Fixing a ding on Ti

[viper]

Hi All,

I accidentally made a few dings near the lugs of my Pam 192, is there a way to smoothen things out? The dings are pretty obvious. The threads on the Ti lugs were worn out as usual, and I forced a thicker screw pin into the lug ends, the screwdriver slipped.......

Thanks!

[sssurfer]

I never worked on titanium, but I suppose that some fine sandpaper would make the job. You need to figure out what grain is needed for the final finish i.e. to give the area where you worked the same brushed look as the remaining surface. Most likely grain between 600 and 1200.

[Usil]

I think this is going to be tricky. Most of the Titainium reps I have seen have varrying degrees of finish that all look different (rough, smooth). Removing the ding is probably not going to be difficult but recreating the same finish as the rest of the watch will probably take some experimentation. You may even find that you will have to refinish the entire watch to make it look the same. If this occurs, look to match the finish of a gen and not the rep.

Good luck.

Usil

[viper]

I never worked on titanium, but I suppose that some fine sandpaper would make the job. You need to figure out what grain is needed for the final finish i.e. to give the area where you worked the same brushed look as the remaining surface. Most likely grain between 600 and 1200.

Thanks for the info regarding the sandpaper, will try it out in a couple of hours.

[viper]

I think this is going to be tricky. Most of the Titainium reps I have seen have varrying degrees of finish that all look different (rough, smooth). Removing the ding is probably not going to be difficult but recreating the same finish as the rest of the watch will probably take some experimentation. You may even find that you will have to refinish the entire watch to make it look the same. If this occurs, look to match the finish of a gen and not the rep.

Good luck.

Usil

Thank you, I suppose a dark tone would suffice, I'll give it a shot.

[Usil]

Make sure to show pictures to us before and after. This can be an important tutorial for all of us. Tell us what you did, what you used, the process and what was the results.

Usil

[FxrAndy]

Why not just leave it, even gens get dings, it can add character, i dont mean neglect your watches but they should be allowed to age a little.

[Guest avitt]

Why not just leave it, even gens get dings, it can add character, i dont mean neglect your watches but they should be allowed to age a little.

I used to refinish my 118 (including the removal of dings) every few months with a pen eraser, and lots of elbow grease. Now, I'm just letting them accumulate. They do add character...

[FxrAndy]

Glad some one supported this view, but im expecting a slating for it, Thanks Avitt

[tmg]

I'm with FX and Avitt; wear the ding as a badge of honor, it happens and shows that its lived in

[Amplitude]

Working with Ti is like machining angry, frozen peanut butter. You should leave it or replace the part if you can't live with it.