Scratches on Apple Watch glass are polished out in most cases, but on iPhone screens almost never. The difference is not in the craftsman's skill, but in the design: in a watch, the glass lies as a separate layer and you can remove the thinnest layer together with the scratch. In iPhone, the glass, polarizer, and matrix are glued into one display assembly, so you cannot remove a layer from the glass without image distortion — scratched glass is replaced instead.
What is glass polishing
It is mechanical removal of the thinnest layer of glass together with the scratch: first with abrasive, then with polishing paste, in stages, with decreasing grain size. The glass is not "filled" or "sealed" — it becomes slightly thinner and smooth again. That is why the depth of the scratch decides everything.
When polishing will help
- The scratch does not catch on a fingernail. Run your fingernail across it: if it slides — this is a surface mark and it will go away.
- There are many marks, but they are small — a "spider web" from sand in your pocket or from a bag strap.
- The glass is intact: no cracks from the edge, chips on the rim, and no collapsed corners.
- The sensor works across the entire area — touch is read everywhere, without "dead" bands.
When it won't help
- A fingernail catches on the scratch. To remove it, you would have to remove too much glass — it will become a lens and start distorting the image.
- There is a crack. Polishing does not stop it: the glass has already lost its strength and will crack further from the first impact.
- The scratch reached the polarizer — you can see a rainbow or whitish trace under it that does not change at different angles.
- It is an iPhone or iPad. The display assembly is laminated there; the correct solution is glass replacement with re-lamination, not polishing.
Why iPhone is different
In a modern display assembly, the glass is glued to the polarizer and matrix without an air gap. By removing even a fraction of a millimeter from the glass, the craftsman changes its thickness unevenly — and the image under it "floats": in light at an angle you can see waves and blur. That is why we do not offer polishing for iPhone and iPad, but replace the glass on new equipment with re-lamination: the matrix and sensor remain original, and the screen looks new.
What will happen to the oleophobic coating
Polishing removes it along with the top layer — this is inevitable because the coating is thinner than the scratch. After work, the screen collects fingerprints more strongly for a while. The coating is restored with a separate compound; it is also available in our catalog for service centers.
What to do
Bring your watch for a free inspection: the scratch is examined in light at an angle and you are told directly whether it will go away and how much glass will have to be removed. If it won't — you will be told before the work, not after. Polishing takes up to an hour, and the device remains with the original glass and original sensor — this is its main advantage over replacement.
An example of such work with photos — polishing of displays of iPhone and Apple Watch.