How To Remove Scratches & Polish a Watch Clasp or Bracelet Without Power Tools 

I have this same Hamilton watch. Received it on Dec. 25th 1981. Still works.

Awesome DIY Andrew! I swear by the Cape Cod polishing clothes for such jobs. They are inexpensive, and like you say, they work great and last FOREVER!

Very impressive! Sandpaper is not what I would intuitively use for removing scratches, but your video is testimony to its effectiveness.

I'm a great believer in your hand finishing method, over using power tools that some people say are better because 'it would take 5 minutes'. Your way ensures you never take off too much material by accident, leaving a gouge, say, maybe, on the angle where the brushed surface transitions on to the polished, angled edge because then, you'll have screwed up the straight line in to a squinty, wavy, line along the edge of the brushed rectangle. 'Just use a dremel', when you don't need to, is either being unaware of the potential risks, or being over-confident in your own abilities ('famous last words', as they say). Plus, as you demonstrated here, if you take your time, do it right, you get very good results. I would only go to the bother doing it if I was going to be selling the watch, though. Which is what I'm thinking of doing. Which is why I'm watching. A Longines Hydroconquest. 2 years into the 'hobby' and that's me getting bored of too many divers. Have an Oceanus on the way, anyway. 'Diver burn-out' or 'diver fatigue'. It is probably a thing.

By far the best polished music I have heard .. soothing .. awesome tips man! Genius!

The music makes this sound like the strangest Saturday Night Live closing credits ever.

Only cleaning thoroughly with liquid soap made my watches look as reborn. Brilliant tip! I think about opening a 'Watch-Wash'. 😊

Cool!!! Gonna try this on my Swiss military clasp...thanks

Excellent and useful video. I have no patience at all however I can see many of your subscribers giving this a go.

98%, very good. I've used dry Scotch brite in green for brushed stainless only. Gentle even strokes, then I use a dab of car polish.

Wow great video and great result! You would need the patience of a saint to do that on an entire watch bracelet though!

Excellent job mate .the little bugger looks clean as a whistle

The Cap Cod polishing cloths are phenomenal!

Perfect result! Thanks for this video. I'm going to polish my clasps as well.

Great vid, exactly what i was looking for! I was thinking about doing some polishing myself! I'd love to see more videos like that, maybe you could test out other similar polishing tools and do a video about removing scratches from a glass surface. Keep up the good work!

I was under the impression that stainless steel was too hard to polish as easily as you were able to. Thanks for the video!

Thanks. I just restored a stainless steel cross necklace pendant. Looks new again.

Thanks for showing me how to do it. I have a number of high end watches that will benefit from your easy to follow instructions.

Time to book mark the video for the future when my watch gets scratched!

nice nice,i would have used the 5k sand paper then use the polish cloths haha i like to polish many metal stuff i also can tell you that car paint polisher no2 or no1 helps ALOT in the final product it will make ur surface shine like a glass, cheers i liked your video :D

I use scotchbrite pads for the brushed finished and polishing wheels on a Dremel for the polished areas finished with Cape Cod. I can get the bracelets 99% perfect.

Try polishing high luster edges with abrasive paper, then work up to liquid metal polishes like Mother’s polish. Once you get the desired finish, you then apply the mat finish. Mask off all polished surfaces with thin clear scotch tape to keep the edges of the tape from peeling. Always wash surfaces before going up in grit to remove coarse grains to keep the finish looking consistent. You will always see streaks if you do not wash the piece and your hands in between grits. And never use the same cloth.

I always go for a scotch brite green scrubby for quick touch ups

you should try using nail polisher/shiny stick for the edges for mirror finish

Was going to try it on a G-shock, but the scuff marks make it kinda better :)

Bergeon actually makes polishing blocks specifically for this. They work better than sandpaper.

You've done well; well done o need to order those fine metal polishing cloths as well as the sanding paper for jewellery

Great advice. Tried it and it worked. Thanks.

Have you ever tried Happich Simichrome Polish? They use it to remove discoloration on chrome exhaust pipes of motorcycles. It also makes a good jewelry polish. Some knife manufacturers will include a small packet of this polish with the knife, intended to remove scratches from sharpening.

Just make sure to go in the same direction as the metal grains...

