Brushing a polished surface
Hi diy-ers! Asking for advice.
My next build will be a field(ish) watch. I already have a case and is currently waiting for dial, hands and a movement to arrive.
The case is made of polished 316L stainless steel.
I want to make it somewhat true to the original premise, ie. a bushed case. I want to use this particular case since I like the design.
Is there a simple way to add brushing to the case? I've seen a few YT's where they used everything from scotch brite to polishing machines. Do a simple scoth brite pad really scratch 316L steel? I have a dremel but no polishing machine.
The obvious answer is to buy a case that's brushed already, but the thing is I couldn't find one that I liked with the correct specs. 40 mm, for NH35 and a dial from 28.5 mm to 29 mm in size.
I like the end result to look like or close to this:
Just a watch nerd. And a deadlifting cyber security specialist.
If you have some spare silverware around, it's probably 18/8 and pretty much the same thing. Experiment on that. There are different coarseness of abrasive pads. A polished case will get scuffed up to some degree by almost any abrasive. The conundrum is that the coarser it is, the more obvious any grain direction flaws will be.
I've never polished a watch case before. But I have match brushed finishes on stainless steel before. All of those ideas you mentioned will work. The scotch brite would probably be the easiest and most forgiving. I'd be afraid of a dremel for the simple fact it would hard to control and could make deep marks. What you need to do is practice first. Get an old watch case or a piece of stainless and figure out how hard to push. Find out what Scotch Brite or sandpaper works best. Do you need to make one complete pass so you don't get an overlap brush mark. You're going to get a feel for it so when you start on your new case you'll have some confidence. Good luck. I hope this helps.