all of my original trim is dull. what i was wondering is how do you know what trim is chrome and what is s.s.? i just dont want to be to aggressive in polishing my original chrome.
if its pitted with rust its chrome if its just dull and pitted without rust its stainless. i think i'm 50% sure of this.
luckly i dont see any rust or pits but it doesnt not seem to shine up using mothers polish or blue magic. i had read about polishing s.s with 2000 grut paper but i didnt want to rub throught the chrome finish
A magnet won't stick well to stainless. Should stick to the chrome, assuming that what you are working on is not a cast piece. Neal
ykp53, Stainless won't attract a magnet, most chrome stuff will attract a magnet. Some chrome stuff might be aluminum or bass that won't attract a magnet. On brass or aluminum scrap were it won't matter to see what it is made of brass, aluminum, copper or a cast item. Cruiser
I always thought stainless could or could not be magnetic depending on its grade and how much it was worked. Just checked some stainless trim off my chevy and it was magnetic, also got some weird looks from my wife going through the silverware drawer. Most of the stuff marked stainless stuck to the magnet. I'm not a metallurgist, though.
Oh, come on. It sounded like an easy test and made it so simple. When I have checked stainless, the magnet sort of was attracted but did not stick like to regular steel. I, too, am not a metallurgist nor do I play one on TV. Neal
Stainless only means that it contains about 10.5% Chromium. Your higher quality stainless steels have a good nickel content, which in turn, makes them non-magnetic.
Depending on what kind of car you have, there are some standard places that chrome is used and stainless is used. Normally the headlight rings, grille surround, bumpers, door handles and emblems are chrome. Normally the trim around the windows and side trim on the body panels are stainless. Lots of variations depending on the car. Perhaps it would help if you posted what specific items you are trying to polish on what specific car...
There are 3 types of stainless; Austenitic, Martensitic and Ferretic. Only Ferretic is magnetic. There is a test kit available (here anyway) for stainless. You get it from speciallist Industrial Supply Co's or the larger S/Steel stockists. You place a drop of the liquid on the metal in question, if the liquid changes to a certain colour you know what type of stainless you have.
I would guess that if there are NO pits, it's probably stainless. Another clue is the material thickness; stainless parts are usually quite thin, maybe .040". If the parts are thick, over .090", they're probably plated.
What kind of car????? You might have to add into the discussion: anodized aluminum, and chromed pot metal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both non-magnetic.
You'll find a lot more chrome-plated steel, chrome-plated die cast zinc alloy on GM cars than on Fords. Ford pioneered the use of stainless steel for automotive trim and accessories. And yes they did make stainless skinned cars in the 30s and the 60s in partnership with Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp., 36 Fords, 6? Tbirds, 6? Lincolns.
Stainless trim is always very thin and easily dented. Chrome trim is on our old cars is almost over heavy cast potmetal, which means the metal is a bit soft (and easy to crack when it's not on the car), but thick. If you push on something and it has a little give to it, it's stainless. If it sounds dull and solid when you ding on it, it's almost certainly chrome. I don't know '53 Plymouths well enough to tell you which is which, except that the bigger side trim pieces are stainless, not chrome. On a chevy all the window trim, side trim, etc. is stainless (including headlight rims), and all the smaller emblems and such are chrome. Bumpers are chrome. Taillight housings are usually chrome on '50s cars.
The most common Stainless , the 300 series is actually 17% to 20% Chrome and 9% to 14.5% Nickel. One has to keep in mind that when the term Stainless steel is used you actually could include over 100 grades of stainless materials and most are (slightly) magnetic due to the carbon (which contains iron) content, maybe 0.03 to 0.06 %. It can be made non-magnetic usually called for in the boating industry by using the 316 series and very low or non -existant carbon content. Another thing to keep in mind is do not blast Stainless parts with steel shot, It can form a surface layer of carbon over the stainless and it will get surface rust and I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Yeah....You must be right. I totally forgot that Carbon and iron "Fe" are not two different elements. Check a periodic table. If I remember correctly, atomic numbers 6 & 26. If you can pull carbon "C" out of iron "Fe", you should go to work for NASA.
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