Polishing Stainless Fuel Tank

[35forddream]

Hello Fellas!

newbie here!

I am builidng a Street rod, and am having a Custom Stainless Fuel Tank built for it. I have puchased and used Caswell's stuff for polishing Aluminum, have a 3/4 Motor w/Buffs. The problem is, I obviously can't hold the Tank to the Motor, so I am going to have to get a Buff to the Tank.

What is the best way to do this? I think of using a air-powered Die Grinder w/a Buffs, but I think that will lead to an inconsistent finish. Can I find/use a Rotary Polisher of some sort (like a standard Car Polisher-DeWalt adjustable speed type)?

I have read here that Stainless is indeed tough to Polish-I have contaced a place that does Chrome work for me and they have quoted a Price in the $275-350.00 range-should I not try and break open the CheckBook? If I could use a Polisher (a la DeWalt or similar), I think I could use it on other things, so the initial purchase price could be spread over other tasks.

If there is a solution here, should I start w/Sisal or 320 or similar? Please give me some insight, and thanks for the input!

[alabama_lowlife]

i've used a regular 4" grinder to polish semi truck fuel tanks and it worked pretty good. i haven't polished any stainless yet so i can't offer any tips on techniques for polishing it.

[Rasper]

Go to Caswell's online catalog. Click on the tab up top that says, "Buffing/Polishing". On the left of that page under "adaptors" click on "Grinder/Buffer Adaptor" There is a good photo of a set up that should be just the thing for your heavy tank.

I polish a good bit of stainless. To sand it I use a 3000 rpm machine with a soft pad. I usually start with 150, unless the metal is scratched badly, in which case I use 80 first. I go 150, 240 and 400. Sometimes I use worn out 400 as a finish sanding, and sometimes I go to 600. Then I go to emery on a stiff regular cloth buff. Then green, then chrome rouge.

One thing: Stainless loves sandpaper; it eats it up. You might as well buy a lot of it. Stainless is hard. It is hard to cut; it is hard to shape; it is hard to planish; and it is even harder to sand. The funny thing is: once I get it to the emery buff it polishes up fast. You need to bear down on it some, but it comes right up.
The important thing is, (and no one wants to hear this), you absolutely have to sand out all (and I mean ALL) of the scratches left by the previous grit sandpaper before you move on to the next. This takes a lot longer than you think, especially with stainless, a whole lot longer. But if you don't get them out, you will have to go back and start over again.

Richard

[jrow]

35forddream,

If it were me before I put any sandpaper to the SS I would get a 4" Sisal buff and some Emory and see if that will give you a shine! After the Emory I would work with the SS compound, then to white, on a sewn buff. You can get a 4" Sisal buff that will mount in a drill motor and give you good results. An air die grinder will work providing your air compressor is big enough to keep up with the demand of the die grinder! You can very you air pressure to adjust the speed of the die grinder.
The areas that are welded together may require some sanding. I would try some 2" or 3" Roloc's in your die grinder.

John