Replies

1. 
   MarkH | Feb 07, 2004 07:24pm | #1

   How about something more gritty than brasso? Like valve grinding compound for instance, or an emery poloshing medium?

2. 
   UncleDunc | Feb 07, 2004 11:30pm | #2

   Trying to polish out a scratch with Brasso is like trying to sand a new oak floor with used 180 grit that you dug out of the cabinet shop dumpster, by hand. Theoretically possible, but who has the time or patience.

   If you're doing it by hand, you have to start with an abrasive that makes scratches about the same size, or a little smaller, as the one you're trying to polish out. Sand at an angle to the offending scratch until it's gone. Then move to the next finer sandpaper and sand at a different angle from the one you used for the first grit, and sand until all the scratches from the first grit are gone. Repeat, moving up one grit at a time, until you're happy with the texture match. My experience is that I always start out with a very high standard and end up accepting a less than perfect match.

   I recommend silicon carbide sandpaper, the black stuff.

   The job will go faster if you change to a new piece of sandpaper as soon as you feel the cutting slow down. That's a new piece of sandpaper of the same grit, you don't change grits until all the scratches from the previous grit are gone.

   If you can get a sander to the crack, the procedure is similar, except that you may be able to start with a little finer grit and move up two or three grits at a time as you work your way up, since the sander is doing the grunt work.

3. 
   SEBDESN | Feb 08, 2004 12:13am | #3

   Andy

   While looking for a big stainless hood a while back I was in a restaurant hood place. They, to get grained/brushed ss, use  coarse (like 150 or 100) sandpaper on a round mandrel,and evenly grain the whole thing. Then they have heavy polishing wheels , similar to scotch brite, that they smooth it down with till they get the smoothness they want. The wheels all go in the same direction as the grain,as though you had your bench grinder in your hands. They used elec drills with 6" diameter by 2" wide wheels,where the wheels axle was parallel to the surface. Hope that makes sense...

   I tried a place that was scratched on a ss cover on my grill with some 220 then buffed it with one of those scotchbrite wheels, and it worked kinda good,but not worth the effort. It didnt match the original grain, and I didn't feel like doing the whole thing. Although its probably  like that little piece of trim that is crooked in my kitchen,and I am the only one in the world that sees it...LOL... 

   Bud 

4. 
   MER02 | Feb 08, 2004 12:21am | #4

   I am about to buy a SS countertop. The salesman told me that if I ever got a scratch that really bothered me that it could be sanded out with a green Scotch-brite attached to a random orbit hand sander. This will work on SS if you are trying to blend the scratch, but it will not work on a mirrored finish that doesn't have any scratches at all. I haven't tried it myself, but that was the advice from my salesman.

   Do you have a place to test?

   Good luck.

5. 
   fortdh | Feb 08, 2004 12:42am | #5

   Andy, we have a stainless steel kit sink that gets some pretty bad scratches from some stone ware cooking pans. Once a year I take a drill mounted wire brush and some commet, with a little water to make a paste, and polish the entire sink sides and bottom.I use the brush that is mounted straight out the end of the shaft, not the 90 deg wheel type.The brush will fit into the corners, into the drain cup and is easy to control. Wear safety glasses. The double sink looks new as when we got it, and it is 28 years old. Paul

   Energy Consultant and author of Practical Energy Cost Reduction for the Home
6. 
   DanH | Feb 08, 2004 12:58am | #6

   The better choice is to just wait until it's all equally scratched.

   It's basically impossible to keep a SS sink looking brand new. And it seems that many of the "buffed" finishes they use now are a bit too wimpy in the buffing such that minor scratches show easily. About all you can do is go over it with steel wool in increasingly coarser grades until you find one that matches the scratches.

7. 
   misfit | Feb 08, 2004 03:44am | #7

   If the scratches are only minor scuffs, use a product called BLUE MAGIC You can find it at most automotive parts stores like AutoZone or AutoPalace. This stuff works like its name...MAGIC. It will do wonders on any metal, alum, etc. If you can't find it, repost or email me and I'll get you the manufactor's name and ph#

    A bad day at home is still better than a good day at work