Polishing Stainless Steel

matt1

matt1

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Hi

Can someone tell me how to polish DEEP scratches out of Stainless Steel please? A while back a fabricator gave me two discs - one was a wire like brush and the other a softer texture. It doesn't look like they fit a traditional angle grinder as the inner core bit looks soft, a bit like leather. He also gave me a grey block that looks a bit like a sharpening stone. What should I do with all that? I'm trying to remove some deep scratches out of very good quality, 30 year old stainless.

Thanks!
 
POLISHING

Hi , if you can feel the scratch you will need something more course. Try a fine emery cloth then us wet and dry in finer grades and then you can use the buffing disc or by hand with a fine paste such as autosol.

Have fun.

rgds
Squidge
 
matt1 said:
Hi

Can someone tell me how to polish DEEP scratches out of Stainless Steel please? A while back a fabricator gave me two discs - one was a wire like brush and the other a softer texture. It doesn't look like they fit a traditional angle grinder as the inner core bit looks soft, a bit like leather. He also gave me a grey block that looks a bit like a sharpening stone. What should I do with all that? I'm trying to remove some deep scratches out of very good quality, 30 year old stainless.



Are you sure the grey block is not genuine polish for stainless[it is very hard], you would apply this then polish with the leather textured disc
Click to expand...
 
Hi you can use an angle grinder with a backing disc and 100-120 grit abrasive. Take care not to blue the stainless. After that use the polishing mop with the angle grinder. Load the polishing compound by running the mop against the grey block. Now apply to scratched area. Again make sure you do not blue the steel, or you will have to start again.
 
Ok....the grey bar is polishing soap for stainless, and the disc with the leather centre is a special for polishing metals. You normally have two...(they are cotton thread) one for applying the soap and the other for polishing off. They are noticeably different in that the one for application is very compact and short haired and the other is wider and fluffier. They require an arbor that is conical in shape and the disc is hand screwed onto this. The soap is applied to the disc at speed when the disc is spinning (not too much soap) and then attack the stainless with it. Change discs and polish off with the finisher. As squidge has mentioned, remove the worst of the scratches first with fine emery before polishing. The conical arbors can be purchased to fit a normal electric drill.
 
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A word of caution.Do not use an angle grinder with a mop.It's too fast (8000 rpm +)and you risk it shredding and injure yourself.A powerful drill is much better.
 
I use dedicated flap discs on the angle grinder, to tidy up SS work, followed by 'Scotchbrite' type mops IN A DRILL (30boat makes a very good point) for the brush finish. Or, the grey bar of abrasive polish with a mop for bright. The flap discs are much kinder than a sanding disc on a backing pad, but remove metal nearly as fast and leave a fairly bright surface ready to polish.
A
 
The grey block could well be polishing compound as others have suggested http://www.axminster.co.uk/product....polishing+block&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=44
300081_l.jpg

used for dressing polishing mops and so on. It could be an abrasive block like this one though
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product....polishing+block&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=44
272789_l.jpg

which work very well with water or white spirit as a lubricant.
 
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