A Question For The Watch Folks Here

[thor447]

The next project on my bench is a 1968 Seiko Sea Lion M330. The dial and hands are original and in stunning condition, the movement is in pretty decent shape, but there is some brass peeling away from the lower arbor port in the main plate, so a jewel upgrade is in order. My question is about the case. This watch was certainly loved and worn a lot, and it shows it's age. There are some significant scratches. It does not appear to have been refinished in it's lifetime. I'm on the fence about doing any case work, but leaning towards giving it a go. If this watch your personal watch, would you rather keep the case in it's original (albeit poor) condition, or sand it down and refinish it?

 

[raeken45]

Refinish the case. That dial is really neat and a nice case would set it off. Plus, then you can put your own scratches on it!

 

[Bocephus123]

refinish

 

[kingfish]

Refinish absolutely

 

[harley128]

Refinish

 

[El Pablo]

Another vote for Refinish

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Since its a marine style watch I’d restore it in anodized blue.

 

[xseler]

I guess my question is would it be profitable to spend the time, effort, and money to refinish the case? This answer would be my answer.

 

[LDA.45]

Make It Like New!!

 

[coolhandluke]

Unless all of the blemishes can be removed, I'd leave it as-is. Nothing looks worse than dings and scratches that are only partially removed and have an unnatural looking buffed appearance. There's metal loss on some of those edges, so it's never going to look like new again. Honest wear looks better, especially on a case of that age IMO.