Its also a good idea to use a strip of wood slipped inside the back of body side mouldings to give them some support when really getting into the wheel.
I picked up an Eastwood buffer at a swap meet, and use the silver stick for stainless, it's amazing what you can do with it, and I'm an amateur. Total cost less than $100. However, be sure to use safety glasses, or the doctor bill could be more than that.
I polish ( amateur ) a few . Most of the SS are thin and long . I had a great advice ..... Use a cover over the wheel . One day , you ll loose your part . I suppose you have gloves and glasses , I don t really care about you . Your trim will turn over the wheel , cut your hands , your head , etc . You will survive but your 50 years old part will have a lot of damages Use a cover ......
Yes, my father once buffed out all of the stainless trim on a '56 Ford Victoria using a standard body buffer with a fleece pad and liquid polishing compound BEFORE he disassembled the car. It looked perfect and a lot of resto guys thought it was new-old-stock stainless. The down side is if you catch the pad on an edge or corner you can ruin the trim. The up side is you have no risk of launching the trim into the ground, your thigh, etc like with a bench buffer.
Not worth the risk if you ask me. You run a higher risk of damaging the car and burning through the clear. Just do it right and do not worry bout it.
Is there any suppliers that are usually local that would carry the buffing wheels and compound? Harbor Freight stuff does not hold up to the task on something like this does it?
For a hot rod do some test buffing after the 320 grit......for a street rod do some test buffing after 600 or 1000 grit!
I m not a pro myself , but discovered over 1000 is a waiste of time . Sometimes 2000 , it depends . I have no rule anyway .. Some guys have great advices on the Eastwood forum .
I polish stainless at least twice a month. If you are going all the way to 2000 grit it should be almost polished with out buffing. I usually scotch bright then red rouge and then green on my buffing wheel and if I want a real luster maybe mint green. Back in the day, before I bought my large buffer ten hp, I would chuck a six or eight inch cotton buff in my grinder. It would make a mess but would get the job done.
I did all the stainless on my 62, used 2 types of buffing wheel, one wool, the other sisal. Also used 3 types of buffing compounds. You need to wear protection as it is dirty and can be dangerous Just take your time the results will be good.
Each buffing pad gets it's own rouge. The rougher compound will always be present, despite trying to remove it. I cut 'all' the pcs I'm working with, using the sisal wheel and black compound. Wipe down the mldgs. Then use the buffing pad on the otherside with the grey.. Then change both buffing pads, to finer rouge. Easier than changing each time.. each mldg!
Not to hijack , but what size of wheel and speed ? I use a 3600 RPM bench grinder , and it seems way too fast , even with a 4 " wheel . I can t even use the soft cotton 6 or 7 "
3600 is fine.. My Baldor turns that. 6 & 8inch pads, are what we use here. The speed slows, once you're working and applying pressure!
Ok thanks . So it seems I don t have the right coundpoumd ( ? ), it almost burn when I apply it on the wheel .
That doesn't sound right.. compound shouldn't react like that. Chrome/Polishing shops have the stuff you need. They might even sell it a little cheaper than the automotive paint store.
Not in Canada . Or maybe not in Quebec . Those things are quite difficult to find here . Even Phosphoric Acid is not available in Home Depot . We must cross for this stuff . I should have stopped to a store last time I went to NY
The Studebaker Drivers Club website has a series of articles on repairing and polishing stainless. Once you've got to 1200 grit go to white compound and a spiral wound buffing wheel and your results will be great.
Does anyone know where I can pick up a good set of buffing wheels? Should I use my buffer for my clear with those pads? Or whee can I get what I may need? Any ideas?
My shop used a lot of compound and****orted buffs from this company. http://www.formaxmfg.com/ They make good stuff, they have a good reputation, and they are good people. Your problem with these guys isn't quality, it is determining which of the many buff types they make is best suited to the work you are doing. I'm not sure, they may only sell directly to industrial accounts and distributors. If that is so, their products are widely used and quite a few distributors carry their things.
heres a tip if you polish bolts stick them in a drill spin the drill ,run the buffer because the bolt is in the drill no chance of it flying off no chance of burning your fingers
Check Eastwoods prices and go from there.. Do a search, shop around for the lowest price. Not the same type of pads, you would use to polish and buff a car.. so no, on that one. (if I'm understanding that right)
There are many ways of polishing stainless, and one particular method is perfect for one piece, while another method is perfect for a different piece. A wide straight piece of trim can make good use a looser wheel, while that same wheel would be almost guaranteed disaster for a narrow piece of trim with curves. A spiral sewn cotton wheel is one of the safest to use, because it is less grabby, but will not have quite as fine of a finish as a loose linen wheel; even with the same compound. One thing I have learned, is that is cna be really difficult to get th efinal color buff to shine without heavy buffing grain showing still; this problem gets exponentially worse with wider and wider trims. Make sure you are completly ready for your next step. I run my grains diagonally down the trims, crossing each time to ensure everything is good. Unless you have some big belt sanders and an****ortment of different buffs in different sizes, my specific method of running stainless is useless information. I just polished and straightened almost 100ft of stainless trim this week. 57 Nomad and 48 Chevy P/U. If anyone has any specific questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability.
I am knee deep in it now, can be frustrating labor intensive pain in the****; er, arms fingers, back].. I found its a good idea to put something soft on the floor under the buffer so if it pulls something out of yer hands [or your a clumsy fart like me] it doesn't hit the concrete..One of the HF floor matts will work well..You may find you have to go back and forth between sanding/black compound/green compound as some sratches don't show up till late...I'll post some pics later...
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