Frequently Asked Questions About – Scratches On Watches

Getting a Scratch on your watch is something you will face at some point and while I have written various article on this site about that, I actually get a lot of really good questions around this, which I have basically just complied here.

They are not really in any specific order, but hopefully they will answer anything you need to know around scratches on your watch.

If there is anything I haven’t answered here, or elsewhere, just ask and I can try and answer it and add it to the pile.

How Can I Prevent Scratches On My Watch?

Honest, I don’t think you can prevent scratches. You can certainly be careful and limit them, but if you are wearing a watch for long enough, over the years it will pick up a few here and there, even if they are small and not noticeable, they will be there.

The only way to avoid them is to never wear the watch, which makes the whole point of owning it pointless and even then you can still scratch it by placing it down badly, so you may as well just wear it and if you are worried, be careful, but the reality is you will pick up scratches. 

(You can read more about – How Do Scratches Actually Occur On Your Watch?)

Are Scratches Normal On A Watch?

Unfortunately yes, scratches are not only normal, but inevitable. As I just said, the only way to avoid them is to never wear the watch …but then why buy it in the first place.

Some people don’t mind them, others hate them, but they are all apart of owning a watch. You are not really going to be able to escape them. You can try and be careful, but they will still happen over time.  

You can read more about – Should You Worry About Scratches On A Watch?

How Can I Avoid Scratches On The Watch Band or Bracelet?

Scratches on your bracelet are also inevitable, maybe even more so than the watch head. The bracelet is going to span the majority of your wrist, so basically it is going to have more chances of banging into things.

The main culprit is going to be tables. You probably don’t realise it, but your wrist will touch a table top a lot and you will also move your wrist back and forth across the table top …dragging the bracelet all over it and causing scratches.

For most people, especially office workers, the first sign of wear and tear is going to be on the buckle, simply as it is getting bashed on the table all day long as they work.

The only way to really avoid this is to not wear your watch …but then what is the point of owning it, if you are not going to wear it.

(You can read more about – How Do Scratches Actually Occur On Your Watch?)

Should I Be Concerned About Scratches On The Watch Bezel?

Your bezel can also get scratches, although a lot of modern watches have ceramic bezels, which are actually pretty hard to scratch.

Usually these can’t be repaired and you are more likely to replace this part if you did want to fix it.

As for being concerned, you don’t need to be, the watch will still work fine. A scratch on the bezel is no different to a scratch anywhere else, it is just aesthetically ugly.

Should I Avoid Wearing My Watch During Activities Where Scratches Are Likely?

This is really personal preference. If you are worried about scratches and want to protect you watch from them …then it might be wise to take it off during certain activities.

If you are not really concerned, then just keep the watch on and accept that it likely to get scratched.

I would say to just wear it. Your watch is just a thing on your wrist. It will get scratched. It’s not something you need to spend all day worrying about and trying to protect and constantly taking on and off to help keep it shiny and new looking.

Can Watch Scratches Be Repaired?

The short answer is yes, scratches can be buffed out, which really means you are sanding down the area around the scratch to level everything out.

This means light scratches can be easily buffed out, but the deeper ones can be harder to do, as you need to remove a lot of the surrounding material, so it can mess things up.

Usually if a scratch is so deep and you can’t really sand it out and you actually need to fill it. This isn’t something you can do by yourself with a watch, you would need to send it away to a professional who can basically melt some bonding into the scratch and then sand it smooth so you can’t see it has been filed. This I not easy, and is not cheap and also not commonly done.

You can read more about – What Do You Do If Your Watch Gets Scratched?

Can Scratches On A Watch Affect Its Water Resistance?

Scratches should not affect how water resistance your watch is. Scratches are just superficial marks on the surface, so they should not interfere with the integrity of the structure.

Your watch case is going to be made from a solid metal, so a little scuff on the outside isn’t going to change much. When it comes to water, the weak spots are anywhere that two pieces of metal meet, such as the caseback, or the crown. This is why these areas have rubber gaskets, to help seal them.

Unless you have a large dent in one of these areas that may somehow compromise the seal, scratches are not going to affect the water resistance.

Are Scratches Covered Under Warranty For Most Watches?

While I would advise you to read the warranty for the individual watch to be sure what is covered … I think I can safely say that scratches will not be covered.

It is pretty much inevitable that the watch will get scratched and if everyone tried to claim this on their warranty the company would be sending out multiple watches to every customer within the first year.

