A cautionary tale about polishing

[Fanofsteel]

Happy new year, folks. I have a cautionary tale for ya. It will mainly entertain/amuse, but I’m also hoping to pass along some helpful advice. The story begins when I got my first “unacceptable” scratch on the clasp of my new Sub-date 41. I read all the threads warning against using scotch brite, but I just couldn’t help myself. Unsatisfied with the job I did on the clasp, I had a highly regarded Rolex specialist repair shop in Southern CA (which I won’t name) refinish the clasp (first pic). It turns out my refinishing job with scotch brite was much better than what these folks did. I almost sent my watch to another shop, but instead ran into a few posts by a forum member named Mystro. I got inspired by his posts to do it myself, but do it RIGHT. I’m much happier with the results (second pic).

Now here’s the clincher — if I could do it all again, I would listen to the original advice that’s been repeated many times: just leave it alone and let the watch collect scratches, which are inevitable.

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Edited to add (since it was asked & others might also be wondering): It took a some experimentation with the different grits. The red scotch brite is closer to the factory level of coarseness, while the gray scotch brite is finer than factory, but I personally preferred it.

If I REALLY wanted to get a factory finish back on the clasp, I'd send it to Rik Dietel (http://www.timecareinc.com/ -- this is Mystro's recommendation, and I've seen his work posted on these forums, it's immaculate), even over the RSC.