Best way to get rid of this scratch on my Titanium watch?

David82 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 2:56 am

Hey guys, I wonder if you'd be so kind to take a look at the photo below and tell me, what you think about the scratch on one of my watches?

It's a u shaped mark on the left side of the case and was done while the watch was at the AD, I didn't put it there. If I run my finger across it, it does not feel like there is an indentation, seems to be just a surface mark.
Having said that, do you think it's possible that it will go away over time (oxidation) or does it need something else?

Thanks for looking,

David.

br549 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:18 am

It doesn't look too bad thank goodness.

I believe a lot of the fellows have found success with a scotch brite pad or fiberglass pen on the titanium watches for removing fine scratches.

A bit more info in this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7123&hilit=scotch

taffytoon · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:24 am

Adds charicter IMHO, shows you wear your watch.

MarkJnk · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:41 am

Unless your goal is to sell it with a LNIB rating, I wouldn't bother. I've refinished many dozens of watches, and this situation is a very challenging one. A fiberglass pen will make it worse, I promise. The grain on the side of the watch is perfectly level, and your hand motion when using the pen is NOT. The second issue is that you have the crown there, which prevents you from refinishing the whole side so it looks consistent. You will only be able to refinish the small area and to get the grain to match and blend perfectly is very hard, not impossible, but best left to someone with alot of experience. Lastly, you need to use an abrasive with a rigid backing so it stays perfectly flat, otherwise it will ruin the sharp lines and transitions where the side plane transitions to the top plane. These edges are critical to it looking factory.

I would highly recommend leaving it as it is, it is not a bad scratch or very noticable, and you are bound to get others if you wear the watch.

MarkJnk · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:53 am

p.s. I bought a POC that looked like this...

And refinished it to this... so I do know how hard this job is. The He valve and the pushers caused me serious headaches.

Damn, when I see these pics, I want a Herc again :shock:

David82 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:10 am

br549 wrote:

It doesn't look too bad thank goodness.

I believe a lot of the fellows have found success with a scotch brite pad or fiberglass pen on the titanium watches for removing fine scratches.

A bit more info in this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7123&hilit=scotch

Thanks for your input and the link. I've been able to find a shop from Europe that sells those pens (made by Bergeon) and they are really cheap... just not sure I'd dare to undertake that kind of job myself... :oops:

taffytoon wrote:

Adds charicter IMHO, shows you wear your watch.

Agree 100%, the only problem I have is that it was put there by someone else, not me...

MarkJnk wrote:

Unless your goal is to sell it with a LNIB rating, I wouldn't bother. I've refinished many dozens of watches, and this situation is a very challenging one. A fiberglass pen will make it worse, I promise. The grain on the side of the watch is perfectly level, and your hand motion when using the pen is NOT. The second issue is that you have the crown there, which prevents you from refinishing the whole side so it looks consistent. You will only be able to refinish the small area and to get the grain to match and blend perfectly is very hard, not impossible, but best left to someone with alot of experience. Lastly, you need to use an abrasive with a rigid backing so it stays perfectly flat, otherwise it will ruin the sharp lines and transitions where the side plane transitions to the top plane. These edges are critical to it looking factory.

I would highly recommend leaving it as it is, it is not a bad scratch or very noticable, and you are bound to get others if you wear the watch.

Hi Mark, thank you for all the info and advice you've provided!

I totally trust you on the difficulty front, I wouldn't dare to do it myself, only option would be to bring it to an experienced polisher. I've read several times on different forums, that Ti is known to sort of heal itself over time, so I was wondering if by your opinion (and on the basis of your knowledge and experience, you're the man to ask) is it realistic that this would disappear over time?

Also, thanks for the pics, you obviously know what you're doing since the results of your work look great! :thumbsup:

MarkJnk · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:18 am

Ti scratches easily, and the scratches have a way of oxidizing so they become less visible. They don't really heal themselves, but they do become very inconspicuous. I have fairly high confidence that those scratches, if left alone, will become nearly invisible over time, or will be joined by a few others

David82 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:58 am

MarkJnk wrote:

Ti scratches easily, and the scratches have a way of oxidizing so they become less visible. They don't really heal themselves, but they do become very inconspicuous. I have fairly high confidence that those scratches, if left alone, will become nearly invisible over time, or will be joined by a few others

Thanks, I hope so too.

taffytoon · **Posted:** Sun Aug 09, 2009 2:25 pm

Worn watches do have signs of battle, regardless of who put the marks there :lingsrock:

Scarlet Evolution · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:56 am

My Ti Seawolf has had lots of scratches on it, they definately do tend to blend with time and the Ti finish seems to have more character than when I first purchased the watch. I don't mind them now.

David82 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:26 pm

Scarlet Evolution wrote:

My Ti Seawolf has had lots of scratches on it, they definately do tend to blend with time and the Ti finish seems to have more character than when I first purchased the watch. I don't mind them now.

Cool, thanks for the info!

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