Cleaning Polished Titanium Apple Watch Series 10

[FrankySavvy]

Love the look of the natural titanium Apple Watch Series 10. How is everyone cleaning the watch case when it gets smudgy/dirty.

How is your watch holding up to scratches?

I am nervous to wipe it down and cause micro scratches.

 

[sscheuf]

Have had mine since launch day. A few minor scratches on the natural titanium. I expected it in the long run.

I clean it with just a microfiber cloth, sometimes I run it under warm water. I’ve done this since my day one S0.

 

[FrankySavvy]

I guess with any polished metal, micro scratches are expected. I am curious if you can polish them out.

 

[sscheuf]

Yeah I’m just not willing to try that until confirmed. It does kinda suck, coming from SSSB / Ultra 1 in the past as my daily drivers. Ultra showed scratches on the bezel but two years never any marks that I saw on the case.


Luckily the first scratch is the worst and now I’m moving on.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I guess with any polished metal, micro scratches are expected. I am curious if you can polish them out.

You can polish it but it's not recommended. It will remove or damage the PVD coating..

 

[ufgatorvet]

Yeah I’m just not willing to try that until confirmed. It does kinda suck, coming from SSSB / Ultra 1 in the past as my daily drivers. Ultra showed scratches on the bezel but two years never any marks that I saw on the case.


Luckily the first scratch is the worst and now I’m moving on.

Would you be able to post any pictures of this? I am sitting on the fence about which case material to get and am interested in how well these hold up as I keep my products for many refreshes. Thank you if you can!

 

[FrankySavvy]

Did Apple confirm if it is PVD coated? Maybe the natural titanium is not considering it may be the natural color of the metal itself.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Did Apple confirm if it is PVD coated? Maybe the natural titanium is not considering it may be the natural color of the metal itself.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/psa-the-pvd-coating-on-series-10-doesnt-seem-to-help-much-with-scratches.2436695/

 

[FrankySavvy]

No formal announcement from Apple, though, right?

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I wipe down with the Apple polishing cloth whenever I charge it. Wish they had kept the brushed look but I get why they went with polished.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

No formal announcement from Apple, though, right?

It was mentioned (at least for the titanium versions) in the Apple event for the iPhone 16's and watch 10...

Apple Events

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2, AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2 hearing health, AirPods Max.

www.apple.com

 

[FrankySavvy]

@BugeyeSTI thank you. I guess it depends on how thick the PVD layer is to see if you can polish the surface micro scratches that will appear over time.

 

[mc2000]

I'm using the Apple polishing cloth as well. It's my first polished Apple watch. I'm used to the aluminum ones or the Ultra but sold all of them for this new Series 10. I have been using it for 2 weeks, I take meticulously care of it but somehow, there are micro scratches on it. Those are visible on certain angles only. I believe it's the nicest model available so I will have to live with it! I would have a prefer a brushed finish.

 

[FrankySavvy]

Just spoke to an Apple support member on proper care of the finish.

Using a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75 percent ethyl alcohol wipe, or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, you may gently wipe the exterior surfaces of your Apple Watch

Also, I asked if you could polish the PVD coating.

No, you generally cannot polish out light scratches on a PVD coated watch as polishing will remove the coating itself, making it not recommended to try and buff out scratches on a PVD coated watch

I also confirmed that Apple Care+ does not cover scratches on the case itself.

Scratches are typically considered Cosmetic Damage (if they do not prohibit the device's function). AppleCare is most often reserved for Accidental Damages.

. . .


In years past, I have always had the silver stainless steel case. When there were scratches, I would be able to polish them out with a Cape Cod cloth. With the PVD-coated titanium finish, this seems to require more care. The natural titanium finish looks great; I absolutely love it. I understand there will be micro scratches, but what happens when you get a substantial scratch?

I would love to see if you can get away with light polishing without issue.

It has been a month; how has everyone polished Titanium finish been holding up?

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Just spoke to an Apple support member on proper care of the finish.

Using a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75 percent ethyl alcohol wipe, or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, you may gently wipe the exterior surfaces of your Apple Watch

Also, I asked if you could polish the PVD coating.

No, you generally cannot polish out light scratches on a PVD coated watch as polishing will remove the coating itself, making it not recommended to try and buff out scratches on a PVD coated watch

I also confirmed that Apple Care+ does not cover scratches on the case itself.

Scratches are typically considered Cosmetic Damage (if they do not prohibit the device's function). AppleCare is most often reserved for Accidental Damages.

. . .


In years past, I have always had the silver stainless steel case. When there were scratches, I would be able to polish them out with a Cape Cod cloth. With the PVD-coated titanium finish, this seems to require more care. The natural titanium finish looks great; I absolutely love it. I understand there will be micro scratches, but what happens when you get a substantial scratch?

I would love to see if you can get away with light polishing without issue.

It has been a month; how has everyone polished Titanium finish been holding up?

I've seen examples of U2 watches polished until they are mirror like. I suppose if you completely remove the PVD coating polishing would be possible to remove scratches. At least on the natural titanium version. The slate or gold most likely would show natural titanium under the color so polishing would be a no go

 

[FrankySavvy]

I've seen examples of U2 watches polished until they are mirror like. I suppose if you completely remove the PVD coating polishing would be possible to remove scratches. At least on the natural titanium version. The slate or gold most likely would show natural titanium under the color so polishing would be a no go

Is Titanium naturally that color underneath?

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Is Titanium naturally that color underneath?

https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/img_0282-jpeg.2430569/

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forums.macrumors.com

 

[FrankySavvy]

Seems very close, so technically if you polished too much of the PVD coating it would be the same color underneath, so?

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Seems very close, so technically if you polished too much of the PVD coating it would be the same color underneath, so?

So on the natural titanium watches you could polish the PVD off and polish the natural titanium. The slate, gold S10 or black U2 would show natural titanium if you polished the PVD off and then polished the color too deeply..

 

[FrankySavvy]

@BugeyeSTI Only time will tell how well these polished Titanium watches hold up. There have been minimal complaints about scracthes on macrumors and readit over the last month so that's a good sign that it holds up pretty well.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

@BugeyeSTI Only time will tell how well these polished Titanium watches hold up. There have been minimal complaints about scracthes on macrumors and readit over the last month so that's a good sign that it holds up pretty well.

It is a good sign. I realize some people are harder on their wearable devices then others so it's almost impossible to design a finish that can withstand everything thrown at it. My aluminum S6 had no scratches on the body but one noticeable scratch on the display. I definitely wouldn't mind having a sapphire crystal display on my next watch as that seems the easiest thing to damage on the aluminum versions