Tips for polishing stainless windshield trim needed

[diggerbob]

Can anyone point me to some tips on polishing stainless windshield trim? I have some old trim that is in good shape but I'd like to clean it up before I put it in the gasket and install my windshield. I have a buffing wheel for my bench grinder.

[Zoomin]

000 steel wool followed by a polish and your buffing wheel works pretty good.

[yj4000]

X2. Steel wool works great.

[Drewski23]

should you get the steel wool wet? what polish do you recommend?

[Zoomin]

Originally Posted by Drewski23

should you get the steel wool wet? what polish do you recommend?

Steel wool comes in the following grades from fine to course:
0000, 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3

You don't use water like you would with sand paper. Mothers makes a good polish. If you don't have a buffing wheel, one of Mothers Power Balls that you put in your drill helps.

Steel wool is good for a lot of things. I tried some on my paint finish just for grins. This was steel wool only - no polish.

[litew8]

Isn't the trim anodized?

[FirstOwner69]

The windshield trim is stainless. I used this Eastwood kit for my 58 Vette (LOTS of stainless) and my 69 CST/20. Works great.

http://www.eastwood.com/stainless-steel-buff-kit.html

[yj4000]

Aluminum foil works on chrome. I've used it on bumpers it work wonders. Not sure about stainless but worth a try.

[BC10]

Bringing up an old post.
I tried using foil, 000 steel wool, Brasco, and Never dull, on some windshield trim that is In decent shape (no deep scratches).
But it still looks dull to me. Does the polishing need to be repeated several times until it really shines? Or are my expectations to high, hoping that it will look as good as new like shiny chrome? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by BC10

Bringing up an old post.
I tried using foil, 000 steel wool, Brasco, and Never dull, on some windshield trim that is In decent shape (no deep scratches).
But it still looks dull to me. Does the polishing need to be repeated several times until it really shines? Or are my expectations to high, hoping that it will look as good as new like shiny chrome? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

Look into purchasing an Eastwood polishing kit as I mentioned in post 7. You need to use polishing compounds for a mirror finish. Be careful though using the buffer since the it is easy to wrap the trim around the shaft if the buffing wheel grabs it. I've used this setup to do all the stainless on the truck and my 58 Vette to a mirror finish.

For a buffer I use an old sump pump motor strapped onto a cradle made of a couple V-notched pieces of 2X6 attached to the end of my workbench. Cheap and works fine. Eastwood also used to sell an arbor to use with a motor such as mine. Harbor Freight sells some inexpensive bench buffers.

[BC10]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Look into purchasing an Eastwood polishing kit as I mentioned in post 7. You need to use polishing compounds for a mirror finish. Be careful though using the buffer since the it is easy to wrap the trim around the shaft if the buffing wheel grabs it. I've used this setup to do all the stainless on the truck and my 58 Vette to a mirror finish.

For a buffer I use an old sump pump motor strapped onto a cradle made of a couple V-notched pieces of 2X6 attached to the end of my workbench. Cheap and works fine. Eastwood also used to sell an arbor to use with a motor such as mine. Harbor Freight sells some inexpensive bench buffers.

Will a bench grinder work, or a drill?
I got a quote to have the pieces refinished and buffed, $45 a piece, that's 6 pieces, and $270! Yikes...

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by BC10

Will a bench grinder work, or a drill?
I got a quote to have the pieces refinished and buffed, $45 a piece, that's 6 pieces, and $270! Yikes...

My experience with a drill didn't work well. It doesn't seem to have the needed RPMs. A bench grinder may work if properly set up. You'll need to find an arbor. It doesn't appear Eastwood sells them anymore. However, a $40 buffer from Harbor Freight may be a good investment. Since I've had my setup I've used it on dozens of items and have somewhat regretted not getting a real buffer. Be sure whatever you decide to secure it to a workbench so it stays in place.

[t76turbo]

I just bought a couple arbors, and a number of 4 inch wheel from eastwood to polish aluminum and some stainless. I will use these on my .75 hp matco air powered die grinder. I would also like to get a bench top grinder one day to polish larger things. But the little hand grinders with the buffing wheels will work great for small trim and even polishing stuff on the vehicle. Taping off everything around the polished piece of course.

