brillo pads work the best.

 

bumpage......


enjoy having your thread back

 

mods - thanks for letting my thread travel and see all the different sections..

eddy -i know your a stainless steel expert and i appreciate the input, buti dont know about the brillopad idea..

 

Whatever you do try it on the backside first

 

Well, I'm a structural tech for aircraft. i deal with aluminum and stainless.. Not really an expert per say, but 5 years of exp. Mostly manufacturing, welding, and prepping for paint.
But the best way I found to scratch up the surface of stainless is a coarse brillo pad. Or what we call a " greenie wheenie " and a bit of synthetic oil. MIL-L-800 or VVL.
You start by getting the surface oiled up a bit, then go in a straight and even pattern.
Stainless scratches nicely ( and easy ) and if you do it right you'll have the matte look or " brushed " that you are looking for.
You could use aluminum oxide aka sand paper, but then you have to do some major cleaning, because your stainless plate will rust up in time once you mix the two.. Hope that helped.

 

hmmm.. will the brillo pad leave "brush strokes" ? i started a little and it seems to be showing my sanding in very small stripes.. id rather it all just look uniform and NOT like it has strokes all over it

 

It takes alot of work but yes it can be done. There are different types of pads. Don't just use a dishwashing one, it's not made for that purpose.. once you take the luster out, all it will take is time and patience.

 

Might just be time to pull it off and put something else on.

 

It might be time for you to trade yourMustang for another ride[&:]?
Come on man, you can do better than that...
The point of this thread is to see what it takes to polish stainless steel.

Siberian, I didn't realize you were going after the polished look vs the machine one.
Like I said before, people that work on Brass will know the correct steps to this process.
Show us pics when done.

 

all right i dont know if i was being clear enough.. here is a picture(sorry this pic was taken right after winter so the engine bay is disgusting so ignore the filth) of what the radiator cover looks like. id like it to look very dull, similar to the c&L tube.. i know it probably wont end up very close but its just so shiny and just takes over the engine bay.



shaker - i like this one better than the plastic ones, im not changing, i have trouble with those damn push pins and with this cover i can just use normal screws

pascal - dont really know where to find a machine shop or know anything like that around here. thanks for all the help though