How to Remove Scratches from Stainless Steel Watch Case?

Author: John Adam

Scratches on your stainless steel watch’s case shatter the heart, and you can almost feel the pain of the scratches, especially if you spent a good fortune on the watches. The good news, however, is that you don’t have to let that pain linger and reawaken every time you look at your watch.

Thanks to watch enthusiasts that have suffered before you, you can get rid of the scratches at ease, and from home if you are dealing with small and superficial scratches. We say this because if yours is an expensive men watch with deep gouges, perhaps from scratching the watch against concrete or other hard surfaces, it will be wise that you get the watch professional.

How to remove scratches from stainless steel watch cases?

Well, the scratches on your watch’s case could be caused by different things ranging from normal wear and tear to accidental scuffs that occur if your watch rubs against a rough surface, for example, concrete. The scratches might also result if you scratch your watch against metal.

Depending on the cause of the scratch, the scratches might be light and more superficial or deep.

How to remove the Scratches step by step?

In this article, we look at some of the most effective scratch removal solutions for your watch’s case. No matter its a steel watch or wooden.

Method 1 – Carnauba Wax Polish

For the longest time, carnauba wax has been used to wax and remove scratches from cars’ metal surfaces. As a result, it doesn’t come as a surprise to see that you can use the same product to remove scratches from your stainless steel watch case.

In this method, you’ll need your car polish carnauba wax and soft cotton fabric. For the fabric, you could either use a microfiber piece of fabric or facial cotton wipes; but you should never use a piece of cloth when cleaning your watch with carnauba wax because it will leave marks and it might even worsen the scratching.

Now that you have everything you need to clean your watch and remove the scratches let’s jump right into it.

First, secure the worktop with a soft cloth or fabric to protect the watch from unnecessary damage or more scratches.

Apply a little wax on the facial cotton fabric. For the best result, ensure that the wax is not all dried out, it should be a little soft.

Next, rub the wax on the areas of the case with scratches, along the grain, gently. As you gently rub/ buff the fabric on the watch, you will notice that the white piece of cloth turns black. Don’t be frightened by this. The dark color means that the wax is doing the intended job, eating off the metals, and removing the scratches in the process. Keep buffing for a few minutes, say 5 minutes. After 5-10 minutes (could be more if the scratches are deeper), you will notice that the scratches start disappearing. You can buff a little longer if the scratches take time to disappear.

It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t buff all the areas of your watch. It’s okay to buff off the areas with the glossy finish, however, if the top of the watch has a matte or textured finish, do not buff. Polishing will affect/ cut off that beautiful texture/ engravings. So, if there is scratching on the textured part of the watch, you should take the watch to a professional watch restorer.

Method 2 – Polishing

Besides using car carnauba wax to remove the scratches from your watch, you could also try polishing. Just be careful not to over polish the watch’s case because every time you polish it you are removing/ eating away at the metal and you might end up removing too much metal.

In this method on stainless steel polishing, you will learn how to remove the scratches gently without affecting the integrity of the metal.

Tools need

  • Buffs (satin and muslin buffs – two each)
  • An abrasive compound
  • Polishing compound/ rouge
  • A tape
  • Rouge polishing cloth
  • Finger cots/ gloves
  • Polishing motor
  • Cleaning solution

7 Steps You Need to Know

To get started, ready your polishing motor and then place the muslin buffs on your spindles as the motor runs. Set your motor’s speed to medium

Apply the polishing compound on the buff by applying gently. You might want only to apply a small amount of compound to start out with. Be careful not to put too much of the polishing compound. And you can always add some of the compound afterward, if necessary.

For your safety, you might need to wear safety glasses or even finger cots when buffing. A dust collector also comes in handy as it will collect extra debris.