Unfortunately Eastwood had a fire in their warehouse and the only thing I didnt get with my order was the polishing compound kit. So I havent been able to try it out yet. But I see no reason it will not work as good in my case as a big benchtop grinder. Also they do sell a stainless specific grinding/polishing compound. The 6 piece kit of compounds I bought has the stainless stuff in it. So we will see.

[5567Cruiser]

Dido,I used the Eastwood kit on my windshield trim with a bench grinder and it worked great.

[BC10]

How do you know know what size to get, does it mainly depend on the size of your grinder?

[5567Cruiser]

Originally Posted by BC10

How do you know know what size to get, does it mainly depend on the size of your grinder?

I have a sears bench grinder and the polishing pads that came with the Eastwood Kit will bolt on most grinders. The kit comes with different polishing compounds with the white being used for stainless. The polishing pads for the grinder come as coarse and fine. Can start with fine steel wool and then the coarse pad and a final polish with the fine pad and the trim should look like new.

[BC10]

Update, after calling Eastwood a few times, and sending an email with no response. I headed down to Harbor Freight, and got black, green, white and blue compound.

I then went to Lowe's and purchased a spiral and loose cotton wheel. http://www.lowes.com/pd_548873-16878-BTA30739___

Hooked all these things up and started polishing.

A few things that I had problems with:

1. I had to use a metal file to level out a few spots. But the scratches I created are taking FOREVER to buff out with the black compound and spiral wheel. Is this due to cheap HFrieght compound that I bought, or should I attack it first with sand paper, before using the polisher?

2. Do I really need a third softer flannel wheel to make the stainless steel really shine using the blue compound? Or will the loose cotton wheel be suffice?

3. Any products or coatings that are recommended to protect the steel by slowing down oxidation? I heard some good things about a product called Diamond Blue Clear?

Thanks in advance!

[5567Cruiser]

I have found that for scratches the use of fine steel wool and 1500 to 2000 3M sandpaper will work with lots of work. Good luck.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by BC10

Update, after calling Eastwood a few times, and sending an email with no response. I headed down to Harbor Freight, and got black, green, white and blue compound.

I then went to Lowe's and purchased a spiral and loose cotton wheel. http://www.lowes.com/pd_548873-16878-BTA30739___

Hooked all these things up and started polishing.

A few things that I had problems with:

1. I had to use a metal file to level out a few spots. But the scratches I created are taking FOREVER to buff out with the black compound and spiral wheel. Is this due to cheap HFrieght compound that I bought, or should I attack it first with sand paper, before using the polisher?

2. Do I really need a third softer flannel wheel to make the stainless steel really shine using the blue compound? Or will the loose cotton wheel be suffice?

3. Any products or coatings that are recommended to protect the steel by slowing down oxidation? I heard some good things about a product called Diamond Blue Clear?

Thanks in advance!

A clean fine file is an OK start if used with little pressure, but then use sandpaper in increasingly fine grit to smooth it out. After using a file, I'd start with 220 grit then 300, 600, and 1000, followed with the finer grits and ultra fine steel wool as mentioned above. It takes a lot of time and patience, but the results are worth it. I have no idea how the Harbor Freight compounds and Lowe's buffing wheels compare to Eastwood's. The flannel wheels do add a little more luster. They also have a much greater tendency to grab the piece you are polishing so be careful and work slowly.

Stainless does not normally oxidize. Normal wear and tear on the road are what usually affects it. If it's in good shape, all I've ever used is car wax.

[5567Cruiser]

My answer for #3, I use Wenol metal polish(German product) for protection and final polish of stainless.

[BC10]

Thanks for the info everyone.
I think I was a little overzealous with the file, just trying to take it down patiently now. I will probably attack it with sandpaper first before going to the machine to level things out.

[BC10]

Check these out! http://www.caswellplating.com/buffin...extenders.html

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by BC10

Check these out! http://www.caswellplating.com/buffin...extenders.html

Good find! That's what I was trying to describe in post 12 that I got from Eastwood.

[Foot Stomper]

This product works extremely well! Stainless and aluminum.
Not selling it... just know about it.

http://www.autosol.com/

[Foot Stomper]

I'm going to try using my car polisher with black wool pads and coarse compounds to light ones for these hubcaps. Has anyone tried using car polishing pads and what level of success?