stainless steel trim

[pickleboy]

looking for suggestions. i have been given a job to polish s.s. trim for old gas pumps. here is my delima. i have some small scratches but they are what i would call deep considering the material is approx 16-18 gauge. these parts have to be mirror finish as they are for museum pumps. i have started with 320grit but it takes forever to get the scratches out. if i go rougher then the scratches left by the paper are harder to get out than the problem. this material is about 2" wide and 30" long flat trim. hit with black and green then white it shines great but still the small sanding scratches. who has had good luck with s.s. and what level of sanding did you have to go to before the wheel. i am thinking around 800-1000 grit? thanks for the help in advance.

[sswee]

The majority of parts I've done were lathe parts. I've gotten away with wet sanding to 600 but for something like your doing you may need to go as far as 1200 or 1500. I've been in the same boat where I've gone too coarse to start and spent double the time getting the sanding scratches out. Most likely your dealing with a 303 or 304 stainless that is a little more difficult to work with cosmetically than a 316. Best of luck. Let us know how it goes. SS

[pickleboy]

still having fits with this stuff. it is hard as heck to sand and when it does it leaves scratches that are a pain. my question is this, as with alum, brass, bronze i sand at 90 degree angles each pass and it works, this s.s. does not seem to matter. it still shows scratches. what is the better way to sand. cross pattern or straight line each pass. also has anyone used the specialty compounds for s.s. and what was the result. also i like the vented wheels for the other metals i have done but should i be using spiral sewn these plates and trim? thanks as always for the help.
cliff

[fxstcguy98]

pickleboy,
Check out this site, read the old posts on SS trim. If that doesn't help post a question and Elrod will set you straight. It's a free site with good info, similar to here. Hope this helps.
Darrin

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/trimrestoration/messages

[mpierich]

my question is this, as with alum, brass, bronze i sand at 90 degree angles each pass and it works, this s.s. does not seem to matter. it still shows scratches. what is the better way to sand. cross pattern or straight line each pass.

I know you want to get it perfect, but I do know that if you finally are forced to leave it with tiny scratches, they will be a lot less noticeable if they are all in the same direction.

I have found myself obsessing about some problems I just couldn't solve, only to have the customer tell me the work looks perfect to him. "They" are not nearly as fussy as "we" are, lol ('course there are major exceptions to any rule...).