Stainless steel... How to remove fine scratches

[studiog]

I am working on the stainless steel cockpit surround and I have them polished up pretty well but I am having trouble removing some fine scratches. Can I use 1500 grit sandpaper and wet sand then polish again or is there a better way? Thanks for any help.

 

[curtis]

try some jewlers rouge. You can even get this stuff in 2 lb. sticks and use it on buffs with your drill.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

5 micron diamond paste works nicely with a buffing wheel.

 

[IH2LOSE]

I am working on the stainless steel cockpit surround and I have them polished up pretty well but I am having trouble removing some fine scratches. Can I use 1500 grit sandpaper and wet sand then polish again or is there a better way? Thanks for any help.

Gary I am working on the same thing,I have D,A, sanding marks from a past owners re-paint,

I am using a baldor buffer 3600 rpm with a real course wheel and emory paste,then going to fine paste and I cant get out the scrathes,

I also need to find out if we can "sand " these scrathes out.with out ruining the parts

 

[studiog]

try some jewlers rouge. You can even get this stuff in 2 lb. sticks and use it on buffs with your drill.

Do you know where it can be purchased? Body shop?

 

[IH2LOSE]

Do you know where it can be purchased? Body shop?

Gary for sure home depot sells the material,the buffs,and the adapters for a drill.

Its allot of work

I hand cleaned,buffed 2 peices and all I have to say it using the buffer with the rouge makes a BIG difference the ones I did with the buffer have a deap mirro like finish

Call me if you want.

 

[studiog]

Gary for sure home depot sells the material,the buffs,and the adapters for a drill.

Its allot of work

I hand cleaned,buffed 2 peices and all I have to say it using the buffer with the rouge makes a BIG difference the ones I did with the buffer have a deap mirro like finish

Call me if you want.

Thanks Larry. I'm off to Home Depot.

 

[67HEAVEN]

I'd love to see photos of some stainless being done on a buffing wheel with a detailed description of procedure and product names.

 

[Alan76]

The Eastwood Company has a kit to polish Stainless steel with heres the web address. Their products are good

www.eastwoodcompany.com


Alan

 

[61 Silver]

I am working on the stainless steel cockpit surround and I have them polished up pretty well but I am having trouble removing some fine scratches. Can I use 1500 grit sandpaper and wet sand then polish again or is there a better way? Thanks for any help.

Hi! Studiog



I removed all the dents from my original stainless. I made hardwood dolls and worked any dents to the outside of the moldings. I filed the dents to a level surface and sanded with wet and dry 400Grit to 1500 Grit and used a profiled hardwood block as a backer. I secured buffing compound and buffing wheels from where I had my chrome done and the provided two different grades. It was allot of work, but it is the original stainless.





Hope this helps!

Ray

 

[studiog]

Hi! Studiog



I removed all the dents from my original stainless. I made hardwood dolls and worked any dents to the outside of the moldings. I filed the dents to a level surface and sanded with wet and dry 400Grit to 1500 Grit and used a profiled hardwood block as a backer. I secured buffing compound and buffing wheels from where I had my chrome done and the provided two different grades. It was allot of work, but it is the original stainless.





Hope this helps!

Ray

Thanks again Ray, That is really cleaver with the profiled dolls and sanding block. I guess I am fortunate that my dents are very few but there are allot of fine wear scratches.

 

[lbitp37]

Try using "Brasso" and rub/rub, The fine srratches will come out, With elbo grease.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Studiodog,

Yes, you can sand the scratches out of the stainless. It takes some experience to be able to determine which grit to start with. First of all, all C1 Stainless is flash chromed, and the first step is to remove the flash chrome. A dip for a few minutes in a 3 to 1 solution of water and muriatic acid will remove it. Then you need to decide where to start on the sanding process. Generally speaking, scratches smaller than 600 grit in size, can be just buffed out with compound and a wheel. Anything worse will need to be sanded out. I use only 3M Trizact abrasives to sand with due to it's long life and uniform grain size. I will usually start with 400 grit followed by 700 and then by 1200. at this point, your part is ready for buffing. I try to use a 8" expander wheel or my contact wheel belt sander wherever possible, since you want the abrasive to be coushioned so it will not gouge the trim.

For buffing on stainless, you will want to use a compound that is specifically formulated for stainless steel. Using Tripoli, or other common buffing rouges will not have sufficient cutting action to remove even very fine scratches on stainless. You will need to use a spiral sewn wheel with heavy pressure and the stainless compound bar. Buffing stainless is a very time consuming process, and will take at least 4-5 times as long as buffing aluminum. The cut is very slow, but with patience, you will produce good results. You will also need some good gloves, since the buffing of stainless will generate enough heat in the trim to burn your hands even through gloves! If your trim is not getting that hot, then you are probably not buffing hard enough. Some people use Emery compound to speed up the cut, and then follow with stainless compound, but if you add this additional step, you will need to buy an additional set of wheels, since you never use a set of wheels for more than one type of compound. Mark the wheels with a magic marker to indicate the compound and direction of rotation, so you will not mix them up.
The stainless compound will bring the part up to a very brilliant shine, and you can follow up with a loose sewn wheel and white rouge to give that absolutely perfect, mirror shine.
Another little tip is to switch buffing directions when you change either sanding grits or buffing compounds, so that you are buffing across the scratches from the previous step.
The repairing and buffing of stainless is truly an art, and I have spent years perfecting my style and the processes, but it is quite possible for a beginner to achive very good results with a little patience. The original parts were not polished that well to begin with, and most refinished parts will surpass the shine of original parts by a large margin. It is possible to get a true mirror finish on this trim with some practice. I have invested a lot of money in equipment and supplies for grinding an buffing of metal, but it can be done on a budget.

