Polishing metals - best methods

[64_newyorker]

ON my 64 there is a ton of metal on it to be polished.







What are the best methods and products that you use .





I currently use eagle one nevr dull for the chrome that does a good job but it dont work very well on the stainless .



Most of the stainless has those real fine scratches on it and Id like to get it a little better looking .The car has alot of stainless on the inside of it.





Most of the chrome is pitted on the back .



I was told to try aluminum foil balled up with water as lube to to clean chrome. I tried it and it seems to work well on most of it but not the bumpers.





What do you recommend?

[the other pc]

I don`t have too much chrome on my cars but what I do have responds well to the usual suspects, Mothers, Simichrome, Meguiar`s, etc.



Polishing can`t restore chrome that is pitted. You can reduce the visibility of the pitting with polishes but if you want it gone you`ll need to re-chrome.



Metals, like paint, wood and most everything else smooth out more and more as you work on them with progressively finer abrasives. You just use different abrasives and/or grits than you would with paint or wood.



To get the stainless the way you want you need to figure out the what level of abrasives will remove the scratches you have and then work your way finer until you get it where you want it.



A word of caution, many metal parts have clear paint on them, Aluminum mostly but sometimes others as well. Painted parts don`t often respond well to the same abrasives used on metals.





PC.

[64_newyorker]

yeah the metal on the door panel had the clear on it but it was just hidious so I used some steel wool and worked on it to get the clear off and then I polished them . They still need a finer grit to get them completly scratch free .

[Bioman]

Just a thought, but have you tried Klasse AIO. I heard it works really well on metal.

[togwt]

Try this P21S product it worked well for me



P21S Polishing Soap is a solid, clay-based (Kaolin) polish that applies with its own sponge. Simply wet the sponge with water, draw it across the Polishing Soap, and squeeze the sponge to create lather and begin polishing and then rinse with clean water.



Note: P21S Polishing Soap is not intended for use on painted, clear coated or anodized surfaces.



Stainless Steel:

"Stainless steel is a strong, robust and durable metal that far exceeds life spans of several other materials. Stainless steel is not just one material; it is a family of chromium containing steels, which all possesses an inherent resistance to corrosion. The chromium is distributed throughout the steel and its purpose is to form a sub-microscopic surface layer of hard, adherent chromium oxide on steel, a few atoms thick.



The film is known as the passive layer, and it protects the underlying material from attack by corrosive species. If the layer is damaged in any way, it instantly reforms in the presence of oxygen to protect the surface of the material." [http://www.caswellplating.com/bbs/]



Swirl marks caused by buffing in the final stages can easily be removed by wetting the part with a damp cloth, then dusting with a powder such as: - Talcum Powder or Corn Starch, then buff on your wheel again until the swirls disappear.

JonM