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Cleaning Polished Titanium Apple Watch Series 10

FrankySavvy

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 4, 2010
1,615
807
Long Island, NY
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.
 
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sscheuf

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2021
7
5
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.
 
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sscheuf

macrumors newbie
Feb 9, 2021
7
5
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.
 
ufgatorvet

ufgatorvet

macrumors 6502
Oct 1, 2010
302
374
Savannah, GA
sscheuf said:
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.
Click to expand...
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

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 4, 2010
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Long Island, NY
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.
 
ProbablyDylan

ProbablyDylan

macrumors 65816
Mar 26, 2024
1,476
2,886
Los Angeles
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.
 
M

mc2000

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2015
14
40
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

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 4, 2010
1,615
807
Long Island, NY
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

BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,217
9,068
Arizona/Illinois
FrankySavvy said:
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?
Click to expand...
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
 
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FrankySavvy

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 4, 2010
1,615
807
Long Island, NY
BugeyeSTI said:
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
Click to expand...
Is Titanium naturally that color underneath?
 
BugeyeSTI

BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,217
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Arizona/Illinois
FrankySavvy said:
Is Titanium naturally that color underneath?
Click to expand...
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/img_0282-jpeg.2430569/
1729630970800.jpeg


 
BugeyeSTI

BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,217
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Arizona/Illinois
FrankySavvy said:
Seems very close, so technically if you polished too much of the PVD coating it would be the same color underneath, so?
Click to expand...
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

FrankySavvy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 4, 2010
1,615
807
Long Island, NY
@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

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,217
9,068
Arizona/Illinois
FrankySavvy said:
@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.
Click to expand...
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
 
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