Update Feb 2024: I created a new video showing the process with the available Plexi Revive Essentials Pack. ua-cam.com/video/DYDtGRBnKtg/v-deo.htmlsi=5l1oprugwWIAdL9q Latest HB Watch Restoration videos ua-cam.com/video/REEytWgxFvc/v-deo.html Latest HB Watches and More videos ua-cam.com/video/oUNHTov5Bnw/v-deo.html
I repair plexiglass car headlights, with similar grits. We use Meguiars PlastX which is for plastic. Plus we repair glass with a machine, you could use Ceriglass by hand.
Great video, think I only have 1 plexiglass crystal watch. However now I know what to do. Where do you get the sandpaper from and is it wet & dry please?
I just buy mine from any old DIY store as they sell it in individual sheets. I’m sure you’ll have similar at Wickes, Homebase etc. I add a little water to the crystal yes.
I wonder if deeper gouges/cracks could be filled in with the car windshield crack fillers and then just polished back down. They used to sell a paint on filler to fill in scratches on glasses and CD's back in the 90's and I did try filling in a gouge on my then new Seiko 5 Hardlex crystal and though it did fill in the scratches and gouges, it left the crystal with a wavy surface so I just washed it back off (it was designed so it could be washed off), I can't find such a product now but I wonder if it could be combined with abrasive polishing especially since mineral glass like Hardlex should be more resistant than the hardened resins.
You have a good point about using a filler. I’ve personally never tired but did wonder if it would have a wavy effect like you mentioned. I think it would be a problem what with the dial being so close to the crystal so any imperfections would clearly be seen. I personally would rather replacing a hardlex crystal as I’ve tried a few times with different methods trying to get scratches out and I’ve not had a great amount of success.
Hey man, I've applied my whole technique on my casio but after the polish when i washed my crystal, it became cloudy (kind of same after 1200 grit sanding), so do i always need to polish my crystal after washing for a clear look ??
Yes it will be cloudy once you have gone through the sandpapers. You will have to use the polish cream as the last step to buff it up to a clear through shine.
@HorologyBiology yeah man i am also talking about acrylic glasses, can you suggest me some other polishing fluid as polywatch in my country is very expensive, even expensive than my casio f91w, i tried using toothpaste also but it did nothing to it. What is the alternative to it which is cheap and easily accessible?
@@ManojVerma-hb8jt Ok that is the problem then. You can also try Plexi Revive as they also provide really great finishing results. plexirevive.com/discount/horologybiology I'm not sure where you are based but I think they ship worldwide. You also get a lot more for your money with this as well so it would last a very long time. Goodluck HB
Good question but I really have no idea. At the end of the day they are plastic and if you did sand them down and used a polishing compound then I believe you would get a clear shine out of it
Certainly not by hand with mineral glass. There are some people that swear by using these grit powders with a dremal tool but I’ve never been successful if I’m honest.
Have a look on eBay for mineral glass scratch powders. There was a guy from the UK that makes a few powder grits that he swears removes scratches from mineral glass. I cannot confirm if it works.
I didn't think I'd come across this comment. I've had the same problem but my scratch was almost invisible. After using a little toothpaste and a finger, it worked wonders. Guess its all about how deep the scratch is.
Hi, I tried this on an old moonswatch I had. After using 320, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 sand paper followed by multiple rounds of polywatch, my crystal still looks fairly scratched and hazy. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
Ive a Sicura jump hour watch with a rectangular shaped glass.Will this glass actually be plastic as its scratched.Ive had a look on the case back and it doesnt say its mineral crystal.
@@HorologyBiology Thankyou for such a quick reply.I will order some of that Polywatch.Mask of the stainless case and slowly start to buff out the scratches.Its worth restoring as theres not many of these left.
Hell yeah! This is exactly what I was looking for. By hand, no tools, no polywatch required. Great video! If you could give insight on removing fine scratches from mineral (glass) crystals that would be awesome! Can it be done with a similar method?
I don’t think you have enough years left in your life to remove mineral glass scratches by hand 😂 I personally just replace them as it’s so much less a headache.
Poly Watch is $7. I ordered some to take out the micro scratches the toothpaste left. 😩 As indicated by it’s name it is for teeth not your watch crystal! 👍
Because if something is not broken then fix it! Why add to the abundance of plastic waste in the world when you can simply repair something rather than just 'paying the few dollars' for a new one like you mentioned 👍
I lost count to the amount of times that I referred to it as Plexi, or plastic etc. Good shout 👍 Crystal is so the right word regardless of the material my man.
