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Polishing Stainless Steel

  • Thread starter Thread starter 7981GS
  • Start date Start date
7

7981GS

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I know that Joe Nardy knows how to do it, PM already sent.
Anyone know what he does/uses off the top of their head?

Eric
 
7981GS said:
I know that Joe Nardy knows how to do it, PM already sent.
Anyone know what he does/uses off the top of their head?

Eric
Click to expand...

Eric,

PM sent. I have never 'polished' stainless but 3M scrubbing pads work great for restoring the original 'brushed' finish. The green and purple (brown?) pads work well. Using WD-40 with the pads helps clean grease and grime. Per Supertrapp you should only scrub around the pipes, not along the length of the pipe. Mother's Aluminum Polish helps even out the coloration even though it isn't supposed to be used on stainless.

Thanks,
Joe
 
These pic's don't do it justice. I will have to get some daylight pic's.
The mid-pipe has a shiny chrome look to it...

DSC00192.jpg


Header looks more like copper...

DSC00190.jpg


DSC00191.jpg



Eric
 
Eric,

That pipe has a more polished finish than my Supertrapp. The Supertrapp pipes turn a brownish-copper color near the head and get lighter further down the pipe. The 3M pads will give you more of a brushed finish than what you currently have.

Joe
 
Commercial restaurant stainless steal cleaner works well..you may try easy off in a small spot first..
 
I've refinished the stainless trim on cars by wet sanding it and then polishing it..not sure if it's the same, but it looked brand new afterwards.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys!
I will probably try them all. ;)

Eric
 
This will blow your mind-
I searched long and hard for SS cleaners/polishers and outside of what was mentioned in wet sanding and polishing was all I could do as well. Then we made the mistake of getting SS appliances. Now these are a nightmare to keep clean and smudge free- I was sitting in the chair when the commercial for Mr.Clean magic eraser came on and I said let me give it a try- let me tell you this- NOTHING is better than these on SS- be in appliances or any other like knives and even guns. It does the finest of a polish while removing the corrosion. Gave the fridge and almost gloss to it. And the price is so right.
I have even went a step further and put some MAAS polish to one to do my pipes and was pleasantly surprised as well. Go with the grain- and you will be amazed.
 
Thanks Bad, Another item that I will have to try. ;)
These are going on my silver bike so they may as well look nice.

DSC06713.jpg



Eric
 
I do stainless on my Eastwood pro buffer machine and it comes out like a mirror. I use the same rouge that I use for the aluminum..and youve all seen that work. The thing is that the chromium makes stainless a lot harder to get the cut and color so you gotta really rouge the he!!! out of it but it will shine like your trying to signal airplanes.
 
Well...
I tried steel wool with penetrating oil and no real improvement.
I tried rubbing compound and a hi-speed polishing wheel. It got shinier but still ugly. :(
Finally, I just tried a fine wire wheel in an inconspicuous location and success!
It is still going to take an eternity but I can live with satin finish on the head pipes. ;)

DSC00220.jpg



DSC00222.jpg



DSC00221.jpg



Eric
 
Taking forever with good results.
I will need to find a smaller wire ball or something to get some of the tight spots and replace the die grinder as it just gave up the ghost on this project.
Those cheap $20 die grinders only last about 15-20 years. :( :lol:
I left one ugly for this pic so that you might be able to see the difference so far...

Before and after...

DSC00190.jpg
DSC00225.jpg



Eric
 
That looks really nice! I'm going to keep this in mind when I get around to cleaning up my bike (once the rain comes back). How long did it take?
 
I am lazy and use power tools. :o
That little bit of progress might have taken an hour.
I am only about 2/3 done.
After I get it all looking like this, I am going to try polishing a little.
If that is going to take forever, it will stay satin as I prefer to ride rather than polish. ;)

Eric
 
Now take some 600, 800, then some 1,000 and 1,500..hit it with a small buffing pad and it'll make a huge difference..just sayin..:-\\\
 
Thanks Larry!
I'll give it a try after I finish getting the copper color out of it.
It would be nice if I could make it match the mid-pipe. ;)

Eric
 
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