My white G-Shock looked like it went through a mud wrestling match after camping last weekend. Grease stains on the band, weird grime around the buttons, and overall kinda yellowish. Gross. Decided it was time to clean it proper instead of just wiping with my t-shirt like I usually do.
Gathering My Cleaning Weapons
First I rummaged through my cabinets finding stuff:
Dish soap (the blue Dawn stuff under my sink)
Toothbrush (my old electric one with busted batteries)
Microfiber cloth (the free one from my last glasses purchase)
Toothpick (stolen from the kitchen junk drawer)
Warm water (not hot – heard hot water messes with the resin)
The Operation Begins
Popped the watch off my wrist. Filled my bathroom sink with warm water and squirted in two drops of soap. Dunked the whole watch in there – yep, totally submerged it like the forums say you can. Let it soak for 5 minutes while I scrolled Instagram.
Grabbed my old toothbrush and went to town:
Scrubbed the band first – back and forth along each link groove
Attacked the bezel – circular motions around that dirt magnet
Jammed the toothbrush bristles into button gaps – nasty black gunk came out
Used toothpick for corners – dug out pocket lint near the lugs
Rinsed it under running water for a full minute, shaking it around to flush soap from crevices.
The Drying Disaster (Almost)
Patting it dry with microfiber cloth when I notice water trapped under the display! Panicked for 2 seconds before remembering it’s supposed to do that. Stuck it near my window sill with the case back facing sunlight. Water bubbles disappeared in like 20 minutes. Phew.
Final Touches & Regrets
Wiped the whole thing again with dry part of the cloth. Realized I should’ve removed band first but whatever – it turned out fine. Got too happy and tried putting olive oil on bracelet to “restore shine.” Bad call. Made it attract lint like crazy. Re-cleaned with extra soap to fix my stupidity.
Now this thing sparkles like fresh snow. Took under 30 minutes while watching Netflix. Next time I’ll skip the oil experiment and maybe do this quarterly instead of waiting for it to look like a mechanic’s watch.
