Brushing is a great way to alter and enhance the appearance of your stainless steel watch. If you have polished parts to your watch and bracelet, you may prefer a more toned-down appearance. Some individuals may use extra-fine sandpaper if that’s what they have available; however, a Scotch Brite Pad might work better on certain parts, as it has the right kind of abrasion, and it’s not as coarse as sandpaper. There is no trick to getting the brushed appearance you desire. All it takes is constant pressure.
It would be sensible to first practice on a cheap watch rather than a high-end watch, as the results could be disastrous, not to mention beyond repair. Different watch parts may require different brushing methods. The bracelet would tend to be more straightforward than the watch case that has curves. Let’s discuss more in-depth how to brush stainless steel watch parts.
Brushing A Stainless Steel Watch Bracelet
Before you begin brushing your stainless steel watch bracelet, you must remove the watch from the bracelet. A Scotch Brite Pad will suffice to brush the bracelet, as the Scotch Brite Pad’s abrasive quality is ideal for stainless steel. It’s not as coarse as sandpaper – which will only scour your product – and it will give a clean brushed finish.
You may not need the entire pad to brush your watch bracelet, so feel free to cut a small section off. The best method to apply when brushing your product is to do so in a linear motion rather than circular. A gentle back and forth movement works well, and you don’t need to apply too much pressure. You can brush in a straight line along with the bracelet. However, the back and forth motion is faster, at least in the beginning. Keep brushing until you are happy with the appearance of your bracelet; it could take a few minutes or as long as you need.
When you are pleased with the brushed outcome, the next and final step is to move the pad in a straight line along with the bracelet, working downwards in one direction. You can repeat this step as much as you need; a few minutes can achieve a very smooth brushed finish.
When you are finished brushing, you simply need to reattach the bracelet to the watch and examine the finished product to see how it looks on your wrist.
Brushing A Stainless Steel Watch Case
It’s hard to know what level of abrasion you need when you begin brushing an item like a watch case; you have to look at it and judge after each motion. Coarse grit will give you a more ground finish, the lower the grade, the smoother the appearance. Coarse grit will get rid of many deep scratches and marks. You could use a Scotch Brite Pad, but it won’t have the highly sought-after machine finish.
Use a flat steel block as a surface on which to place your watch case, and you can wrap 320 coarse grit sandpaper around the block as tightly as possible. Move the case back and forth slowly on the sandpaper; make this motion as often as you need. For an even appearance, work in a straight motion. The front of watch cases aren’t always flat, so as you move along the sandpaper, curl the watch case upwards to ensure every part is brushed.
When working on the watch case’s sides, try working with 400 grit sandpaper, tear off a piece and begin sanding one side at a time. It will look quite rough after the 400 grit sandpaper, but this type of grit removes many deep marks and scratches. You can then use 600 grit paper, then 800 – sanding could take up to an hour.
For an even smoother appearance, cut a small piece of ultra-fine hand pad and start working along the case’s sides in a back and forth motion.
Finally
The methods discussed above can be used on most watches or watch accessories, and they work exceptionally well on stainless steel. To achieve the desired brushed look, all you need is some abrasive paper or pad and a few minutes, if not hours, of your time. As mentioned already, you may want to practice on a cheaper watch, taking note of what you did for each step, before going ahead on a more expensive one. It’s essential that you are happy with how your watch looks.
Sources
Let’s Brush a Watch Bracelet – A Simple and Fast How To Guide – YouTube
How to Polish a Watch – Polishing & Brushed Finish. Seiko 7025 – YouTube
