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Removing Knife scratches from stainless galley tables

The company I work for has a contract for the replacement and repair of galley equipment on board an aircraft carrier. Part of this is the re-finishing of the stainless tables. We're using walter grainers(www.walter.com) and power files/ dyna-files for the table lips. So far the 60 grit and higher products we have put a nice shine on the tables but the knife scratches are still there. 40 grit paper on the power file will take out the scratches but I can't get it to shine like the rest of the tables. My company will be buying walter products but none of us have enough experience to know the order of and what exact kind of product to order and use. Also, because we're working in a military galley we can't use any compounds or polishing liquids on these tables. Any suggestions or recommendations as to where I can get help would be appreciated.

Jim Sargent
contractor, galley re-hab - Virginia beach, virginia USA
February 24, 2011

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Hi, Jim. The supplier of the finishing products should be helping you with their proper application, but in general it will take a progression of grit sizes, rather than a single size, to remove scratches and then polish a surface. Trying to remove scratches with a fine grit is like trying to excavate for the foundation for a house with a tablespoon.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 25, 2011