Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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Polishing Stainless Steel on primitive Pago Pago
My husband is looking for a way to finish stainless steel. We live in American Samoa and don't have any modern technology here on island. We know nothing about this and basically the steel is not shiny we are trying to find out how to make it shine, it is apparently unfinished. Are there in home tricks we can do to make it shine?
Thank you - Need to know ASAP.
Mindy Afalavahobbyist - Pago Pago, American Samoa, US
2003
July , 2006
The stainless steel needs to be polished/buffed to shininess. Obviously this is much easier with an electric power buffer of some sort than totally by hand. The principle is the same the world around, though. You need an abrasive that is course enough to remove the largest scratches in a reasonable time. Then you need a finer abrasive which is large enough to remove the scratches caused by the previous abrasive. Then you need a finer abrasive, etc. until you are satisfied with the shine and the freedom from scratches.
No one can say, sight unseen, whether your stainless will require a single buffing vs. 3 or 4 steps, but if you use the search engine you will see a good number of letters about polishing and buffing stainless steel. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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