Hey guys, have a 69 that I am trying to save the stainless T for the t-tops and all windows trim. The stainless has a surface and a few mild scratches. Was wondering if anyone have tried to use compound, etc to get them out? I did try a heavy compound with a buffing wheel on a drill and sorta helped. But need a little more to make it look as good as I want. Ideas?

 

Hi b,
I believe all but the deepest scratches can be buffed out. Stainless is very forgiving in that way.
It takes several grits of compound, a buffing wheel with several different types of pads for the particular compound being used, and a good bit of time.
It's not quick, but many people get very good results.
Regards,
Alan

 

It's hard and the progress is slow but I have seen scratches sanded out with various degrees of sand paper from 320 to 1000 and then several stages of buffing compounds. You have to be very careful when buffing as the wheel can rip the moldings right out of your hand cutting you, stabbing you, or shooting the molding accross the room. You can also youtube "restoring stainless steel" to get some ideas.

 

they make special compounds and wheels for ss. google Eastwood,they sell what you need.

 

Buffing is something I’ve very familiar with so to start with I’ll cover some basic’s that most are not aware of.

All GM stainless moldings are flash chromed after they are made and then polished. Why? Because this was faster and cheaper than trying to buff the stainless to the luster we seek. So when you see a scratch in the moldings if it is not deep it is still usually though the flash coating and thus creates the next problem.

When you use a buffer with compound you’ll greatly reduce scratches, but until you remove the flash coating you’ll always see it. I’m not sure if many of you have buffed your moldings out and noticed that there appears to be a haze or color transformation in the molding and if you did, this is where you have removed the flash coat and gone into the stainless.

So how to take care of that T molding? I would go with 3J’s suggestions. Compounds work great but the sand prep before you go to compounds can save time and will result in a perfect molding.

The first thing I do is scuff sand with 600 and doing this will show you the areas in need of work because all the scratches will not be hit by the sanding and show up. Once I know where the areas in need are I then go to work on those areas either by removing the dent or by sanding down with a more abrasive grit working my way upward.

When sanding on T moldings I usually screw them down to a sheet of plywood so that I can work with them a bit more aggressive and not worry about holding on to them. Just don’t screw them down so tight you pull dents where the screw holes are.

Once I work the area and the grit upward I then take my molding to the buffing wheel and give it a buff cut polish and then I work my way upward in grit. (We have four wheels here ready to go with different grits on them). Another hint is never use the same wheel when changing grit… you’ll never get all the old off.

Other tricks I use. I use a DA sander on some moldings and only in a higher grit. Why because it is easier than hand sanding and I make sure I keep it flat and moving constantly! I’ll also warn you that this is asking for trouble if you are not experienced.

And Blue.. Wheels can compound can be purchased way cheaper from other sources than Eastwood. Just as important as the compound, the correct wheel for your grit will also play a part in your end results. Our buffers have four inch wide wheels on them made up of several wheels stacked together too. You'll find it is easier to control the buffing with a wider wheel.

IMHO,

Willcox