How do you polish stainless steel to look chrome?
Please, serious answers only... others will be reported
Answers:
It depends on what you're starting with....
If you are taking a 2b annealed stainless steel (sometimes called "mill finish") to a #8(non-specular mirror finish), its just a matter of step buffing...(start with a 320 grit emery paper or flap wheel to cut the scale, then a cutting compound, like a black emery cutting compound, with a buffing wheel, then a rubbing and polishing compound (like a jewelers rouge) with a buffing wheel until you get a smooth non-specular finish. You can then attack the individual scratched and imperfections with a cotton or similar buffing wheel.
If you are staring with a grained stainless steel (like a #3, #4 or #6), then you have to cut the grain and it takes considerably longer. In this case, you need to step-sand the metal (progressivly finer sanding wheels/emery paper similar to the buffing proceedure above) You can use a taloe or similar compound for this cutting procedure.
Im assuming you are trying to match mirror chrome and not satin chrome. Satin chrome and satin stainless steel are as similar looking as mirror chrome and mirror stainless steel....only color is different.
Good Luck
Other answers:
Martha Stewart had this answer one day on her program and I tried it.
Barkeepers Friend. It's a scouring power like comet, but works great on stainless!!
Martha Stewart had this answer one day on her program and I tried it.
Barkeepers Friend. It's a scouring power like comet, but works great on stainless!!
Geri H is an idiot. Use a sewn cotton buffing wheel with tripoli and rouge compounds. Watch it the metal gets hot!