Polished Espresso Machine Marring Removal

E

EMDNY

New member
I have a little project I`d like to take on. I want to buy this used espresso machine, unfortunately, the owner did not use a microfiber cloth to wipe it down inducing some marring. I am thinking a finishing pad with a Menzerna 3600 or similar finishing compounding would do the trick? This is uncoated stainless steel polished to a mirror finish. Understandably, stainless steel is harder to work with then paint, but these are very fine swirl marks and not deep gashes. I think I can get away with a light polish.

Photos:

https://imgur.com/a/RRUff

Interested in hearing feedback,
EMDNY
 
EMDNY- Welcome to Autopia!

IMO the use of something other than MF wasn`t really to blame here as SS is infinitely harder than, say...cotton. But anyhow, I suspect that you`ll find it takes something with fairly sharp abrasives to correct that simply because it *is* very hard. I have metal polishes that are a *LOT* more aggressive than your Menzerna (i.e., so much so that they`d really trash any paint they contact) and while those can shine up my stainless stuff pretty well, they sure don`t *correct* the visible flaws in it. For that I`d probably need a felt bob on a rotary tool, and some metal-cutting compound. Then I`d refine the finish with a few milder steps after I`d reduced the "scratches"-type marring down to what`s merely a "cloudy finish" to the naked eye.

Eh, I`m no expert on polishing stainless, but I bet there are people here who are and with any luck they`ll chime in. In the meantime, you might check out a company called Caswell. They sell metal polishing stuff and IIRC they have info on the subject available online. Eastwood has such stuff too, but I consider Caswell to be *the* source for metal polishing stuff.
 
Since I don`t own the machine, I don`t really have a way of telling if the machine is just dirty or if those are scratches. I suspect they`re very fine, likely form the use of a dirty rag, or something along those lines. I don`t think a full on rotary with felt pad is something I`d like to invest in and partake in since I have no experience with that. I think a light polish with maybe a more aggressive cutting compound followed by a finishing compound would bring back the panels to a mirror finish, at least I hope so. The machines come with a mirror stainless finish and over time from use develop light marring.
 
EMDNY- OK, understand completely. I`ll be interested to hear what you try and how it works, so post back if you get a chance after you`ve given it a go. Heh heh, gotta admit that I`ve never fixed up any of my marred-up stainlesss..I just live with it :o I did watch a guy correct a marred up stainless vanity top (my builder`s guy after they messed it up and I complained) and let`s just say the amount of time/effort made an impression on me! Did turn out nice though (he was aiming for a "smooth but brushed" finish, but that`d be easy enough to bring up to a mirror shine, at least "easy" compared to getting it to the "brushed" level.

I guess my point was that polishing stainless to a nice finish can take a whole lotta doing, even *with* the optimal stuff.
 
512Detail- Hey, that turned out nice! That`s about the same finish the guy attained on my vanity top. Did that with the Pro Polishes, huh? OK...thanks for schooling us/me! Gee, how`d I miss that thread the first time around?
 
512detail said:
I used pro polish 2, pro polish 1, black hole, and exP in the past on my stainless kegerator, worked pretty well..I didnt have any metal polishes at the time (this was in 2014)

https://www.autopia.org/forums/poorboy-s-world-forum/46206-poorboys-saves-kegerator.html?highlight=poorboys+saves+the+kegerator
Click to expand...

This came out very well. It sounds like I can potentially get a mirror finish if the marring is very superficial. I can only hope, I`ve always been able to get an absolutely flawless mirror finish with Menzerna on paint, can`t see why that wouldn`t be possible with stainless.
 
Accumulator said:
512Detail- Hey, that turned out nice! That`s about the same finish the guy attained on my vanity top. Did that with the Pro Polishes, huh? OK...thanks for schooling us/me! Gee, how`d I miss that thread the first time around?
Click to expand...

I had no idea it would turn the pad black though, I now have a few dedicated "metal pads" (rupes blue and rupes green)

Now that I have the nano and mini I plan to attack it again one of these days in the winter unless I can sell it- still haven`t used it since before that post a few years ago
 
EMDNY said:
This came out very well. It sounds like I can potentially get a mirror finish if the marring is very superficial. I can only hope, I`ve always been able to get an absolutely flawless mirror finish with Menzerna on paint, can`t see why that wouldn`t be possible with stainless.
Click to expand...
I think you need specific chemicals in the polish to sufficiently polish metal but who knows. I`m no scientist.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top