Technical Stainless Trim Polishing quality

Sometimes it’s best to leave things to the pro’s. One of those to me is stainless steel polishing. I got my trim back from polish and there are straight line scratches in each and every piece. Am I overreacting or should there be no f ‘in scratches in these pieces?? I did my best to have the scratches visible in the picture.
Next question, is there a point of no return where they can’t get out that scratch? It looks like 400 grit. I’m hesitant to give the same guys a second chance. If they didn’t do it right the first time with over 40 pieces what is to say they’ll do it better the second time

 

Are those scratches the whole length of every piece? If so, I would agree with you, I wouldn’t be happy with that at all. Especially paying somebody to do it. I would say polishing should include removing scratches. It looks like with just a little more work they could’ve gotten those out.

 

Yup the entire length unfortunately and every single piece ! I should also say those straight line scratches were not on there before

 

With the caveat of not seeing the “ before picture” I would have to think they could have done better. Looks to my amateur eye that they may have skipped a step in the interest of time going from a rougher buff to a finer one without a middle buff.
I’d call them.

 

I have buffed virgin SS tube with out even sanding it first and didn't have scratch issues, in your case I would not be happy. I would take it back and ask if they call this good.

 

should look very close to chrome finish, with no scratches.

 

Sorry to see that. Your Caddy needs better than that.
I have been sure to let my wife know that no one can do house repairs here, without references.
She was spoiled when I could just do it all. ( Not everything now )

 

I have had good and bad luck with chrome and polishing. It was not always the cheapest place that did the worst. I say ask them to do it again.
Was there any finish agreed upon before you made the deal might be the question. I’ve also had people tell me “OK yeah I did X amount of dollars of work. If that’s how it turned out. You’re gonna have to pay me several more hours to finish that”

 

I polish my own stainless parts. I agree with what was said above. It looks like they went from coarse to fine without anything in between. It is not that hard to do, but it is time consuming. I would not be happy if those were my parts. Did you ask them to show you some of the finished work they did ?

 

They polished my trim around the bucket seats that came out great! I expected the same and even mentioned to them how nice those turned out and was looking forward to the same result. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case with the 37 pieces I dropped off

 

They’ve done work for me before and was expecting the same result! Unfortunately that’s not the case with my trim pieces I received back. Im hesitant to even give them a second chance

 

They said it would be show quality finish! They were in really decent shape for being all original but because I’m having the car painted I thought why not have them polished while they’re off. I’d rather have them in the no scratch, slightly dull condition they were before in than the shiny, scratched up condition they are in now.

 

That’s what I’m thinking too

 

It's ok as long as you didn't pay too much. I polish my own metal, and SS is hard to get a mirror finish out of. It is hard to begin with and it work hardens when it gets hot, and heat is the magic that makes polishing work. If it isn't a show car those pics are fine. If it is I would wet sand to 5000, maybe 7000 with a 2" air, angle grinder. I experimented the other day using light oil rather than water, but I didn't see any significant improvements. 7000 prepped parts will polish nice on the wheel as most of the scratches are gone already. I like to use red and black on dedicated wheels as I polish. I also found that clamping my small paint buffer to the workbench with a wool bonnet on it (a little redneckish I admit) and using Mothers metal polish gives a very nice final finish.

 

I would talk to them, tell them how you feel about it. Don't be a*****,***** does happen sometimes, maybe a new guy forgot a step or something got sent out the door early, give them a chance to correct it. Good quality shops that have a good reputation will want to protect that reputation, and honestly it looks like that just needs one more pass with rouge and then a final buff, it's not like they're dented or have deep scuffs in them or anything. It would be an easy fix.

But no, I would not feel satisfied with that work, unless it was really cheap to have done. I worked at a chrome shop for years and we did a lot of stainless, the only times we had issues with stuff that wasn't perfect is when we started with pieces that were ultra-beaten, then sometimes you can only go so far and have to call it. But that's not the case with yours.

 

That is not show quality, therefore, they have delivered an unacceptable performance. Tell them (in a business like manner) to continue processing the material until it reaches show quality. Do you have to ship it or something? It seems like it’s pretty simple decision to me.

 

I had @J.Fishbeck straighten and polish all the stainless trim for my '54 Ranch Wagon. Very happy with the results. Not cheap but the results were worth it. IMO

 

I didn't even open the picture. You aren't happy and describe it as not being the same quality as the first 'test' parts. As others have said, communicate this in a reasonable manner and see what they say.
There have been decades of TV shows who rely on the lack of communication to push the plot. Just talk to them and see how it goes.

 

If those pieces were mine, and the result was not what I was expecting, I would certainly relate that back to them. From the picture, that is an amateur job, not a professional one.

 

Yep, I'm an amateur and have done better than that. Sorry.

 

I bought a bunch of stuff from Caswel [I think] and went to town. 304 SS

 

If you've ever tried doing this, it is labor intensive and take quite a while to get good results. It's also messy. I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to do large amounts any more. I just pay the guy who knows how to do it faster. I would not be happy with what you got, either.

 

My chrome shop likes to wrap stuff in paper, but I always open and inspect. They are friends of mine, but they respect that I think. I have done their home loans many times, I expect them to read the docs before signing. Never leave with less than you were expecting.

 

I worked in the polishing/plating industry as a plater who did some polishing when the guys needed a hand. That is what we call "Good Driver", not "Show". Show is flawless in finish or it wouldn't be called show. Good driver looks good from a couple of feet away.

If you paid for show then take it back and have them do it right. We did stainless in four buffs, each with a finer compound. As someone above said, it looks like they skipped a step.

 

Appreciate the response and I will be respectful! I’ve learned arguing and being rude doesn’t get too far

 

Appreciate the response! I will clarify that I would like show quality

 

Good advice, thank you!

 

Foolishly, I did not inspect them. Having seen their work before and going on the reputation they currently have I wasn’t expecting the quality to be subpar! Lesson learned

 

Will do!