If you like to buy premium watches, then you probably like to get them cleaned at the watch store. The watch cleaning at the store is always costly than cleaning it yourself. Professional watchmaker makes use of a variety of polishing tools to remove scratches, dirt marks, and dents.
Not like an expert but you can be your watch cleaner with the use of a good cleaning cloth and polishing solution. Many people use a nylon cloth to clean a watch which may not be the best option. You might try using a cotton or linen cloth because of its smooth texture that gives your watch shine without any damage.
There are lots of products available in the market to clean the watch like buffing balls, cotton cloth, Cape Cod cloth, brushes, and polishing liquid. You can buy any of them cheaply on Amazon for cleaning bands, bezel, glass, and case back of the watches. If you are not aware which one is best among them then go through this article to explore the best options.
Quick links to specific parts of the article
- Best Cloth To Clean Watches
- Best Polishing Solution For Cleaning Watches
- Things To Avoid While Cleaning The Watch
- Best Ways To Clean The Watch Yourself
- FAQs
Best Cloth To Clean Watches
As per the type of wristwatch, you need to use an appropriate type of cloth. However, you need to be careful while using them as the watch can get scratches if used with rough hands. Here are some watch cleaning cloths that you can use to maintain your wristwatch and give it a new look.
1. Cape Cod Cloth (For Metal Watches)
Most of the watches come with metal bands that get scratches easily and that’s why Cape Cod cloth is required. It has been an important watch maintenance product for all watch lovers around the world.
This cloth is really helpful to bring back a scratched watch to its earlier version. However, Cape Cod is suitable for metal band watches only because of its hard texture, don’t use it for fabric or leather bands.
It is easy to use the Cape Cod cloths. All you need to do is to cut a small cloth piece from the main-sized cloth and rub the cloth around the scratched area of the watch. It removes one or two thin layers of the metal and levels it to the depth of the scratch. And this process makes the watch scratch-free. If there are some deep scratches then you need to do it with more force and it may take time to remove them, based on how deep the scratches are.
After a while, you will notice that the cloth will turn black. You don’t need to worry about it as it indicates the dirt accumulated on the watch is absorbed by the cloth. After you finish the polishing, use a soft cloth for a final touch. You will witness that your hard work paid off as the watch will look brand new.
You can wash the Cape Cod cloth with soap or detergent to clean it. After drying it, you can put the cloth back in its zipline pack for future use.
2. Mayflower Ultra-Cotton Cloth (For Cleaning Watches With Leather Strap)
Ultra-cotton cloth is the softest polishing cloth for the watches. The inner surface of this cloth is composed of non-toxic ingredients that keep you and your watch safe from harsh chemicals. It is a double flannel cloth; the inner white color side consists of cleaning ingredients for polishing whereas the outer grey color side provides the final shine. Because of the presence of polishing flannel, you don’t need a separate polishing liquid with this cloth.
To clean the leather band, you need to place it on a soft cloth and rub it with this Mayflower product. The ultra-cotton cloth consists of small pores which capture the dust particles easily. While rubbing, the cloth will get dirty and give your watch’s leather strap a new-like shine.
Also, due to the soft texture, this cloth doesn’t result in wearing off your expensive watch’s leather band.
3. Abethe Microfiber Cloth (For Cleaning Luxury Watches Like Rolex)
If you are looking for a good cleaning cloth for taking care of your luxury watches like Rolex and Omega then microfiber cloth is the best option. Microfiber cloths are made up of soft micro-woven materials which are able to easily absorb and remove dust particles, oil marks, dirt, and fingerprints.
Using a microfiber cloth is really easy. Take out a little amount of the polish solution in a dish and soak a small area of the cloth in it. Rub the wet area of the cloth on the watch face, band, and corners. After you complete rubbing with the wet part, you can start cleaning the watch with the dry part of the cloth till the solution on the watch surface is evaporated. When all the solution gets evaporated from the watch, you will see that the band and glass start to shine.
It is recommended that initially, you must polish a hidden area of the watch in a gentle manner to ensure that you are satisfied with the result and then continue to polish the other parts of the watch.
4. MAXI CLEAN Cleaning Wipes (For Glass Cleaning)
These wipes are pre-moistened with polish so you don’t need to buy a polishing solution separately. But before using these wipes, you need to clean the watch with a dry cloth. As these wipes are pre-moistened, they don’t remove the dirt but only provide shine.
