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Boat Forum / Building / September 2007Polishing stainless steel
Can anyone tell me how to polish raw stainless steel to get the nice shiny finish? I can get it up to a satin "brushed finish" with a belt sander, but I'd like to get it a bit nicer as its for my chainplates and bolted for all to see on a bulkhead. They are 316L btw, if that makes any difference. If its a load of hard work perhaps I'll leave the brushed finish.......... Ta in advance Pete > Can anyone tell me how to polish raw stainless steel to get the nice > shiny finish? I can get it up to a satin "brushed finish" with a belt [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Pete Go sailing and dont worry about it. OR, you could buy some very fine aluminum oxide powder, say 600 grit and apply it to a dremel tool buffer. <l...@nothere.net> wrote: > Can anyone tell me how to polish raw stainless steel to get the nice > shiny finish? I can get it up to a satin "brushed finish" with a belt > sander, but I'd like to get it a bit nicer as its for my chainplates > and bolted for all to see on a bulkhead. They are 316L btw, if that > makes any difference. If its a load of hard work perhaps I'll leave > the brushed finish.......... Two options. 1) Get it electropolished, then buff it out. 2) Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff. Lew >Can anyone tell me how to polish raw stainless steel to get the nice >shiny finish? I can get it up to a satin "brushed finish" with a belt [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Pete To shop polish you need a polishing head which is basically similar to a bench grinder. You will need a number of buffing wheels ranging from hard to soft and buffing compounds from coarse to fine. Install a hard buffing wheel and charge it with coarse compound. Buff out all the scratches from your belt sander. Change to a slightly softer wheel and a finer compound and buff out the marks from the first wheel. Change to a slightly softer wheel and finer compound and buff out marks from the preceding wheel. Continue this cycle until you reach the finnish you desire. This a simple explanation as there are a multitude of different wheels and compounds for different metals and purposes. Brownell (the gunsmith supplier) probably have a wealth of detailed information in their catalog on polishing steel that will apply to your stainless. By the way, the better polish you have on stainless the less chance you have of those rust colored stains forming. Bruce in Bangkok (brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom) "pete" <lif@nothere.net> wrote SNIP If its a load of hard work perhaps I'll leave the brushed finish.......... Pete, As Bruce spelled it out . . . not necessarilly 'hard' work . . . but most certainly 'a LOAD'. If you used the belt sander for 'shaping', that's O.K. However for 'finishing' it's a bit to much for good control. If it's really rough I'd start with a small 'quarter sheet' sander and 220 paper. Then go to hand sanding with progressively finer papers {and a lighter touch}- 320, 400, 600. That should get you to a nice 'Satin'. If you want to go further, grits of 800 to about 2000 are typially available at your local auto supply store - Paint section. However, I'm with Lew . . . knock off the 'big chunks' and go sailing !! Regards & Good Luck, Ron Magen Backyard Boatshop > "pete" <l...@nothere.net> wrote > SNIP [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Ron Magen > Backyard Boatshop I am with Lew and Ron, just go with the satin finish , accept a little bit of rust staining and go sailing! Its too much work to polish them out. I made chainplates for my boat from 316L and got sick of trying to polish them. I got to 220 grit on a sander and let it go at that. One year later there was some rust staining but it wasn't that bad. BUT if you just Have to have mirror finish plates, send them out for electropolishing. >> "pete" <l...@nothere.net> wrote >> SNIP [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >BUT if you just Have to have mirror finish plates, send them out for >electropolishing. A later thought - get it polished by an outside shop. Most chrome plating shops will take small lots of stainless to be polished. Check the yellow pages or a custom motorcycle or car builder to locate. Bruce in Bangkok (brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom) Pete, Take Bruce's advise and get it done. The dust from polishing is super hazmat. You need special dust equipment and a professional filter mask Steve > Can anyone tell me how to polish raw stainless steel to get the nice > shiny finish? I can get it up to a satin "brushed finish" with a belt [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Pete >Pete, >Take Bruce's advise and get it done. The dust from polishing is super [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >> >> Pete True the "dust" from polishing contains metal particles together with abrasives which probably are not expelled from the lungs easily but I wouldn't call them "super hamate" exactly as the polishing compounds are generally greasy and it isn't really "dust" but more a sort of "greasy grunge" for want of a better word. If I were doing much of it I would take the same precautions one would take power sanding it. It is a filthy job though as the residue gets all over the place, including the person doing the job. Bruce in Bangkok (brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom) He-he, thanks guys, brushed finish it will be; I thought it might be too much. Never thought about the electoplating though, maybe I'll try that on the mast support tube running thru my table....... Pete >>Pete, >>Take Bruce's advise and get it done. The dust from polishing is super [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >Bruce in Bangkok >(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom) >Take Bruce's advise and get it done. The dust from polishing is super >hazmat. You need special dust equipment and a professional filter mask If you wet sand with progressively finer grits it is not really a hazard. You can get a mirror finish on any piece of steel by wet sanding with 220, 400, 600, 1200, 1500 and 2000, followed by a good buffing with a polishing compound. It is not really that difficult. |
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