I love scratches lol. I'm a fan of the vintage worn look esp on a tool watch.

A drop of washing up liquid or dish soap in the water used for keeping the wet and dry paper wet will help with lubrication and make a better job of the sanding.

mcguires compound for cars works amazingly

Thank you, this was very helpful

Wow! You did an amazing job! Kudos!

Absolutely beautiful and eye opening. Almost like sharpening a knife with my japanese water stones :D

To: 555 Gear: Thumbs up. Sharing this video. Thanks for posting this tutorial.

Great job bro

i read thru and was wondering, can i do this with brass? great technique and video!

I dont think its overkill to tape up the areas that dont need buffing. I'd say its a necessary step

Looks a lot better for sure. I can't stand looking at scratches myself

I use my dremel with stainless steel polish and I'm done in one minute..... If I want the satin finish after I'm done with my dremel I would use the fine sand paper.

very useful, thank you

Fastest way I know is polish te entire clasp with a dremel tool and polish compound, once all is shiny use an abrasive block (120 grit or finer) of Garryflex for the brushed finish, covering with tape the parts that are mirror polish.

I liked it just because the music is cool but the video is helpful

Awesome video! Cool music, who is the artist.

Just what I needed, thanks!

Thanks for posting this. Good job!

Amazing quality

Great video and instructions very useful. Would you suggest wearing gloves or too challenging when handling small parts?

thanks, great video.

Another great video thank you! Maybe you could do a watch crystal polishing one someday?

very interesting video thanks for the good advice!

60 mins on one link, lucky this is a leather strap

Duke Silver in the house!

nice watch dude!

the jazz, my ears

Great video, I will give this a go at some stage. Cheers.

I need to polish my 007 omega. thanks

excellent method for refinishing silver flat wire.

NICE!! Thanks for posting!

Great vid...thank you!

Love the presentation and vibe to the video. Checked out your channel and love the content there as well. Considér me subscribed!

Great video as always man😉 BTW,where did u buy that deployment clasp?So sharp

what kind of "polishing compounds and cleaners" did you use with your cape cod cloths? What polishings compounds and cleaners would you recommend to do the best job?

Excellent video! The music is also great! Could you please let me know the song in the 5th minute? Thanks

Nice job!

how about removing scratches from sterling silver? Shall I skip or add any steps?

Can it be use to a gold coloured stainless?

Great video - and great channel. Would this technique work on stainless steel kitchen knives?

excellent hint.

Nice work, Holmes. I like your style.

Get dry disposable jewellery wipes from your local jewellery store.

nicely done!

Is it safe to do to get rid of minor scratches on the case? It's brushed stainless steel but has some painted markings on it.

did u polish ur finger too? the before and after of ur finger looks drastic

Hello, usually Hermes does only paladium, isn't that the materials you are trying to clean?

the music sound is good

Hello, I have a question. My watch I want to remove some scratches from also has stainless steal on almost half the face of the watch. Do you think I can apply the same method you used to clean your stainless steal band to the face of my watch? I feel that logically it should work because its the same material, however I dont want to mess up the face of my watch either. Any imput or help you might have would be great! Thanks!

Do you think that this works in a stainless steel lid?

What grit should I get if I want a very fine brushed finish to then use Cape Cod cloths on? I have a steel band that I wanted to turn from mirror covered in scratches to a very very fine brushed finish.

Awesome video! I also have a hamilton Khakhi (Navy) watch and the outer dial has a lot of scuff marks... Can I follow the same steps and not mess the outer shell?

this method is safe for my rose gold and gold jewelry or it only works on silver ?

how do you remove light scratches on your watch's bezel?

Can you do this also on a Louis Vuitton belt buckle?

I like working woth my polishing wheel I have

is this better with french fries or curly fries?

Mister, do you think it might work on a titanium case and bracelet?

Love the strap, where can I get one? Thanks.

wow. nice

Will this work on a stone wash finished stainless steel blade?

Hi there, just wanna know if you can actually help me on where to buy most the item you used. I’m in Malaysia anyway.

Will this work on a titanium strap?

Will this work for a gold stainless steal Nixon ?

Will this work on a ceramic or metal ring?

WOW!DIY!!!

What did you put on the sand paper ? Water ???

Great share, thanks!

Got any tips for Brush Titanium?

wow, thanks