Titanium scratches..??

[Robocop]

I was very happy to recently receive a very nice titanium watch made by Victorinox (Swiss Army) and just really like this watch but.....

With a few weeks of easy daily use the band is showing bad wear with scratches. I know one big advantage of Ti is lighter weight however I always thought Ti was better because it was tougher to wear or scratch. Is this wear normal for this watch or is this maybe a sub standard version of Ti? I have searched on line and found very little about the scratch resistant properties of different versions of Ti. I kind of thought all Ti was basically the same as far as toughness or at least thought the lowest grade of Ti was still better than other metals for scratch or wear resistance.

I have a plain old stainless band that did not show wear such as this so early and I am a little confused with this my first Ti watch. Is it possible the scratches are some type of coating wearing off the Ti band.? Any ideas as to maybe polishing the band for better results?

 

[B@rt]

Ti is tough in the sense of breaking and flexing, but it's also softer, so it scratches easier.

 

[Anglepoise]

Natural Ti as it comes off the lathe is remarkably tolerant to scratches.
I am not familiar with the exact watch you have but many makers 'treat' the Ti to give it a slight surface change. Some of these additions are 'bead blasting' and a bead blast finish will appear to mark up quite easily.
Also there are many different types of Ti.
That said, SS is far more resistant to scratches from every day use and the benefits from using Ti might be just the weight saving.

 

[Kiessling]

Ti scratches. But it won't bend or break.
Cosmetically, this might be a problem, functionally it isn't.
Some say you can easily polish it again to remove the scratches.
bernie

 

[tino_ale]

I kind of thought all Ti was basically the same as far as toughness

Not all the alloy of titanium are the same, otherwise people would not have created different alloys in the first place. There's significant difference between these grades, for example grade 5 is quite significantly stronger than CP titanium but on the other hand CP has higher resistance to chemicals...

or at least thought the lowest grade of Ti was still better than other metals for scratch or wear resistance.

Well it all depends on which metal you are comparing it to?!! People tend to think that titanium is the best you can get for toughness and that at the same time it is very lightweigh. In fact titanium is very interresting mainly for it's strenght to weight RATIO (and it's non-reactiveness to many chemicals), not it's weight (aluminium for example is much lighter) nor it's strengh (many steel alloys are ridiculously tougher than titanium).

 

[Robocop]

Thanks for the replies and I have just learned alot about titanium after researching this issue. I thought that the higher cost associated with ti products was for the toughness and did not hesitate at all when this watch was purchased. I have now read that many Ti products will scratch however have other qualities that are desired.

The one thing I have noticed is that the Titanium watch in question actually feels very different on my wrist. It seems to feel more silky or even a little warmer when wearing it rather than the harsh coldness of stainless steel.

From looking closer with a magnified lens it seems as if these scratches may be some type of coating coming off. Most of the scratches are on the bottom of the clasp with a few on the actual bracelet links. Regardless I am a little shocked about this information as I was really not that educated on Titanium and honestly thought it was simply indestructable. I guess I learn something new every day and thanks again for the replies.

 

[tino_ale]

a little warmer when wearing it rather than the harsh coldness of stainless steel.

Yes, skin contact with titanium generally doesn't give as much "cold feel" and feels warmer than some other metal. This is due to it's relatively low thermal conductivity, which basically means it sucks the heat slower from your skin.

Titanium is an interresting material, like I said mainly for it's strengh to weight ratio. But it is just NOT what some people think it is : the toughest metal available or an undestructable material... it is simply not. I suspect also that the very high material cost make people overrate sometimes this metal.

I believe for the "warm" feel a titanium watch is pretty cool. Quite expensive though! Which model do you have?

 

[Robocop]

Tino I was shocked to find Titanium was not what I thought it was however I do like the watch. This is my normal wear watch and not a duty watch so it should be just fine. Of all the things I have read on Titanium I now see many watches that scratch easily. I think the most attractive quality for me personally is the color of the metal....I like the brushed satin gray look.

