Refinishing clasp on Omega bracelet

[Odhran]

Hi chaps,

Have a bit of a watch problem and i wonder if you would be as kind to help me. I own a 1 year old PO that I wear daily. Last summer I was on holiday in Florida and at a 'mall' when one of the idiots that offer you st products stopped me and complimented my watch and asked could he show me a product that he uses to clean jewelry. Anyway he demonstrated it to me, and to be fair it was great.

That's not my problem, it begins with what happened afterwards. He pointed out some light swirls/scratches on the clasp and proclaimed he could get rid of them for me, I was glad of this and let him proceed. He used some sort of damp polishing cloth to buff it, which removed the swirls and left a MIRROR!! Finish on my clasp. As you all know omegas have a 'matte' or brushed steel finish, I thought it would dull down again to the original finish but it never did and now it (the clasp) looks terrible in certain lights as it really highlights any scrapes etc.

So does anyone know a simple way of restoring the finish of my clasp or will I have to replace it?

Thanks
O.

[bry1975]

Garryflex grey block should do it.

I can send you a tiny amount if you like.

Bry

Edited by bry1975 on Friday 1st April 01:48

[Miguel Alvarez]

Is it wrong that I find the scene funny? I can just see matey boy giving you a big st kicker grin mistaking your look of disgust for a look of awe and saying..

"see look how shiny it is"

[Odhran]

Bry- thank you very much for the very kind offer, not sure I would risk it myself. I googled 'garyflex grey' and stumbled upon a thread on TZ where a guy restored a SM that was in a similar state.. Right up my alley! Although he used quite a few products. I'm glad it's not a hard fix. Hopefully it would smooth out the deep scratches caused by a drunken fall also! Doh!!

[bry1975]

Garryflex is ok for the final brush finishing process but isn't that effective at removing deeper scratches you're better of start with wet and dry but you do need to know what you're doing as you don't want to round the edges lose the original shape etc etc.

[Importr]

What an idiot, using CapeCod for a brushed band. c0ck.
Nevermine, don't worry. All is not lost!

I used Artifex wheel (www.cousinsuk.co.uk) mounted to a variable speed drill.
Its basically a semi-rigid plasticine wheel impregnated with fine abrasive particles. You run the wheel and slowly apply the bracelet to it, with light - medium pressure.
If you're good at DIY and mechanical hobbies, this is dead easy to do.
I've done a few bracelets & cases.

I have 2 grades: 150grain Hard compound and 150gr Medium.

Hard suits Omega finish. Medium suits Breitling (coarse)

I have a fair few scuffs on my 42mm PO, but will leave the refinish until it gets worse.

Some people uses a simple Scotchbrite scouring pad (in 1 direction) but I find that it can leave a slightly kinked grain on the clasp etc.

PM me if you need more info

[bry1975]

Yes the brush wheels work great very good for refinishing whole bracelets.

[johnfm]

bry1975 said:

Yes the brush wheels work great very good for refinishing whole bracelets.

bry

do you do watch refurb/bead blasting etc?

[Odhran]

Thanks a million gentlemen, I'm thrilled now that I know it's not irreparable damage. Thank you for the kind offer importr I'll certainly bear it in mind, I may wait a while for it to get slightly worse before I get it fixed so I can really see the difference. Yeah bry I'd be apprehensive about doing it myself without doing plenty of research or practicing on other pieces of metal perhaps.

Thanks.

[CommanderJameson]

I use a blue and then a brown Garryflex block to get the worst of the dings out of my PO bracelet. Works a treat.