I recently purchased this watch Waltham from Eugene Buffard because of it's dismal (sorry Gene ) appearance. But when I saw it for sale I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. You see, my interest was in the appearance of the case itself as I was wanting to try my hand at surface restoration.
This case fit the bill perfectly as it was cheaply priced, and did not appear to have any dings or other damage except for the surface degradation. The front screw down cover appeared rusty and pitted, and the back cover looked just as bad, but had what I thought was a dried sticker type substance on it. I also knew that this would be a perfect candidate since it still had the old plastic crystal that had since turned Green, leading me to believe that the watch had gone untouched for some time.
When I received the watch in the mail a few days later I was happily surprised to find the case in worse shape than I had originally thought it would be. The rear lid did not have a dried substance on it but instead appeared so deeply pitted that it looked like someone had tried their hand at hand engraving.
After giving the case an initial deep cleaning, I began the surface prep with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper, slowly sanding away the rust and pitting and eventually arriving at this point

After sanding through the crud with the 400 grit I began using a 600 grit paper in the same back and forth direction, and in no time at all I was here

Pleased with the results thus far, I broke out a soft cloth and began hand polishing it using a semi abrasive aluminum polish and quickly had most of the sanding marks polished out.

Next, I broke out a liquid polish called "Wicked Products Lightning Shine Metal Polish. It's a non abrasive polish like Semi-Chrome or Flitz and was able to obtain this high gloss mirror like shine within seconds.

The case still has a few very light pits in it but overall, I am very pleased with the results thus far. I plan to give it another quick sanding and polishing tomorrow and I am hopeful that I will come out with what will look like a new case. I will post pictures once completed.

The case is an 18 size Fahys No 1 Ore Silver case.

Wow, Ray, looking good.

Ray:

Just for your information there is a 2000 grit paper available, which if used with either oil or water becomes at least a 3000 grit.

I got mine at the local body & fender repair shop and it really is a great tool to have for that last rub before the polish.

Marty
- 30 -

Great results, Ray. That's the nice thing about silverode cases - you can just keep sanding them down until all the flaws are gone.

I use 5000-grit when sanding hands out for re-bluing.

Fascinating!

Super Great job, Ray....and you could do the same with a Coin or Sterling Silver case as well....

Regards,

Jerry

When I looked at what it looked like before, it just blew me away! Beautiful! Nice work Ray! Regards, Brad

Walmart usually carries 2000 grit paper in their autos part of the store. I usually start with this followed with a polishing cloth for very good results.

Jared

Ray,

Super nice job...

V/r

Jon

However using sandpaper on a sterling or a coin silver case would not be highly recommended...

Great post; this will inspire me to try this on some old silverodes that could look better...thx.

Thanks everyone for the fine comments. I may use a higher grit to get an even better polish on it. Jerry, you probably could use a 2000 grit or so on silver Or coin but i think i would stick with polish only because of possible material loss that will occur with sanding

That sure is a nice looking case for $30.00.

I will give you a full refund including shipping Both ways if you want to ship it back.

Yes Gene I got a deal on this one. Afraid I'll have to pass on the sale though