polishing stainless

Iv tried to search this but with no luck. I need help, I've got stainless grill pieces on a 47 International that need straightening and polishing. Is this something a novice can do or do I take it to someone who does this for a living. Most of the stuff is dull and needs a good shine. The dented pieces are the centerpiece and I don't have any experience screwing with this stuff.

 

Fine steel wool.
Lots of elbow grease and beer.

 

Ive had good luck with "never dull" and "Mothers"

cheers and beers
hodge

 

I Love this stuff
Works well to polish up grungy old stainless (anything really) get a nice shine quickly, deep scratches need more work.

I have gotten perfect show quality results on some "really whooped bad" stainless. With some custum made hardwood tools, I made them to fit the profiles of the trim and worked the dents out by rubbing and pushing on the trim with a piece of semi hard rubber pad on the back side.
1500 wet sand all the scratches out hit it once with fine rubbing compound, then the MAAS. Better than NOS parts.

Patients is the key, all hand work, I did it while watching TV, Its great winter work for when its too cold.

 

To get dents out,make a shape in MDF or pine ,the same shape as the profile of the part . You need a drill press with a piece of dowel in the chuck to gently press down to push the dent out. Don't try and hammer and dolly dents out of trim unless you are very experienced at dent removal.
Then once it is smoothish,get a DA sander and lock the disc so it doesn't ocillate .Stick on a 3000 grit W/D disc and gently sand out any scratches. you will find the stainless will polish very quickly so do not push down or you will burn it.
And it takes hours to get a trim straight so take your time .

 

Use 000 steel wool, then 0000 steel wool. Finish it with HOT FLASH PRODUCTS, which makes a fantastic, metal, paint, and I will not say the "B" word, but they make the best "B" Cleaner and polish on the market, along with their many other great products. A bit pricey, but worth it and a little goes a long way. Amazingly, as they say the black residue adheres to the cloth and not the metal. I discovered it at a car show in Phoenix a couple of years ago.

 

After working out dents, I made a Miniature shrinking disc (2") on an air grinder to smooth it. Worked great.

 

Great idea,you can also shrink stainless trim high spots with a Household iron,don't leave it on too long,just enough to get a bit of heat into the part then quench it.

 

Also, there is a company named UNELKO.com, that invented RAIN-EX. They make a stainless maintainence product called "Stainless Shine. It won't take out the scratches, but is unbelievable for maintaining the shine, once you get it polished up.

 

For dents, what Dirtynails said. To get it shining real nice, pick up a buffer/grinder motor at a swap meet, attach a spiral sewn buffing wheel, and use medium cutting buffing compound for stainless. Be sure to use the best safety goggles you can find.

 

I had the same problem with my IH grill center bar , it was all bent to hell , I got a pc. of stainless trim that was the same width and made a new one , this pc. came off a 50 plymouth hood if I remember right , just had to cut it to length and cut the half circle at the bottom where it goes around the crank hole opening.

 

Eastwood has all kinds of stuff for stainless.

 

Man you guys are saints. I'm on the way to being a stainless straighting and polishing freak. Going to the Portland Swap Meet this weekend to look for more stainless parts, should have enough pieces by Mon. I tried the in front of the TV thing last night---nope didn't work. Thanks Guys

 

If you graduate to a power buffer ALWAYS WEAR LEATHER GLOVES a pro buffer guy I know said if he was not wearing them one time he could have lost his hand when a headlite bezel got away from him!!! BTW P.M. me if you want his # he has a stainless resto shop in longview WA. he is good honest and fair priced..Good luck

 

Yeah-buffing is potetially dangerous, painful and expensive-all at the same time, so be careful.

 

I prefer the hammer style, but i'll have to try that

Anouther thing, i usually hit the good side of the dent when done with a GOOD file to knock it flat, remember you cant mud it, unless you can weld stainless

 

Bon Ami cleanser fromt he grocery store also works well o oxidation and envirnemental stuff. then nev r dull for final cleanup. Nev r dull is an eagle one product now. You can make tools out of hard wood, and useing a sad bag as a backer work the dents out from the back side.