Refinishing stainless steel trim

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bob7four

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I'm sure this has been asked before but I am looking for the best method to clean up stainless trim. I have heard that sanding and polishing is common but not sure of what grit to use.
 
I'm sure this has been asked before but I am looking for the best method to clean up stainless trim. I have heard that sanding and polishing is common but not sure of what grit to use.

I did mine w/ 400 and up, then reg. polishing compound that my painter used. Turned out pretty well.
 
I have used 0000 steel wool which removes mineral deposits and really shines it up well.
 
you need to remove imperfections before polishing so sanding first. 400-800-1200-(2000+ if you want to go nuts) then buff with a sisal wheel. green compound is for stainless. Like body work, the quality of the finish is in the prep, so more time taken at the beginning will give you a better finished result. with a bit of time you can make them show quality easily. i finish with mothers polish. Stainless is hard, you may want to use a D/A for sanding rather than hand sanding.
 
The starting grit depends on what you're taking out. If you're fixing dents you might start with 220. It's like body work but without the filler. You have to get the piece as flat as possible using a small hammer and punch. I like to use a 1/4 inch drive socket extension as the punch because it has rounded corners. That or a small piece of hard wood. When you think you've got it close, sand it lightly with sand paper on a rigid block, like a small piece of wood. This will identify the high and low spots. You will usually have to go back to the hammer and move the metal a few times until the high and low spots are mostly gone. Then you sand until you have eliminated the low spots and then start moving up through the grits as chrisf described. The better job you do with the hammer and punch, the less material you will have to remove with the sand paper, so try to get it as flat as possible before sanding.

I've had good luck using the DA, but it's risky. Especially if you have the cheap DA like mine with the counter weight behind the pad. I've slipped off the piece and made some nasty marks that had to be sanded out.

Caswell Plating is a great source for buffing wheels and compound.
 
It's a long process and if completed correctly it'll be perfect.
1. Find dents/dings and tap them out.
2. Use a fine file to remove large inperfections
3. Sand with 320
4. Sand with 400 (wet)
5. Sand with either 600 or 800 (wet)
6. Sand with 1000 (wet)
7. Sand with 2000 or 0000 steel wool. (wet)
8. Polish on polishing wheel with stainless rouge. (Medium to Dark Grey)

After that I complete any repainting (flat back, red, etc) Last step is I use a metal polish or sealer on the parts I polished.

Riddler
 
Caswell Plating has consumables as mentioned earlier. They also have a "How To Buff and Polish" handbook you can read and print out.
 
I gave a piece to my wife and told her to keep polishing untill no more black came off on the rag, that was in May
 
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