I'm trying to restore my '64 F100 dash trim panel by myself after a local shop nearly ruined the part (semi-long story). It's some grade of stainless steel even though it's magnetic. I noticed the windshield trim is the same material. So I sanded the crap out of it starting with 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000, and then started polishing with Chemical Guys Heavy Metal Polish. After cleaning it off, I'm still seeing scratches up close. Any tricks to this? Just sand more? Polish more? A friend suggested sanding it with the polishing compound. I mean, it looks great from 6" and further away; maybe I'm being too obsessive. (Don't mind the flat area with holes - that will be painted Ford argent silver)
It looks like you moved on to the next grit a little too soon. Repeating the process is what it takes. Find out what grit will remove the visible scratches and go from there.
Just a dremel with the included felt bits. I also tried polishing it by hand with a micro fiber cloth. I'm a noob.
To get a mirror shine it's been my experience you need to use a buffing wheel, particularly on stainless. You're close, I'd hit it with a sewn cotton buff/red rouge and follow up with a loose cotton/white rouge.
I don't hit the wheel until I have completed 5000 dry sanding. Yours looks pretty good I have to say. Just a bit finer sanding before the polishing steps. I like using different wheels for black, white and red compound. Wear gloves, if the material isn't hot, the magic isn't 'appening.
Be very careful with the buffing wheel. We had 2 guys locally in Connecticut that ended up with a 1931 Ford radiator shell that caused them a lot of physical damage.
I had watched most of those videos. Pretty helpful, although it's tough to tell just how polished those parts are getting without having close up shots to examine. I've discovered there's a big difference between good & shiny and a true mirror finish.
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