Barley 30 seconds in and he's already mentioned lube! .................. Can't be going in dry haha! 😂💦😉 Another reason not to wear a big clonky behemoth that's to big for your wrist as you can guarantee it will catch everything!
You guys must really smash up your crystals. I have never had to use sandpaper, only poly watch and a cloth and my Vostoks crystals look brand new each time.
Update Feb 2024: I created a new video showing the process with the available Plexi Revive Essentials Pack. ua-cam.com/video/DYDtGRBnKtg/v-deo.htmlsi=5l1oprugwWIAdL9q
Latest HB Watch Restoration videos
ua-cam.com/video/REEytWgxFvc/v-deo.html
Latest HB Watches and More videos
ua-cam.com/video/oUNHTov5Bnw/v-deo.html
I tried your method with a watch I was working on, it came out perfectly. Thanks for the tip, bruddah.
That's great to hear. Glad it worked out perfectly for you 👍👍
I started with a 320 grit, then 600, 1000, 1500 and 2500. And finished with car polish, it looks brand new.
Top man 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Wow! What a difference!! Thank you so much. My old watch will have new life again, yay!
I repair plexiglass car headlights, with similar grits.
We use Meguiars PlastX which is for plastic.
Plus we repair glass with a machine, you could use Ceriglass by hand.
I'll have to try this on my old 1970s seiko.
Im literally going to do the same to my 1972 Seiko 7006 haha
Great video! just starting to get into watch collecting and maybe even watch making in the future so this video helped immensely! Thanks a lot
great vid dude, very helpful. thanks
Glad it helped
Great Job Sir👍👍
Thank you 🙂
Nice, with this sandpapers i make my car headlights brand new also :)
Great vid and exactly like I do it, so I’ve been right these years then!🙏🏻🤗
Congrats man 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Great video, think I only have 1 plexiglass crystal watch. However now I know what to do. Where do you get the sandpaper from and is it wet & dry please?
I just buy mine from any old DIY store as they sell it in individual sheets. I’m sure you’ll have similar at Wickes, Homebase etc. I add a little water to the crystal yes.
@@HorologyBiology Cool thanks very much.
Can you do a vid for mineral glass and sapphire crystal pls
It's not something I do sorry, I'm sure there will be other videos on UA-cam about this :)
For glass, use Cerium oxide as a polish and use a Dremel.
Interesting and educational stuff! Thanks! I’ve started to notice slight wear on my Swatches crystal - your video will come in handy soon!
Thanks for watching, great you’ll find it useful 👍🏻👍🏻
Will this work on mineral glass types?
No I’m afraid not. Only on plexi glass crystals
How many times can you do this on a sapphire crystal like an Orient Bambino before the glass gives out?
This method will only work on plastic plexi glass crystals
Chrome polish has worked really well for me too.
Good to know, thanks for the input 💪
I wonder if deeper gouges/cracks could be filled in with the car windshield crack fillers and then just polished back down. They used to sell a paint on filler to fill in scratches on glasses and CD's back in the 90's and I did try filling in a gouge on my then new Seiko 5 Hardlex crystal and though it did fill in the scratches and gouges, it left the crystal with a wavy surface so I just washed it back off (it was designed so it could be washed off), I can't find such a product now but I wonder if it could be combined with abrasive polishing especially since mineral glass like Hardlex should be more resistant than the hardened resins.
You have a good point about using a filler. I’ve personally never tired but did wonder if it would have a wavy effect like you mentioned. I think it would be a problem what with the dial being so close to the crystal so any imperfections would clearly be seen.
I personally would rather replacing a hardlex crystal as I’ve tried a few times with different methods trying to get scratches out and I’ve not had a great amount of success.
Nice work,thanks for the Vidio
No problem 👍
would this work on my computer screen?
I’m not sure, maybe best to try it on your tv first 💪🏻👍🏻
Will this work with the glass on a Garmin Fenix watch ? They have 2 grades of glass, normal and Sapphire.
No, only for plexi
Hey man, I've applied my whole technique on my casio but after the polish when i washed my crystal, it became cloudy (kind of same after 1200 grit sanding), so do i always need to polish my crystal after washing for a clear look ??
Yes it will be cloudy once you have gone through the sandpapers. You will have to use the polish cream as the last step to buff it up to a clear through shine.
@@HorologyBiologydoes hazyness/cloudyness dissappears permenantly after polish or it comes back again when we wash our watch?
@@ManojVerma-hb8jt No, once you polish it with the polishing cream the luster will return. This is for plexi glass crystals as I mentioned.
