polishing stainless trim

[Telvis]

Can anyone give me the detailed instructions for polishing stainless trim? Preferably the easiest and fastest way to get it done.

[daytonalo]

YES, GO BUY A BUFFING WHEEL AND POLISHING COMPOUND AND HOLD ON TO THE PART WITH ALL YOUR ENERGY . IF YOU DON'T THE PART WILL HIT YOUR NEIGHBORS HOUSE !

[Roth68rt]

Part should be clean and scratch/pit free.  Repair as necessary. 
Step 1. Emery compound on a sisal wheel. 
Step 2. Stainless compound on a Spiral/Ventilated wheel. 
Step 3. White Rouge compound on a Loose Section wheel. 
Recommend 3600 RPM wheel speed. 

All information comes from the Eastwood Company buffing/metal finishing instruction booklet. 

[Telvis]

Looks like it's going to be a slow tedious process....

[DFS68_Charger]

I bought a variable speed  6" bench grinder and  used it for polishing my trim. I purchased the emery, stainless and rouge compounds from Eastwood.
Don't bother with the sisal wheel; it is a POS. Use the Spiral/Vented wheel for the emery and stainless compounds. Let the buff wheel and compounds do the work and only apply enough pressure to keep the piece in contact with the wheel.
As stated before; the pieces should be clean. I washed and scrubbed my trim with laundry soap and wet sanded them in several stages with 1500 grit as the final finish.

A concrete wall between the buff wheel and the neighbor's house is also a good idea.

Good Luck.

DFS

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

www.caswellplating.com has a nice tutorial

I used a lot of their products as well

[Shakey]

Looks like it's going to be a slow tedious process....

It will be, but it will be worth it.

I bought all of the Eastwoods products, the wheel and their whole polishing kit.

The only thing I have done so far are the headlight rings.

Take daytonalo's advice - hold on tight.  One ring hit the wall and I guess I could consider myself lucky it didn't take a finger with it.  What a shame as I was almost done and it looked so good.  Glad I had some spares.

A few pics.  The one that got away.  A before and after.  The wheel.  A few days work.

[jaak]

i wet sanded stainless parts with 220, then 400 grit sandpaper, to remove scuffs and scratches, then i used some wenol polish in a red tube (coarser) and used some small buffing wheels I bought off the MAC tools truck, after that I used the finer wenol (blue tube) and a small wool pad that came in the kit. I used the buffing pads in a air drill, because a die grinder was too fast and electric drill was a little slow. while buffing I attached the trim to a piece of wood (with masking tape, wire tie straps) whatever it took to securely attach the trim to scrap wood and then I put the wood tightly in a vise, after buffing to a mirror finish, simply remove the tape, ties, ect and reattach in a spot you already buffed to buff out the spots left from previous tape, etc. Just be cautious , I've never destroyed a part yet with this method and I think you get really nice results. Also after buffing I like to go over it one more time with the blue tube of wenol one more time by hand with a polishing cloth.  Hope this helps this is just a method I came up with using the tools I had on Hand because it wasn't in my budget to spend 200-300 bucks for a buffing motor and all the separate buffing wheels needed.

PS--- I also did this with the aluminum grille trim also.
Good Luck,
Jason

[Dodge Don]

It's easy.

I bought the stainless steel kit from Eastwood.

I wet sanded each piece by hand, first with 600grit, then 1000 and then 1500 which gets rid of all the light scratches etc.

I then used buffing wheels on my bench grinder. First buff with Eastwood stainless steel compound, then with a new buffing wheel with White Rouge compound. They come out looking brand new.

When buffing I used one bare hand so I could sense when the section was getting hot....spend too much time in one section and it can get really hot and warp. Keep moving and don't spend too much time in any one spot. Watch for areas where the buffing wheel can snag and send the piece into orbit.

Is it time consuming? Yes......but the finished product is fantastic.