Really a warranty is only going to cover faults with a watch, and a scratch is not a fault …it is something you did, even if it was accidental. 

Is It Easy To Remove Scratches From A Watch Face?

When you say “watch face” …if you mean the glass, then yes it’s easy. Usually watches that get scratches on the glass are made from acrylic and they are quite soft, so easily scratch and luckily are easily buffed out using some polywatch and a cloth.

However, if you mean the dial when you say “watch face”, so under the glass …this is not so easy to remove scratches from, in fact it’s pretty much impossible and you will just need to leave these as it is too easy to actually make the problem worse.

How Much Does It Cost To Repair Watch Scratches?

This is a tricky question to answer as it will really depend on where you live and what you are asking to be done.

If it is a lot of deep scratches, this will of course cost a lot more than some small light scuffs. It will also depend on what material your watch is made from and if the surface is brushed or polished.

You will really need to go to a few local watch makers or jewellers and ask them what they can do and how much it might cost.

I am sure some will do it cheaper than others, but I am also sure some will do a better job than others and these are all things you need to weight up and decide if the quote they give is going to be worth it or not.  

Are Scratches More Noticeable On Certain Watch Dial Colours Or Finishes?

The watch dial is not really going to affect how easy it is to see scratches, by the finish of the case will certainly make a difference.

Scratches are going to show up on polish surfaces much more easily than brushed ones.

This make sense as everything around  the scratch is going to be a mirror like finish and the scratch will be quite the contrast. When you have a brushed finish, scratches can be hidden more easily, especially if they follow the same direction of the brushing.  

What Is The Best Way To Restore The Shine To A Scratched Watch?

If a watch is pretty scuffed up and scratched, the best way to get it to shine again is to buff out the scratches.

However, I would consider cleaning the watch as often it will be covered in all sorts of dirt and grime.

After this I would then give it a light polish and you should see a noticeable difference, the watch should have some of its shine back.

Are There Any Specific Products Or Tools For Removing Watch Scratches?

There are plenty of products and tools you can use to remove scratches and to be honest, for most us, these are going to be over the top. Unless you are a watchmaker and removing scratches daily, we don’t need a lot of these tools.

The most heavy duty tool is going to be some sort of bench top lathe, then you have more handheld tools like dremels and various sanding/polishing sticks you can use.

Really for most of us, we just need some sort of polishing cloth and that will allow us to do some light work on our watches, but still get a good result.    

What Are Some Trusted Methods, Products or Home Remedies or For DIY Watch Scratch Removal?

As I just mentioned above, there are all sorts of tools you can get, but really if we want to do it ourselves, we should stick to light hand tools.

The two that are going to be useful are a cape code polishing cloth, some scotch brite and some masking tape.

The polishing cloth will be for polished surfaces and the scotch brite will be for brushed surfaces.

The masking tape is so that you can cover one surface and keep it safe while you work on the other.

With these 3 simple items you can do some light work to your watch and take a lot of the little scuffs and scratches off.

You have to take you time and go gently, but you can make significant changes with this alone.    

Can I Use A Jeweller’s Cloth To Buff Out Scratches On My Watch?

A jewellers cloth can buff out scratches on a watch, but only on a polished surface.

As I mentioned above, cape cod polishing clothes are pretty good, they can do a wide range of metals and will be fine for most watches.

If you have any brushed surfaces, then you will need to use the scotch brite I mentioned above.

Will Polishing My Watch Help Reduce The Appearance Of Scratches?

The short answer is yes, although, they don’t reduce “the appearance” they actually remove the scratches.

When you polish something, you are basically sanding it down with a super fine grit. When you polish a scratch you are basically removing the metal around the scratch, lowering all of this, so that everything is the same level as the depth of the scratch.

For shallow scuffs and mark, this is fine and easy to do. If you have a very deep scratch, this may not work as well as you would need to remove a lot of material to get things flat again. However, even doing some polishing can reduce the depth of the scratch, so it may not look as bad after, but it can be hard to get it to completely disappear.

Can I Remove Scratches From A Stainless Steel Watch At Home?

Yes you can.

If they are small scratches you can use either the cape cod polishing cloth or scotch brite on your stainless steel watch and restore either the polished or brushed finished.

If you have large deep scratches, these can be difficult to remove at home and you may need to take it to someone who has the right machinery to do the job. 

How Can I Remove Hairline Scratches From A High-Polished Watch?

My understanding is that a hairline scratch is going to be a very light, hard to see one …which means you should be able to remove it pretty easily.

