Sosakonline Archive

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    As seen in the USB Reincarnation article this month, Rotokid’s new scale polish is pretty neat, and well worth an article of it’s own!  I decided to write this to show the collectors out there how well it works- unfortunately I’ll probably end up sounding like Ron Popeil through most of it, so please bear with me!


    The subject of this article was supposed to be my trusty green Wenger Esquire, last seen in the “Ever Lost a SAK” article a few months ago- this little SAK and I have been through a lot together, although nowadays it’s pretty well been retired in favor of the Swiss Clipper.  Still, the translucent scales are a perfect candidate for refurbishment, and this trusty little SAK does deserve some respect.  However, due to my limited photography skills, I ended up using a translucent blue Victorinox Classic SD, which allowed the difference to stand out a bit better.


As you can see, the rivets on the right side in this photo are more clearly defined than those on the left.

    Ordinarily I prefer not to carry translucent models- they look beautiful when new, but quickly wear down to what I consider to be an unflattering cloudiness that makes me long for solid scales.  As this one was usually carried in my watch pocket, it isn’t nearly as bad as many are, so as usual, your results may vary.

    I started off by putting a layer of tape over one side of the scale to show a before and after, then quickly polished the scale with a very minute glob of Rotokid’s Scale Polish, and you can see the results after only a few seconds of rubbing.  After about 30 seconds or so you end up with only the deepest of scratches remaining, which is pretty darned good!



    Peeling the tape off you can see the HUGE difference it makes, with only a simple little glob and a paper towel.  Using an actual polishing cloth or chamois will get you even finer results, but I have to say I am very happy with the results from just this most basic application.  While I still prefer solid colors to translucent scales, I am nevertheless quite pleased with how easy it was to get them looking great again.

    One other interesting thing to note is that the silk screened shield on the Esquire did not suffer any damage, while even a light sandpaper would have likely removed it whole or in part.


You can see the faint line going across the scale showing which half was polished and which half wasn't

    But wait, that's not all!  Oh wait, yes it is!  A special thanks to Tom (aka Rotokid) for finding this great polish, testing it and for making it available to members.