I have the Wenger model shown in the link below
http://www.kenmarwatches.com/wenger-72619.html

 

[easilyled]

I think that it is very likely that the watch has a bead blasted finish
which has been suggested by one of the posters earlier.

This has a darker matt look compared to non-bead blasted.

Unfortunately, the bead blasted finish does scratch easily and the
scratches are quite conspicuous

However a non-bead blasted finish (eg. like on a Ti-PD-S) is far less
obvious when scratched and can be buffed out very easily.

Therefore although I like the appearance of bead-blasted Ti objects
very much, I tend to avoid buying them.

 

[Stillphoto]

You may want to give an eraser a try. Yes the pink eraser on a #2 does help to buff out some small scratches.

Be mindful however that if you think its a coating that got scratched that you might buff off said coating. However, having owned a ti watch, the scratches on mine appeared to be a bit lighter than the metal itself, as the scratch showed fresh ti compared to the body which had changed color slightly over time due to oil buildup etc.

Just thought I'd try to put in my $.02 .

 

[Bunk3r]

I have a Titanium Ring and have found that although you do get surface scratches once you have a lot of use out of it they all blend in and the finish looks great again, the Ti seems hard so none of the scratches are deep, compared to my steel ring which now looks more battered with deeper scratches.

 

[J!m]

Scotch-brite pads (get the grey or red colored one) do an excellent job of replacing the machine brushed finish on Ti watches.

If it is Nitrided, it will be far more scratch resistant than stainless, but this is an expensive process, so is often not done (even on high-end watches).

Take the scotch-brite pad and move in one direction only (usually the 'long' way on the band or case) and check your work often. Keep the watch rinsed clean with water while you work, and take your time.

I have an Omega Seamaster GMT (among others) and the bracelet clasp on that one is large, and a real scratch magnet. About once a year I carefully 're-scratch it' with a red scotch-brite pad, and it looks as good as new again.

Remember not to go crazy over the scratches, as you are removing a slight bit of metal every time you do this. Also, mega-deep scratches may require a multi-step procedure beginning with 400 grit paper, and working up to 600 and finally the scotch-brite.

Check out www.watchtalkforums.info for tons of info on watches, from collectors and users like me!

 

[tino_ale]

Just for ref : on this pic, you can see the raw machined finish (pletty shiny) vs. the bead blasted finis (dark grey).

 

[65535]

Titanium takes finishes well including scratches, but I think the benefits especially in a watch are usually worth it.

 

[Robocop]

If these scratches become worse I may try the scotch-brite pad and thanks for the idea. It really is just a mild concern right now as the scratches are not that noticeable however I fear they will grow worse over time. I am mostly angry or should say dissapointed that this Titanium watch scratches much easier than my 60 dollar G-Shock....for me this Ti watch was expensive and I kind of expected more as far as the finish was concerned.

I really believe that I was simply unaware as to what Titanium actually is and like many believed it to be some type of super tough metal. I do see the advantages to a Ti watch however had no idea it was such a soft metal in its natural form.

 

[Bunk3r]

It really is just a mild concern right now as the scratches are not that noticeable however I fear they will grow worse over time.

as I say when there's enough of them they arent as noticeable. -As per the example above with my rings. Also my wife has a stainless steel watch that had a polished finish, after a week it looked bad from the scratches, once the scratches were evenly covering the watch it looked fine, and still does to this day 3 years later. You can buff out the scratches but you'll spend your life polishing, I would just live with it.

 

[Robocop]

I tried the eraser on the clasp and it did blend the scratches a small amount and kind of changed the actual color to a lighter tone. The more I look closely at the clasp area it does not really look like scratches and looks more like some type of coating rubbing off or maybe scratching off. When I rub my finger over it there is a smooth feeling and does not feel at all like scratches.

I now believe that over time this weathered look will even out and will look just fine over time. Thanks for the tips and it seems as if maybe I am over reacting as I tend to do with my higher priced toys.