Replacement LED crystal

[bucko170]

Are replacement red crystals still available for LED watches, I have a few old LED's that are let down by the scratches on the crystals, I've tried Displex and Polywatch polish with limited success - it got rid of the scratches but also got rid of the smooth top coating on the crystal, without which the crystal looks just as bad as it did with the scratches.
It's the common round shaped crystals that I need, I've tried EBAY & google without any luck.
Any Ideas?

[retroleds]

I've tried Displex and Polywatch polish with limited success - it got rid of the scratches but also got rid of the smooth top coating on the crystal, without which the crystal looks just as bad as it did with the scratches.

I'm wondering what grade of Displex you were using - most plastic polishes come in course(usuaually white-ish) and fine(usuaully reddish/orange). And a final polishing is usually needed after that. And no power buffers - they can quickly built up too much heat and leave a less than pretty finish. I discussed some of it here.
http://www.thedigitalwatch.com/Archives ... ip_003.htm

[bucko170]

Will the method described restore a crystal even though the protective layer has been removed?

[retroleds]

bucko:

Few(none?) of the plastic crystals came with a protective coating back then. However, it has been a common practice by some, to paint over a scratched up plastic crystal with a clear acrylic laquer or clear nail polish. That is probably what you are seeing. The plastic can be brought back to a very nice shine.....like anything, it takes practice.
Get it as shiny as you can and wear it for a while. Then try again.

[azimuth_pl]

some producers used very hard acrylic crystals where Polywatch/Displex will require a long time to achieve a good result. so if they are very scratched, I'd recommend to grind them down with some abrasive paper or sponge.
Polish afterwards.

[LEDluvr]

bucko, I've used Janvil as recommended in the Tips section of this website on my Texas Instruments LED crystals and it worked great. That another possible product you could try.

[bucko170]

Followed the advice on the page and had a go at cleaning the crystals with fantastic results - didn't realise they could look so good again!
Thanks for all the words of wisdom.
I used a combination of fine wet & dry abrasive paper and a plastic restorer called Novus.
I couldn't find Janvil!
Thanks Bucko

[xevious]

Bucko, thanks for posting a follow-up with your results. I'm glad you were able to restore your watch crystal.

Does the Novus polish actually eliminate fine surface scratches and is sufficient to use if no deeper scratches exist? I've got a few such minor blemishes on my Casio LCD watch and using a fine grit sandpaper seems a bit of an extreme.

[bucko170]

The Novus kit has 3 different bottles, which are -

Stage 3 - To remove deep scratches.
Stage 2 - To remove light scratches.
Stage 1 - To polish and protect.

I used fine abrasive paper to begin with which leaves very fine scratches on the crystal giving it a 'cloudy' appearance, I then used Stage 2 which removed the 'cloudy' appearance and restored the translucency back to the crystal, finally finishing off with Stage 1 to give it a final buff.

It worked well for me - loads better than displex & polywatch.

[xevious]

Ah, ok... so the fine sanding essentially removes a microscopic layer that equalizes any existing scratches, followed by the #2 Novus to then smooth out the fine abrasions created by the sandpaper?

I discovered that I actually have this stuff (I had used it on fountain pen bodies about a year ago) and will first try #2 on its own to see if that does anything. If not, then I'll give maybe 12000 grit sandpaper a try beforehand. What grit sandpaper did you use?