Using these wipes is really easy as each of them comes in individual packing. Just open the plastic bag, take out the wipe and rub it on the watch glass as well as the leather strap with gentle hands. Don’t run the wipe at one place only, try to cover the complete watch otherwise the polish will run out at a single area only. When you complete wiping, let the watch dry itself in the open air for a while.
Note: Don’t touch the watch surface while drying or else it will get fingerprints.
5. NUIPIKA Buffing Balls (Suitable for Deep Cleaning)
These buffing balls are small in size and suitable for rotary cleaning of the watch. Due to their soft and puffy material, they adjust with various shapes while cleaning a surface to make the cleaning easy and better.
These buffing balls are mostly used for the cleaning of the inner machinery. Just open the watch’s case back and rotate the balls all around the machine gears to make it dirt-free. But please do it with smooth movements otherwise it may damage the gadgetry.
These buffing balls can clean those surfaces too which are hard to reach with a cloth or brush.
6. Simple Shine Brush (For Delicate Surfaces)
No doubt the cloths and solution we have discussed above can make your watch as clean as a whistle. But the problem is that these cloths cannot reach each and every part of the watch and such parts still remain dirty. But don’t worry these horsehair brushes can reach even the distant parts of the watch like the gap between band links, and corners of the watch.
The brushes are made of horsehair which is a brittle yet gentle material that cleans your watch without leaving scratches. So you can use it to clean the hard-to-reach and detail areas of your luxury watch without any worries.
Best Polishing Solution For Cleaning Watches
Weiman Polishing Liquid (For Shining The Watch)
Weiman Jewelry Cleaner is a gentle formula that contains a mixture of ammonia, and other surfactants to remove dirt as well as to restore the lost shine of the watch. The product uses the finest and fast-reacting ingredients to quickly remove dirt, tarnish marks, soap marks, and rust from your jewelry, and watches.
Just place your watch in a tray and pour a little amount of liquid on it. Let the liquid cover your watch completely. As time passes, you will notice that the liquid color will change. This happens due to the absorbate properties of the liquid which absorbs all the dust and rust from the watch. Now, you can take your watch out of the tray and wipe it with a dry cloth.
Note: Use this liquid to clean water-resistant watches only.
Things To Avoid While Cleaning The Watch
1. Rough Cleaning
You should handle your watch gently while cleaning with cotton, linen, or Cape Cod cloth or else it may result in scratches.
Do not over-rub the watch case or band; it may affect the natural finish of the watch.
2. Improper Handling of Chemicals (Polishing Solution)
Chemicals are toxic in nature and may cause harm to your sensitive skin. Wear gloves while using them.
Best Ways To Clean Your Watch Yourself
I am pretty sure that you have found all the answers regarding cleaning a watch. But if you are looking for the best cloth from the listed products to clean your watch then I would suggest you pick the microfiber cloth from Mayflower. As it captures the dust particles easily in its micro-pores and gives a great cleaning effect. You can also use this cloth with the polish solution to give your timepiece a brand new look.
Cleaning a watch is easy as compared to removing the scratches from metal bands. But they can be removed with the use of Cape Cod cloth. This cloth can make your watch free from deep scratches within minutes. But beware, the rubbing of Cape Cod cloth can affect the finishing and shine of the watch.
Also, there is an exception that neither microfiber nor Cape Cod can clean the accumulated dirt between the gaps. So, to clean these gaps you need a Horsehair brush. It is best known for the cleaning of unreachable gaps and areas of the watch as well as the band.
FAQs
Which Cotton Cloth Is Good To Clean The Watch Screen?
Mayflower ultra-cotton cloth is good for watch cleaning. Because of the soft and smooth quality, this cloth not only cleans the dirt but also prevents further scratches while cleaning.
Does Cape Cod Remove The Scratches?
Yes, Cape Cod cloth removes the scratches but only on the metal band watches. You can’t use it on leather or fabric bands.
Cotton Cloth VS Microfiber Cloth: Which Is The Better
Microfiber is better than cotton cloth because of its ability to absorb dust and oil smudges from the watch band and glass.
Do I Need To Wash The Cleaning Cloth Before Use?
Yes, you should wash the cleaning cloth before using it on the watch otherwise the dirt of the cloth will stick to the watch.
Should We Clean The Watch With A Dry Cloth Or Wet Cloth?
The watch must be cleaned with a dry cloth first to remove dirt and then it can be polished. A wet cloth can affect the watch gadgetry because of the moisture specially if your watch is not water-resistant.
