Does anyone here do this themselves? I am looking into compunds. What is best to use? So far I have sanded with 320, 400, 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000. It is beginning to get a real good shine now. I am looking at doin even finer say 2500 and 3000. Should be nice then. I am not doing this as a profession, but hate overhead. Anyone have any tips on this?
I went to the suppler and told him what I wanted to polish and he handed me a black stick and a white stick of compound. Some of the trim on the high end cars is flash chromed to add sparkle but it sounds like you already have that taken care of. That's about all I can tell you from doing the stuff on my Cadillac.
Stainless is hard stuff and therefor time consuming. If you have all the scratches polished out then it would be time to use compounds on the buffer wheel (rather than continuing to sand).
I've been practicing on junk trim and had some good results, caswell.com has a good description on compounds and which wheels to use
eastwood has a great kit for beginers or pro. sounds like you have all the work done. buffit out and wow yer done!!
Bought one of the nameless kits from a swap meet vendor, one green bar , one black bar and 2 polishing wheels. Put the wheels on an old bench grinder, worked unbelievably good!
In this case, it'll buff out! I had some on my 37 Ford, no dents to fix. Used two compounds, one wheel on each end of the motor. Looked better than new. Never used any papers at all. If I can do it, anyone can. Hardest part is not catching the metal and either stabbing yourelf or bending the trim. Practice on some junk first. Getting the buffer properly mounted on the edge of a bench or vertical stand so you have a lot of room to work is imperative. Gary
Thanks for the replys fellas. I know what you mean about not stabbing yourself. THat can be tricky. Figured the next step was buffing. Just seeing what works best. Thanks again.
There is a sanding pad that will take you to 3000, velcro backed for buffing a paint job, after that a soft pad and a chrome or aluminum polish. I did a gas tank this way, the 3000 step helped a lot.
I know this sounds lazy but...anyway to give your stainless a buff while it's ON the car? I know it's be better to take it off and maybe I'll force myself to, but I'm hoping there's a way to brighten things up...I know "a quick job is not good, a good job is not quick"...heck, I'm sort of talking myself out of it now...anyway, still a question worth asking. Thanks. www.highspeedmotorsports.com
Yes, lots of good info. http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm I ended up getting 1 black bar and 1 green along with a couple of wheels. If you got the time it is well worth doing it yourself. Cesar
to cool. I will have to see what that does. I will post pix if it does any good. Yes. Yes it does. Good advice.
no joke about the danger- I have a super cool diagonal scar across my right palm from restoring the stainless on my last car. lot's of complicated shapes in window trim that are hard to get to without holding it in funky ways. I now know what the inside of a hand looks like!
2000 grit is kinda overkill. Ive done quite a bit of stainless polishing and I dont go past 600 grit on 316 stainless. On 308 ss, I stop at 400. Then you go to the rouges. I start with a grey bar then finish up with a white. Then wipe the part with a degreaser to remove any remaining rouge. The real key to getting this stuff to shine is in your equipment. It must be high speed, and powerful enough to lay on without slowing down. The headers, hairpin, water tubes, wire looms, fuel log, light bar, and upper rad support rods in the pic are all homemade, polished stainless. Love the stuff, always looks fresh. It's a lot of dirty work, but worth it. As already stated, respirator and face shield are a must. Keep at it and you'll get the hang of it.
the issue is that I do not want to spend a ton on equipment. Later on fur sure, but can't afford it right now. That's why the 2000 plus grits. Car looks good. So does the work!
I'd set up the buffer in an area were you can keep all the dust and dirt away from other parts of the shop, it WILL get dirty. Keep a good grip on things and think about the part at all times, be sure you are wearing gloves. Just don't hook any edges. Post photos of the finished stuff. Have fun.
Gotcha, If you go to 2000 grit and beyond you will have no trouble buffing it but that could end up being a lot of sandpaper on big stuff like headers.
when polishing stainless trim you can use the same buffer that you buff paint with if you have a way to hold the buffer so that both hands are free(like using a workmate bench). Use a SISAL wheel (spelling ?) with the black compound and then go with a loose wheel with the white compound. No need to sand the stainless unless there are heavy scratches.
there were. Had been in a box getting the hell beat out of it often. I started with the hand hedl buffer actually. Just was not sure of the compound stuff.
In an apples to apples comparison, stainless required more aggressive compound than ordinary steel. In addition to the safety concerns mentioned, thin parts can be warped by the heat of buffing. That doesn't need to happen, but it will if you make it happen.
I can only imagine. It got a bit hot today while Iwas trying out some buffing. Thanks for the warning.
moveing the piece up on the wheel agaisnt rotation, is a cut, moving the piece down will polish. So you move it up to get the scratches out or polish started, then down to really smooth it out. put something on the ground to catch the smaller pieces or they can really fly. dont even try to hold them just let go. thats my advice. I got a set up from harbor frieght. got my wheels else where. you want the ones with no stitching but the middle by the hole. now go try it
I worked for a company that made stainless parts for heavy trucks such as tool boxes, steps and trim. After the peices were welded together the welds were taken down with a 5" grinder and a 180 grit flap wheel then finished with another 5" grinder and a Scotch Brite Unitized silicone carbide abrasive wheel. This takes out the scratches and then it is buffed with green then white rouge the same as polishing aluminum on a bench grinder with a medium weave pad.
I've attached small or fragile pieces to plywood and buffed them that way. It makes them easier to hold on to and you don't have to worry as much about cutting a finger off You still have to go back and do something to the edges but it make the bulk of much easier and faster.
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