How to make your stanless steel door sills look brand new

[ihaveacamaro]

Hi Roshan...

I'm hoping all's well at Dental College...
But are they making you use ol' beaten/scratched-up...crusty/rusty dental tools!! ...{LOL}


Even though I'm not VT, I still share his sentiments regarding steel-wool...
and have expressed so many times.

In your honest opinion, my Friend:
Could these 12 and 7 years old exhausts still have looked this decent using whatever-ought-steel-wool...and some metal polish?





Anyways...
Good Luck with your ongoing studies.



Bob

Bob they look great! I'm sure you upkeep them very well to get them that striking!

I have a brushed stainless steel articulator that we are using and we have to find a way to identify ours from the other students' 118 identical other ones. Most are going to use a bur to write in their name in it, but I thought I would try something crazy by polishing mine and making it look like chrome!

However, microfiber towel and metal polish didn't do so well.

So what would you recommend?

 

[FUNX650]

I have a brushed stainless steel articulator that we are using and we have to find a way to identify ours
from the other students' 118 identical other ones. Most are going to use a bur to write in their name in it,
but I thought I would try something crazy by polishing mine and making it look like chrome!

However, microfiber towel and metal polish didn't do so well.

So what would you recommend?

So it's a brushed-SS articulator.

Brushed stainless steel has been deliberately subjected to an abrasive
to create a pattern of thin lines on the surface of the SS.

This removes some of the shine that polished SS is known for.
But it does help hide fingerprints, dust collection, and the like.

It would take quite an effort to remove all of those fine lines...
probably would have to use a wheel with the correct ascendant-range of "rouges".

Might have to re-think your identifying method for your articulator.
Do you have access to any die that will make an imprint of a set of false teeth? LOL!!!

BTW:
Flitz makes an excellent SS cleaner-polish!

Sorry that I couldn't be of more assistance.



Bob

 

[Vegas Transplant]

VT, educate me on why 0000 steel wool and metal polish is not good on stainless steel? I was actually planning to tackle some stainless with that combo today, but on a dental tool, not car related if that matters.

I'm willing to use #0000 SS wool on beat up, crusty, and scratched SS. I'm a reformed hack when it comes to paint...heck even when it comes to interior surfaces. If you're gonna be a good hack, it's a good idea to know how to cover up your boo-boos.

What I'm not willing to use it on is pristine SS. It does not matter to me what others do, or post of.

Think of it as putting swirls in the metal. After a period of time and multiple use of said, the SS will become hazy, losing its luster. No doubt about it. Most customers will not even notice.

SS is time consuming to bring back pristine. Most times the detailer will make matters worse when trying various methods. I dislike having to bring back SS. I dodge it every chance I get.

Aluminum is a walk in the park.

Whatever you decide to use, send me a pm of your findings. If you do go your planned route, follow the grain, you'll get a better end product.

 

[EMC22]

I think it's important to emphasize that I went through several far less aggressive steps before settling on an approach, ranging from using a DA to several of the Eastwood buffs and rouges long before even thinking about wet sanding.
When I did try the sanding I started with much finer grit, and even when I got down to 220, the deep scratches were still there.
Of course I also did all this experimenting on a test area first

I've got a lot of experience with paint correction, but certainly not with SS.
So I appreciate the comments and feedback. I'm pleased that I managed to achive a repeatable process that gave the desired results consistently on all the pieces, but I'm intrigued that some have been surprized that it was possible with this method/combination.

Could this be due to the different hardness ratings of stainless steel available? Like hard vs. soft paint?

It's probably also worth noting that due to the amount of pressure I was applying with the cylinder buff it became very compressed and dense. This may have made it perform more like one of the stiffer buffs even with the lower RPM and smaller radius.

One thing I will be looking for is a stiffer sisal wheel buff to test with. A pity this wasn't included in the kit as I think as VT said before, it would have cut much faster. The spiral sewn wheels in the kit, I think are too soft ( not tightly sewn) and with the 2500 RPM limit, just wont cut enough. Beleive me I tried

 

[Vegas Transplant]

I think it's important to emphasize that I went through several far less aggressive steps before settling on an approach, ranging from using a DA to several of the Eastwood buffs and rouges long before even thinking about wet sanding.
When I did try the sanding I started with much finer grit, and even when I got down to 220, the deep scratches were still there.
Of course I also did all this experimenting on a test area first

I've got a lot of experience with paint correction, but certainly not with SS.
So I appreciate the comments and feedback. I'm pleased that I managed to achive a repeatable process that gave the desired results consistently on all the pieces, but I'm intrigued that some have been surprized that it was possible with this method/combination.

