Since these small surface scratches are only noticeable upon close inspection, I’ve decided not to attempt any buffing at this time. Today would have been a good day for a photo shoot had it not been for this major nor’easter looming above. In any case, sooner or later I’ll post some photos along with a humorous anecdote pertaining to this recent acquisition.

Regards,
Jason
"We are showroom dummies"- Kraftwerk

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