After having taken apart my Rolex, it needs some work on the case – it’s scratched, and in some places has fairly deep dents.
There is only one thing for it and that is a good polishing.
If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see all the damage.
You can’t just polish scratches out – you have to first create an even surface, and that means having to go as deep as the deepest scratch goes. This is harsh stuff as it means having to attack your watch case with a 240 grit paper which will bring tears to your eyes. But there is no other way!
Six hours later (I had a lot of deep scratches to start off with), I have a perfectly polished watch case. I probably wouldn’t do this for a £ 20 watch, but for a Rolex, it’s well worthwhile.
To sum it up:
- you can’t skip any step in this process – go from one grit paper to the next
- the order is 240 / 400 / 1200 / 2000 / 9 micron / Dialux Vert – slight deviation doesn’t matter, so if you use a 500 instead of a 400, all is still fine
- make sure that you have an even surface after each different grit – if you overlook something, it’s back to square one
- take your time, check progress with a loupe, don’t expect to do this in an hour
- be careful with pendant tubes (as you can see, I removed it from the case), lugs, etc. as you can easily take too much off
- slowly does it
Good luck!
If you want to see the reassembly, please continue reading here.
Hello, what tools/processes do you recommend to remove the bezel for cleaning? Is there a specific tool you like?
I use a bog standard case knife.
Interesting, I have heard people scratching their watches with a case knife. You must mean this one? https://www.amazon.com/Bergeon-Case-opener-Single-blade/dp/B00EYLVQ3Q
Thank you.
Can I ask how you disassembled and reassembled the ring? I can not screw it, maybe goes to pressure? Thanks a lot.
The bezel ring is lifted using a special tool.
I’ve just completed a repolish of my dad’s 6694. I used 400, 600, 1000, 1200 sandpaper and then finished off by using the autosol metal polish with a very soft cloth which i soaked in hair conditioner solution for two hours to soften the fibres. The results are great. I also used the sandpaper to sand out the scratches in the acrylic crystal, and then polished out with CD scratch remover. However, and i see on one of the photos that the radial brushed finish also gets removed to a certain extent. in your opinion, what is the best way to restore the radial brushed finish? the straight brushed finish is easy – i have found using a scotch brite pad, or even using back the 400 sandpaper are both worthy candidates.
Yes, a sandpaper is fine for that job.
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awesome!
Beautiful work and really useful instructions.
Now I know how to proceed if I ever become proficient enough to successfully disassemble a Rolex down to its bare case. For me, I think practicing on a cheap watch or two, or three, would be a good idea…and then consider taking a chance on a Rolex.
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