Could this be due to the different hardness ratings of stainless steel available? Like hard vs. soft paint?

It's probably also worth noting that due to the amount of pressure I was applying with the cylinder buff it became very compressed and dense. This may have made it perform more like one of the stiffer buffs even with the lower RPM and smaller radius.

One thing I will be looking for is a stiffer sisal wheel buff to test with. A pity this wasn't included in the kit as I think as VT said before, it would have cut much faster. The spiral sewn wheels in the kit, I think are too soft ( not tightly sewn) and with the 2500 RPM limit, just wont cut enough. Beleive me I tried

Could be. I don't know for sure. I'm not familiar with the grades, but they are many. I usually work on highly polished, yet abused 1/4 fenders, stacks, and tank straps.

I'm glad that you posted pics of your end product. Not many threads on the subject matter that go into the details such as yours. Not many that get the results that you did also. rops:

I know without a doubt that this was a laborious process. Hand sanding such a contoured, mounted piece to the level that you accomplished deserves comment: :applause:
Especially knowing how hard SS is compared to other metals.

What intrigued me the most about the project were the results. If I were to describe it in paint correction terms, you basically sanded, used M205 on a finishing pad and ended with superior results. See where I'm getting at? Is my analogy close?

I understand that you were limited by the contents of the kit, but your results speak for volumes.

:wow::goodjob2::bowdown:

 

[Vegas Transplant]

Bob they look great! I'm sure you upkeep them very well to get them that striking!

+1
@Bob.

That's what I'm talking about.
Whatever negatively impacts the piece will be there for years to come.
Proper procedures lead to lasting beauty.

 

[EMC22]

What intrigued me the most about the project were the results. If I were to describe it in paint correction terms, you basically sanded, used M205 on a finishing pad and ended with superior results. See where I'm getting at? Is my analogy close?

I understand that you were limited by the contents of the kit, but your results speak for volumes.

:wow::goodjob2::bowdown:

Good analogy.
If I could build on it I'd say that the cylindrical buff, in texture and feel was more like an Orange CCS pad than a finishing pad.

I.e. with enough pressure, the right compound and persistence, you could do some decent cutting, but the pads wont last very long

Continuing from there, I'd say that the spiral sewn wheel, because it is not very tightly sewn, was more like a white pad. Using this with the white Rouge was was just light enough to bring out the extra gloss.

I know I could have gone for a final step, by using the red rouge and the loose wheel, but these are door sills in a daily driver, so they will be stepped on in no time. So that's where I decided to draw the line :surrender:

I think its a pity that there isn't a comparison chart for these buffs like you have for the Lake Country Pads. I reached out to Eastwood today and they did tell me that the cylinder can be used for both cutting and buffing, simply by selecting the appropriate rouge.
I did ask them to consider putting a chart together also.

 

[ihaveacamaro]

So it's a brushed-SS articulator.

Brushed stainless steel has been deliberately subjected to an abrasive
to create a pattern of thin lines on the surface of the SS.

This removes some of the shine that polished SS is known for.
But it does help hide fingerprints, dust collection, and the like.

It would take quite an effort to remove all of those fine lines...
probably would have to use a wheel with the correct ascendant-range of "rouges".

Do you know of any specific kit with the wheel and rouges that I could use? If its a lot of effort involved, it's no problem

 

[ihaveacamaro]

I'm willing to use #0000 SS wool on beat up, crusty, and scratched SS. I'm a reformed hack when it comes to paint...heck even when it comes to interior surfaces. If you're gonna be a good hack, it's a good idea to know how to cover up your boo-boos.

What I'm not willing to use it on is pristine SS. It does not matter to me what others do, or post of.

Think of it as putting swirls in the metal. After a period of time and multiple use of said, the SS will become hazy, losing its luster. No doubt about it. Most customers will not even notice.

SS is time consuming to bring back pristine. Most times the detailer will make matters worse when trying various methods. I dislike having to bring back SS. I dodge it every chance I get.

Aluminum is a walk in the park.

Whatever you decide to use, send me a pm of your findings. If you do go your planned route, follow the grain, you'll get a better end product.

Would you use the combo on brushed SS? It certainly doesn't seem pristine to me.

Maybe I'll take some pictures and make a thread. Sorry OP for jacking!

 

[Vegas Transplant]

If I were trying to alter brushed SS finish, I would not use metal polish (kind of pointless) or lube on the articulator. If you don't get results, then drop down in grit.
I viewed the item on bing images.

Please post or pm pics.