Regards, John McGraw

 

[wishuwerehere82]

I'd love to see photos of some stainless being done on a buffing wheel with a detailed description of procedure and product names.

Here's a link to Buehler metallurgical for diamond polishing compounds and pastes. Pg. 45 and 46 for Metadi diamond paste. I have used the yellow and blue pastes and blue works better for S.S.
http://www.buehler.com/productinfo/2005CBG/grinding_polishing2.pdf

 

[IH2LOSE]

John

Can I hit my staineless with the belt sander (on the slack side) with the fine paper to remove the D,A marks I am not sure how deep I can go,will I be sanding thru the flash chrome into the stainless?


Also Gary did you get the stuff and how is it working.

Use caution because buffing is very adictive,you just keep thinking you can bring out more of a shine.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Larry,

Yes you can. Don't use anything more agressive than 700 grit Trizact belts to remove the DA scratches, and then follow up with 1200. You will be hard pressed to grind through the trim with these grits. Yes, the sanding will remove the flash chrome, but you will need to be sure that you buff off the chrome on the entire piece, or it will show when polished. You can also just hand sand the trim with 600 wet-or-dry followed by 1500 wet-or-dry.These DA scratches are probably pretty shallow, and should sand out pretty easy. Be prepared to spend some time on the buffer, after all the aluminum you have been buffing lately, it will seem as if it is taking forever! Just be cafeful and allways keep in your mind where the centerline of the part is at. You can wad up the trim in a heartbeat if you let the part go over center and let the wheel grab it. Tape up the shaft and nuts on your buffer with several layers of duct tape to prevent marring your finished piece. There is nothing more aggrevating than having a part completle done, and slipping off the wheel and hitting the part on the shaft!

Regards, John McGraw

 

[IH2LOSE]

John


Again thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have to find better gloves because I cant hold the part secureley with out my gloves pulling off,and the parts have such a low mass that they heat up imedeately so I have to wear gloves.

After working on the aluminum at 1800 rpms its down right scary having that baldor buffer ramp up to 3600 rpms with 8" wheels to do the stainless.I worked with a lower H.P. buffer in the past that you could stall,but with the buffer you had suggested for me to purchase it does not stall no matter how hard I lay into it.

As you say buffing is an art,its also very dangerous,As you know set a piece on the wheel in the wrong place and it will be shot across the room faster then you can realize what happened.

 

[studiog]

John

Can I hit my staineless with the belt sander (on the slack side) with the fine paper to remove the D,A marks I am not sure how deep I can go,will I be sanding thru the flash chrome into the stainless?


Also Gary did you get the stuff and how is it working.

Use caution because buffing is very adictive,you just keep thinking you can bring out more of a shine.

Larry, I hope to get the compound today. I think I will try wet sanding as recommened by Ray & John and then use the compound to bring up the shine. I just want it to look good. A mirror finish isn't my goal. I just hope I can get a nice even shine to all the pieces. They are in good shape already so I think this is do-able.

 

[IH2LOSE]

Larry, I hope to get the compound today. I think I will try wet sanding as recommened by Ray & John and then use the compound to bring up the shine. I just want it to look good. A mirror finish isn't my goal. I just hope I can get a nice even shine to all the pieces. They are in good shape already so I think this is do-able.

Good luck and keep us posted,Just remember I am pre warning you,Its adictive and will consume you

 

[studiog]

Studiodog,

Yes, you can sand the scratches out of the stainless. It takes some experience to be able to determine which grit to start with. First of all, all C1 Stainless is flash chromed, and the first step is to remove the flash chrome. A dip for a few minutes in a 3 to 1 solution of water and muriatic acid will remove it. Then you need to decide where to start on the sanding process. Generally speaking, scratches smaller than 600 grit in size, can be just buffed out with compound and a wheel. Anything worse will need to be sanded out. I use only 3M Trizact abrasives to sand with due to it's long life and uniform grain size. I will usually start with 400 grit followed by 700 and then by 1200. at this point, your part is ready for buffing. I try to use a 8" expander wheel or my contact wheel belt sander wherever possible, since you want the abrasive to be coushioned so it will not gouge the trim.

For buffing on stainless, you will want to use a compound that is specifically formulated for stainless steel. Using Tripoli, or other common buffing rouges will not have sufficient cutting action to remove even very fine scratches on stainless. You will need to use a spiral sewn wheel with heavy pressure and the stainless compound bar. Buffing stainless is a very time consuming process, and will take at least 4-5 times as long as buffing aluminum. The cut is very slow, but with patience, you will produce good results. You will also need some good gloves, since the buffing of stainless will generate enough heat in the trim to burn your hands even through gloves! If your trim is not getting that hot, then you are probably not buffing hard enough. Some people use Emery compound to speed up the cut, and then follow with stainless compound, but if you add this additional step, you will need to buy an additional set of wheels, since you never use a set of wheels for more than one type of compound. Mark the wheels with a magic marker to indicate the compound and direction of rotation, so you will not mix them up.
The stainless compound will bring the part up to a very brilliant shine, and you can follow up with a loose sewn wheel and white rouge to give that absolutely perfect, mirror shine.
Another little tip is to switch buffing directions when you change either sanding grits or buffing compounds, so that you are buffing across the scratches from the previous step.
The repairing and buffing of stainless is truly an art, and I have spent years perfecting my style and the processes, but it is quite possible for a beginner to achive very good results with a little patience. The original parts were not polished that well to begin with, and most refinished parts will surpass the shine of original parts by a large margin. It is possible to get a true mirror finish on this trim with some practice. I have invested a lot of money in equipment and supplies for grinding an buffing of metal, but it can be done on a budget.

Regards, John McGraw

Hi John, Haven't heard from you in a while. Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.