Need advice on removing polished surface on Watch

Rstripnieks

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Jun 18, 2016
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Austria
Hi,
I got a brand new watch to engrave ,I got amazing deal so I took it . Its a solid well made watch entirely out of stainless ,problem is with 2 surfaces
1.surface is laser engraved "Invicta Logo " on rear side it looks around 0,3 mm deep ,can and how can I remove it the best way?
And should I worry about removing mirror polish in middle parts of straps? I want to get satin finnish with 500 grit polishing paper :is it a good idea or not because I cant see what im drawing.
Anny other suggestions on preparing it for engraving?
Watch is Invicta 9223"speedway"
 

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dlilazteca

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On something so thin I would not remove it I would have it laser welded to fill in the gaps then sand it down then sand blasted to finish you like, or a hand rub finish.



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Andrew Biggs

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Unfortunately it's not such an amazing deal if you want to remove the Invicta logo/name

You have three choices with the Invicta logo

1. Remove it: Sandpaper and a truck load of time and effort and you run the very real risk of ruining the lines of the watch and destroying it. Start with rotary tools to rough it out then hand finish. It's a bigger job than you think!!

2. Fill it in: As Carlos said above

3. Incorporate it in the design: Inlay the Invicta logo with gold or something and draw/engrave all around it (that would be my personal choice)

Bracelet........Dull the surface down with modelling clay or platacine if you want to retain the polished finish. If you don't want the polished finish, then hit it with whatever you want. Polishing paper, sandpaper, etc etc.

Cheers
Andrew
 

Jkasal

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On something so thin I would not remove it I would have it laser welded to fill in the gaps then sand it down then sand blasted to finish you like, or a hand rub finish.



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I agree with this. It's what I do for these purposes. Works like a charm


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Rstripnieks

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I used Scotch brite Pad from 3M to give it Satin finnish,worked better than expected and it sanded curves nicely and evenly without making big dust or uneven finnish.
I will figure out what to do with invicta logo ,most likely include it in design.
Well I was looking for my watch to engrave and I saw this deal it was 500 usd before and I got it for 90
I checked it and it was brand new and not fake.
Im really excited about this project .
 

monk

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some jobs just aren't worth all the fuss one must go thru to complete it. just an honest opinion from a lazy guy. far easier to watch judge judy, or my fav-- test patterns.
 

vilts

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Well I was looking for my watch to engrave and I saw this deal it was 500 usd before and I got it for 90
I checked it and it was brand new and not fake.

Unfortunately that's what the Invicta's are actually worth. MSRP is hugely inflated, so online places give out these "deals" all the time.

I must also add, that I engraved one polished and gold plated Invicta some while ago. Wasn't too bad of a project :)
 

Rstripnieks

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Thank you Monk and Vilts for advices
Well I had my suspicions on actual worth of the invicta watches but when I got it I didnt regret buying it.
Its well made and nicely looking watch to engrave
I think its one of the best and highest quality I can get in that price range (80 bucks) its more like learning ,designing and engraving one watches im interested in than actually making big profit out of this project.
Is there a thread on this forum about preparing watches for engraving job? Like what can I dissasemble to make my experience easier ? (Havent found thread like this)
I got really inspired by your (Viljo) work on few watches and J.Ryalls work :its something I can look up to
Hope I can visit you Viljo one day when im in Latvia.
 

vilts

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Invictas are fine for practice, I started with much cheaper watches :)

But you could get quite nice Seiko 5's in that price range, just have to look around.

Anyhow. I'm not aware of any specific threads about preparing the watch for engraving. Quite often I engrave them fully assembled, just have to make fixtures so that no pressure is put on delicate parts like crown, crystal etc. I use mostly 3D printed fixtures in a vice. But thermoloc, wood and stuff like that will work fine if formed properly. Of course it's ideal to get it disassembled, but quite often the cyrstals are glued in and you'd need special tools to remove, put it back. Glue it etc etc. To be safe, you can have local watchmaker disassemble it for you.

Joanne does excellent work, doesn't she :)

Latvia isn't too far indeed, you can drop by. Hopefully it'll be one of the 2 nice weather days we have then...

Well I had my suspicions on actual worth of the invicta watches but when I got it I didnt regret buying it.
Its well made and nicely looking watch to engrave
I think its one of the best and highest quality I can get in that price range (80 bucks) its more like learning ,designing and engraving one watches im interested in than actually making big profit out of this project.
Is there a thread on this forum about preparing watches for engraving job? Like what can I dissasemble to make my experience easier ? (Havent found thread like this)
I got really inspired by your (Viljo) work on few watches and J.Ryalls work :its something I can look up to
Hope I can visit you Viljo one day when im in Latvia.
 

Omar Haltam

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i am a watch smith, and i don't think you need to take it apart, other than the band off to make it easier to get a good hold on the the watch case.
just for good measure you can put some masking tape on the round bezel and crystal to help in not getting scratches, just a small safely measure.
and the engraving in a bit deep so like andrew said it would take a lot of sanding, which would be a pain.
just incorporate the logo into your design like Andrew said, and it should look nice
 

Andrew Biggs

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If you don't know what you are doing dismantling and reassembling a watch............then get a professional to do it.

Like Vilts, I also engrave some watches fully assembled. Some are easier than others. My first preference is to have the watch dismantled but that can be problematic for some. Always protect the areas that are not to be engraved with something soft like electrical tape.

I realise that you are doing this for yourself...........But when engraving a watch fully assembled there is always a risk of the vibration/hammering causing disruption to the movement. It hasn't happened to me yet but there is a first time for everything so always keep that in mind when working on more expensive watches. :)

Cheers
Andrew
 
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