stainless polishing

[jaclalo]

Hi guys
OK here goes , got my metal polished at a point that it is almost as being chromed but I still have this fine marking from the the wheel , it looks OK till you look at it under the light to check for imperfections and I can see all this very fine scratching . what would be the next step to get it polished as a mirror.

[Rasper]

I use white chrome rouge as a final compound with a plain spiral sewn wheel on stainless and it ususlly does fine. What are you using?

Are you getting the scratches out left by the previous (coarser) abrasive? I find that to be the problem most always, especially with stainless. The damned stuff is so hard it always takes more time to sand and to buff than I expect. I polish a good bit of stainless, and still I find myself sometimes leaving in some 220 grit scratches after sanding with the 400, and then trying to get them out with emery. It's the hard way.

Richard

[mpierich]

Ditto the above post...also, it seems OK to use sisal on stainless, it sure is hard enough.

[jaclalo]

As far as the sanding process , everything is ok , I start whit 220 , 280 , 380 and 600 grit,then I use a coton wheel whit the black emery bar getting rid of all the sanding marks , my problem is that once i'm at the last stage I try to polish the part giving it a nice shine but i cant get rid of this haze it's like real ex fine scratches .

[Rasper]

One thing that newcomers to stainless don't get at first is how much harder it is than anything they have polished before. I find I really have to bear down on the emery to cut out all the sanding scratches. If I did this on aluminum I'd probably cut a trench in it, but on stainless, it barely notices.

Richard

[Rasper]

Also I wonder: what type of stainless are you polishing? I once got a door to a walk in cooler from an old torn down grocery store. It was covered in stainless sheet. I made a sculpture out of it. Turns out it was coated with nickel. Wouldn't really polish. It did other neat stuff, but that's another tale.

Richard

[jaclalo]

This is a 304 grade stainless 14 gage witch I make motorcycle parts whit

[Rasper]

304 is what I use mostly in my sculpture work. I have never had it haze. I can't help but think you are not getting out previous scratches.

Can you post a photo?

One problem I have with polishing stainless is work hardening after gas welding. The stuff gets so hard a file won't cut it. In actual practice it's not possible to fully anneal it without using an oven but I can anneal it at least enough to sand and polish it. I heat it to yellow hot (about 1900 degrees F.) and quench it in water.

Richard

[jrow]

jaclalo,

Does the "fine scratching" on your SS run in the same direction or is it all swirly, based on which way the light hits it?

John

[jaclalo]

all the same way ,I'm scratching it whit the wheel or the compond I'm loosing patience ,