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polishing stainless trim

rich hourigan

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Good afternoon, So im almost done buffing all the trim from my 67 GTX and its looking pretty darn good but now im wondering whats going to keep it looking freshly buffed ? is there a cream or polish that i can apply to protect the steel from oxidation? any suggestions will be appreciated and as always thank you ... Rich
 
I'd be interested to know also. So far Eagle One Nevr Dull about every 3 mos.
 
Stainless Steel is about the best worldly material your trim could be made of. It is designed
to not rust, and oxidize at a very slow rate. If you buff the trim pieces with a fine enough
rouge, you will effectively close the scratches and pores that make it "look" dull. If you can,
look at your trim under a microscope and look at the scratches and grain pattern and polish
it until it all looks don-directional. You won't have to do too much after that. The only thing
that keeps you from buffing Stainless steel to a chrome like finish is the Nickel that's in the
mix. Pure nickel looks kind of like pewter. There is Chrome in the trim, but only about 8%
 
It stays nice with normal cleaning of the car. No special effort needed.
Doug
 
I used to rent cars and harleys to the movie ind , for the ss and chrome jewelery after cleaning and buffing I used good old green turdle wax . The cameras loved it , never got any complaints. it enhansed the shine on both , and dusted off nicely .
 
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I just did all my trim with triple ooo steel wool and Coca Cola, just dip it in and ring it out. Hold a towel to catch any run off. And finish with a good cleaner. You’ll love how good it looks for so little effort.
 
so guys i got a little ahead of my self, the stainless was looking fantastic until i took it out in the sun light, im noticing a little haze that i couldnt see in the garage. im useing the green compound bar with the spiral wheel followed by the white bar and a loose wheel, like i said it looks great but i dont know how to get rid of the haze, any suggestions?..........Rich
 
i see that you finish with the loose type of wheel and the green, im gonna try that... your stainless looks amazing... thats exactly what im after.
 
I use a product called Autosol its from Germany for final hand polish . if you are looking for factory finish though it will make it shine too much like new chrome .
 
The haze may not be so much on the final finish as it is from the lack of luster from the previous buffing. I always start with black followed by red then green and a final polish with white. Clean it up with Never Full wadding and a coat of Penetrol Marine if available. It gives a lasting factory like finish and the Penetrol will protect it from small scratches and oxidation. I've never found a polishing miracle.
 
Rich, the haze may be from changing to higher grits too soon if you did any sanding.

Caswell Plating has a great polishing and buffing primer on their website. Look for The Buff Book -- it might be a .pdf download. (I printed out the buff and compound chart in the book years ago and keep it near my buffer.)
 
thanks so much for all your responses, ill try to clear up some of what i did... first these pieces are from an original owner car so i know they have never been buffed/polished before and cudachick, luckily except for some very light scratches they are in great shape, no sanding for me. i did use caswell products though. All i did was use the loose spiral wheel with the green bar followed by the cotton loose floppy wheel with the white bar, it took out the scratches but left a haze. im new at this so im sure my technique needs some more polishing, he he he. Thanks for the suggestions, this place is the best.. much appreciated..Rich
 
Just keep at it Rich, it's a slow learning process. Took me a lot of time to get a finish I was happy with. The key is the finish is no better than the foundation, like everything in life.
 
Just another FYI.....with stainless and aluminum, when the part you are polishing looks “wet”, it will not get any better.
 
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