If you use the cape cod polishing cloth I keep mentioning you should be able to get rid of a scratch like this pretty easily.

How Often Should I Buff Out Or Repair Scratches On My Watch?

Personally I think you shouldn’t worry about scratches …so never buff then out, although this is really down to personal preference.

I wouldn’t do it that often, I would wait until things get particularly bad or maybe every few years, like doing it at the same time as when you get the watch serviced. (Your watch maker could do both at the same time)

Really it comes down to personal preference, you could do it more often, or even every time you get a scratch, but I wouldn’t worry yourself with that, just doing it every now and again to freshen things up is probably more sensible.

Is It Possible To repaint Or Refinish A Watch Case To Hide Scratches?

Yes, it is very possible to refinish a watch, as I have mentioned you can re-polish and re-brush anything. It just depends how much of this you want to do. A lot of people do not like to do this with old watches, as it feels it removes the character, but you can do it if you want.

As for repainting… watches are not painted. Some watches are coated in certain things and you can redo this. You would need to get someone who knows what they are doing, as you need to remove all of the old coating and then reply it again.

If you are redoing a chrome coating, this needs all sorts of machinery so it’s not the easiest things you can do at home, but you can find people who will do this for you.

How Can I Prevent Scratches On The Crystal or Glass Of My Watch?

This is a tough one.

If you have a sapphire crystal, you can pretty much relax. You are never going to get a scratch on these.

If your crystal is made out of acrylic then it is pretty much going to get scratched at some point. Annoyingly most watches that have this style of crystal are vintage, or vintage inspired …which means they usually have a domed glass. This makes the chances of scratching it even higher, since it sits up like a bubble ….ready to get grazed against anything you get too close to.

So, really if your glass can get scratched there is not a lot you can do to prevent it. You just have to be careful and accept it will happen, and then buff them out if you do get any scratches.

Should I Use Toothpaste To Remove Scratches From My Watch?

You can use toothpaste to remove scratches from an acrylic crystal, so if the glass of your watch is scratched, toothpaste and a cloth can help.

Just put a little bit on and gently rub in onto the glass in little circles with a cloth and it will slowly buff out any small scratches.

Toothpaste will not work on the metal areas, so don’t waste your time trying that.

Does Using Toothpaste To Remove Scratches Actually Work?

Yes, toothpaste will actually work on the glass of your watch, if it is made from acrylic. 

The toothpaste basically acts like a fine sandpaper and when you rub it in with a cloth it acts like an abrasive and slowly sands down some of the plastic (acrylic is a type of plastic).

Basically you are removing the glass around the scratch, sanding the whole area down so that it is level with the scratch and then everything is flat again.

This is why it doesn’t really work for very deep scratches, as you would need to remove quite a lot of material to level things off, and you may actually need to do that with sandpaper.

Of course as you are sanding things away, the glass will get thinner and thinner each time. Toothpaste only removed a teeny tiny layer, so you don’t really need to worry about this too much.

Are There Any Transparent Films or Protectors Available For Watches?

This is an interesting question. When it comes to smart watches, I believe there is a bunch of different screen protectors exactly like the ones you can get for your phone.

As for normal watches, no such thing exists. A lot of watches are made with sapphire crystals, which are scratch resistant. If you have an acrylic crystal then scratching is very likely but you can easily buff these out and restore the glass back to pretty much new. 

Will Using A Screen Protector Prevent Watch Scratches?

As I just mentioned, these are for smart watches and I think they only cover the screen, so I imagine the rest of the watch could get scratched.

However, these watches are designed for short term use. After a few years they will become obsolete, so I wouldn’t really worry too much about them. 

Will Using A Screen Protector Affect The Touch Sensitivity Of My Smart watch?

I have no idea to be honest. I assume that the screen protectors work in the exact same way as the one for your phone and you don’t even notice they are there and they do not affect any performance.

Is It Worth Replacing Or Refinishing A Heavily Scratched Watch?

This really comes down to personal preference and the watch in question.

If it is an expensive watch, or has a lot of sentimental value, you are probably not going to just throw it away and replace it. It is going to make more sense to get it refinished and pay some to do a good job on it.

However, if it’s a cheap watch that you are not really attached to and its easily replaced …this may be more economically viable than paying for the scratches to be buffed out.

Really it comes down you and what you decide, there is no right or wrong with this.     

Conclusion

There were some great questions there and hopefully now you understand everything around scratches on your watch.

If there is something you are still unsure about, just ask and we can try and answer it.