Good topic Jeff.....as most have said previously its all down to preference, pretty much the replies i had when i mentioned relumeing dials and hands or keeping them original.

I've done some 'light polishing' as you mention but only on the sides of cases where its easy to control the amount of metal you remove and only by hand, no machines involved but its not easy to do, very time consuming and it makes me appreciate even more the skill involved in doing a full case as Abel and other skilled people can achieve.

I've also had a few cases re-finished by Abel and to be honest they are immaculate and i've been more than happy with them, his work is outstanding and i'd be wary of letting anyone else undertake a full case re-finish without seeing the work they have previously done first....sure Abel can supply some pics to the thread of cases he has done previously, impressive in pictures, more-so in the hand up close.

Some watches i'm happy to leave as-is and others that may be badly scarred/damaged then its an option if needed but i don't have a preference as such.

As for machinery, i know a lapping machine is involved in restoring cases to factory finish and i suspect a lot of Watch houses have these too, anyhow there is a thread on TZ-UK by forum poster Gary who is friends with a chap called Rocco, he is a watchmaker and has just purchased a lapping machine, Gary kindly let me use his pics and if you can work out how to use it then it only costs £30,000 to buy one, lol.

Here's the link to that thread.......

http://www.tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=221567&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

I suspect even if you could afford a machine, then there is the added training/skills needed to even use it, so hats off to Abel and Rocco as well as anyone else who does this type of work, i get a bead of sweat across the brow whenever i take some 400 grit wet/dry across the sides of my cases, lol.

Regards,

James.