Professional - Metal- Polishing

M

mobiledynamics

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Anyone have any experience polishing stainless steel ?

Akin as a example, like a appliance like fridge, you would in theory need to -repolish/sand- the entire -viewable surface with the same grit in order that the same graining is consistent across the whole panel ? The only pro level of polishing I`ve done on this level is using rogue wheels on my fancy-pants-copper cookware.

In my case, it`s similar to the example above but I`m working on a summer project - large kitchen exhaust hood for the -outdoor kitchen-. There is a slight blemish on the left side and the goal is to repolish the dang thing so that post polish- all 3 exposed sides are consistent
 
My builder`s guy [messed] up a brushed-finish stainless countertop and I insisted they fix it. It took them *FOREVER* (as in, more than an 8-hour day!) but they did it with a PC. No idea what product(s) they used, but my take-home from that was "no way would I ever do that". So when another contractor scratched it and wouldn`t fix the damage, well...I`ve just lived with it. Ditto for the [messed] up windscreen surrounds on the XJS, which I thought were *supposed* to be like that since they were when it was new.

So I`d be a bit careful about what you get yourself into lest you turn a limited-area issue into a project that takes forever and a day.

So#2, I`d love to hear of some reasonable-time/effort solution! If there is one, I`m guessing it`ll be something from maybe Caswell or Eastwood.
 
Wasn`t even planning on a RO///PC. In my head, it would needed to be polished with (grit) - parallel running L-R by hand.... The graining would need to be consistent on all 3 exposed sides. It` only really like 2 scratches - on the left (which is not seen as much as the front obviously). It`s not the end of the world if I don`t attempt the polish...

But if there was a sound way to do it, and moreso do it with good results (which AFAIK, keeping the grit/graining so it`s consistent) is the hardest part.
 
The "brushed" look of stainless steel sheet is done by a special process during the production of stainless steel sheets. Trying to reproduce these straight-line brushed patterns is impossible by hand, although Accumulator`s post above says it can be done!
Since I have dealt with stainless steel sheet as a mechanical design CAD drafter, sheets come with various finishes in terms of gloss and this brushed-pattern. 2B Milled is very common. There is #4 Brushed, which I assume is what MOST appliances are done in. Then there is #8 Mirror, which as the name applies, has a very reflective mirror-like gloss. There are other designations as well.
What got me is in doing technical drawings that the metal type or grade of the stainless sheet AND the finish needed to be specified on the drawings. And example would be : Stnls Stl Sh, 304, 14 Ga w/ #4 Brshd, 34.00 x 56.45 Lg.
What was also needed was the direction of the grain or brushed pattern orientation for that part. This was especially critical on stainless steel guarding or enclosures used in the food industry. Two guards next to one another could have brush patterns running 90° to one another and it looked "cheap" if this was not done. Supervisors thought I was crazy for putting this "grain direction" with arrows on a sheet metal drawings. That was until a customer had a machine manufacturer remake a guard because it was not "cosmetically aligned" with the other guards or control enclosures (electrical boxes). Sheet metal is not inexpensive, nor is its fabrication. Lesson learned.

Brushed stainless steel sheet metal also comes from the metal manufacturer with a protective plastic sheet adhered to it to protect the sheet from scratches. This protective plastic sheet was usually left on by sheet metal fab shops during the laser cutting (pre-bent part flat pattern)and fabrication (bending or forming, although some HAD to be "selectively" removed) processes. The companies I worked for always left this on during the machine assembly and even shipping to the customer`s plant/factory for the customer to remove to prevent scratching.

I have said this before in other posts about stainless steel, but it bares repeating: IF you want to know what grade of stainless steel you have, take a magnet to it. Some less-expensive (AKA Cheap) grades, like the 400-Series are magnetic because they do not have enough chrome in their metal make-up. These will rust if exposed to water for any length of time. Better stainless types (302, 304, 316) are not magnetic. Many kitchen knives and cutlery made overseas (China, Taiwan) are made with inferior stainless steel, even though they say "Stainless Steel" on the item. Take a magnet to if it is attracted to the metal. If it is, you will know!
 
Lonnie said:
The "brushed" look of stainless steel sheet is done by a special process during the production of stainless steel sheets. Trying to reproduce these straight-line brushed patterns is impossible by hand, although Accumulator`s post above says it can be done!
Click to expand...

The look that resulted wasn`t the "straight-ish lines" type of brushed finish, but rather more of a, uhm...uniform, satin-type finish. NOT like the brushed finish on our ss kitchen sink.

I was thinking that mobiledynamic`s was like my ss vanity top, NOT like the ss sink....
 
I don’t know how big this thing is, but you may be getting yourself into a huge project. While on paper it seems like you can sand steel up through various finer grits & then polish in a predictable manor, in actuality it’s very difficult & labor intensive even with the “right” tools.

That’s assuming if this is a mass produced retail product, that it doesn’t have some top coating on it. Going at one side with the idea of having it match the others using sandpaper to remove a blemish in actuality is very difficult to do at home using at home type tools. It’s not like paint.

Steel is pretty hard. If it was me I’d either live with it or try to polish it “off” with a milder polish type solution - assuming it’s some contaminant on the surface. If it’s “in” the surface & you have to sand it off, good luck.

Of course, if you want to do the entire thing to some finish that matches - that’s an option.
 
For straight lining SS it is important to have a way to maintain the straight lines. You could try a sanding block with a guide. Maybe double face tape a straight edge to the piece and sand following the edge. May need to do the width of the sanding block and reset your guide to keep the line straight. if repairing a scratch you may need to start with a coarse grit and step down to finer grits to match the rest of the texture. It will be a test of patients.
 
I actually can use some advice I coated a brand new fridge after about a month some thing happened where the coating needs to come off but I don’t want to polish because it brushed any suggestions thank you.
 
304 stainless will rust---316 will not if left alone, if it gets exposed to excessive heat, that heated area ( heat affected zone ) "can" rust also
 
Re-tired- Yes indeed.  It`s Stain*less* steel, not what the Germans call "Rust-Free" ;)

EDIT:

Oh, and...

Welcome to Autopia TCRVETTES!
 
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