[4402tuff4u]

Careful with the stainless. I read that if you get it to hot and turns bluish you have ruined it. Let the buffing wheel do the work. Wear goggles or face mask, respirator/mask and non-bulky leather gloves. If you get one of the trim pieces caught in the wheel by accident (it often happens) and don't have gloves on, the trim piece will most likely open your hand like a surgical knife. If you do it inside your garage, you will create some mess between the compounds and the particles that come off the buffing wheels. I did my trim in my garage several months ago and I'm still cleaning some of the dust created. It's all worth it thou. The trim comes out awesome - better than new. I followed the detailed instructions provided in the book "Charger Project" and bought all my supplies from Eastwood. The only pieces left for me to do are the chrome pieces.

Does anyone know if chrome can be polished like aluminum and/or stainless? What wheel and compound is used for chrome?

[jaak]

Careful with the stainless. I read that if you get it to hot and turns bluish you have ruined it. Let the buffing wheel do the work. Wear goggles or face mask, respirator/mask and non-bulky leather gloves. If you get one of the trim pieces caught in the wheel by accident (it often happens) and don't have gloves on, the trim piece will most likely open your hand like a surgical knife. If you do it inside your garage, you will create some mess between the compounds and the particles that come off the buffing wheels. I did my trim in my garage several months ago and I'm still cleaning some of the dust created. It's all worth it thou. The trim comes out awesome - better than new. I followed the detailed instructions provided in the book "Charger Project" and bought all my supplies from Eastwood. The only pieces left for me to do are the chrome pieces.

Does anyone know if chrome can be polished like aluminum and/or stainless? What wheel and compound is used for chrome?

yeah you can muck up stainless if you get carried away.

[SeattleCharger]

 

[hewi]

Is there any exterior trim on a 69 Dodge Charger chrome (apart from the bumpers)?

Is the mirror chrome?
Vinyl roof moldings?
Door handles?

Cheers
Bruce

[Shakey]

Is there any exterior trim on a 69 Dodge Charger chrome (apart from the bumpers)?

Is the mirror chrome?
Vinyl roof moldings?
Door handles?

Cheers
Bruce

Look at the last photo in Reply # 6 of this thread. 

That is all of the stainless sttel trim that needs to be done for my car.  A '69 with a vinyl top. 

The checkmarks need to be re-chomed, as does the door handles and the mirror and the eybrow mouldings on the rear tail panel.  All the others are stainless steel and can be polished.

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong - which is good!

[Ghoste]

And if it's a 66 or 67, you can factor a whole bunch of anodized aluminum into this exterior trim polishing regimen as well.

[Todd Wilson]

All this talk of polishing kits and buff wheels on grinders seems some what dangerous especially for the part.


Seems like a lot of work and expense, when cleaning and using 000 steel wool will do the same thing.


Rick K had a little container of some paste a few years ago that you would dab a little on a rag and rub and polish with your finger and then wipe it clean and that stuff did a great job.


Glass cleaner and 000 steel wool!


Todd

[Dodge Don]

All this talk of polishing kits and buff wheels on grinders seems some what dangerous especially for the part.


Seems like a lot of work and expense, when cleaning and using 000 steel wool will do the same thing.


Rick K had a little container of some paste a few years ago that you would dab a little on a rag and rub and polish with your finger and then wipe it clean and that stuff did a great job.


Glass cleaner and 000 steel wool!


Todd

I've used your method.......to clean the part before the serious effort begins.

There is a HUGE difference between "cleaning" a part and actually "restoring" it.

[Silver R/T]

http://www.s10forum.com/how_to_polish_aluminum_wheels

[bull]

I used to polish stainless bars for a guy who made '33 and '34 Plymouth replacement grilles (he still does it BTW) but yea, you have to be real careful with those buffing wheels. They'll grab the part, twist it into a pretzel and whack your knuckles three times before you can react. After that experience I think I'm going to try doing it with a small, handheld buffing wheel on a die grinder or something. I have no desire to watch my stainless trim get wrapped around a big buffing wheel.

[Dodge Don]

Yes you have to be careful, however this isn't rocket science guys. It's not that hard to do and the results are outstanding.

[beenaround]

:iagree:with DD i have the same kit from eastwood and it works fantastic.it just takes time and patience.

[Nacho-RT74]

how much time ( in hours ) have you spent guys ?