@HorologyBiology yeah man i am also talking about acrylic glasses, can you suggest me some other polishing fluid as polywatch in my country is very expensive, even expensive than my casio f91w, i tried using toothpaste also but it did nothing to it. What is the alternative to it which is cheap and easily accessible?
@@ManojVerma-hb8jt Ok that is the problem then. You can also try Plexi Revive as they also provide really great finishing results.
plexirevive.com/discount/horologybiology
I'm not sure where you are based but I think they ship worldwide. You also get a lot more for your money with this as well so it would last a very long time.
Goodluck
HB
do you think this would work with clear lego pieces?
Good question but I really have no idea. At the end of the day they are plastic and if you did sand them down and used a polishing compound then I believe you would get a clear shine out of it
thanks!@@HorologyBiology
Can i use toothpaste as polywatch. Is it useful ?
Technically you could but for very little money you can purchase Polywatch or Plexirevive
Does this work the same for mineral glass off citizen ecodrives and their 200m dive watch ?
Certainly not by hand with mineral glass. There are some people that swear by using these grit powders with a dremal tool but I’ve never been successful if I’m honest.
@@HorologyBiology do you have any suggestions how to get scratches out of mineral glass ? 1 small scratch on each watch just enough to be annoying
Have a look on eBay for mineral glass scratch powders. There was a guy from the UK that makes a few powder grits that he swears removes scratches from mineral glass. I cannot confirm if it works.
@Horology Biology thank you , greatly appreciated 🙏🏻
I didn't think I'd come across this comment. I've had the same problem but my scratch was almost invisible. After using a little toothpaste and a finger, it worked wonders. Guess its all about how deep the scratch is.
Hi, I would like to remove some scratches from my CITIZEN divers watch, how do I not sand the bezel surrounding the glass??
Hi, I tried this on an old moonswatch I had. After using 320, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 sand paper followed by multiple rounds of polywatch, my crystal still looks fairly scratched and hazy. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
Use a higher grit sandpaper is my guess 1200 seams too low
Are all watch crystals made of plexiglass? How about Rolex or omega or Michele or other luxury watches? Are they also made of plexiglass?
No, the main 3 are plexi glass, mineral crystal and sapphire. This method will only work on plexi crystals. Thanks for watching.
Is it plastic?
Yes, plexi glass crystals are basically a form of plastic
NICE!
Thank you! Cheers!
Ive a Sicura jump hour watch with a rectangular shaped glass.Will this glass actually be plastic as its scratched.Ive had a look on the case back and it doesnt say its mineral crystal.
I would say on the vintage Sicura watches it's 90% plastic rather than mineral.
@@HorologyBiology Thankyou for such a quick reply.I will order some of that Polywatch.Mask of the stainless case and slowly start to buff out the scratches.Its worth restoring as theres not many of these left.
Hell yeah! This is exactly what I was looking for. By hand, no tools, no polywatch required. Great video!
If you could give insight on removing fine scratches from mineral (glass) crystals that would be awesome! Can it be done with a similar method?
I don’t think you have enough years left in your life to remove mineral glass scratches by hand 😂 I personally just replace them as it’s so much less a headache.
@@HorologyBiology Indian red powdered clove 🤣 It seriously ruined my enamel in like a week of testing it
I was like number 1,000!
😅💪🏻💪🏻
Poly Watch is $7. I ordered some to take out the micro scratches the toothpaste left. 😩 As indicated by it’s name it is for teeth not your watch crystal! 👍
damnnnn which toothpaste did you use 😵
Plexiglass Crystal is like manual automátic...
With a new crystal costing only a few dollars, Why would you bother and not just put in a new one.
Because if something is not broken then fix it! Why add to the abundance of plastic waste in the world when you can simply repair something rather than just 'paying the few dollars' for a new one like you mentioned 👍
Sometimes it’s satisfying to mend things yourself…
And every dollar saved, makes you a dollar richer
expensive!! if you dont do it your self, + the tool to remove the lens
"crystal" is not the right word.. that is an acrylic... Poliwatch works wonders in acrylics but it doesn't work for mineral or hradlex crystals
I lost count to the amount of times that I referred to it as Plexi, or plastic etc. Good shout 👍 Crystal is so the right word regardless of the material my man.
seems easier just to get a watch with a saphire crystal...
Not every watch we collect comes with a sapphire crystal though 😳
Barley 30 seconds in and he's already mentioned lube! .................. Can't be going in dry haha! 😂💦😉 Another reason not to wear a big clonky behemoth that's to big for your wrist as you can guarantee it will catch everything!
Lube!!!! It needed addressing 😂
You guys must really smash up your crystals. I have never had to use sandpaper, only poly watch and a cloth and my Vostoks crystals look brand new each time.