Stainless steel finish

[FM117]

This is kinda a welding question ( I welded the panel anyway ).
I'd like to apply a brushed finish on a stainless panel, sorta
like the finish on a stainless sink.
I've kinda got the look and uniformity by running a belt sander
with 50 grit over it then lightly hand rubbing it with scotch-brite.
The steel wears the grit off the paper in about 30 seconds,
anybody have a better way? The uniform look is important.
Thanks for any ideas.
Dave P.

[fun4now]

sander

i would try a small 1/4 sheet sander it will just kinda scratch lil circular patterns. and should last longer than a belt sander

[Teeps]

I might be scoffed at for mentioning this, but I caught a glimpse of Jesse James on his show Monster Garage, I think they were turning an Old fire truck into a Brewery. They made some big stainless tanks for brewing beer.
They wanted the tank finish to look consistent, and If I rememer right he was using a belt sander with some kind of special paper on it.

Might be worth trying to catch the show, I remember he had something specific in mind to make the finish consistant, but I don't remember all the details.

I'm curious as well.

[FM117]

The belt sander worked pretty well but the
paper died real quick.....lost all it's cutting action.
I may have to root around in the Grainger or McMaster-Carr
catalogs for some better paper if I can't come up with
anything else.
Thanks
Dave P.

[Paul Seaman]

If you can find emery belts they will last much better and I'll warn you they are pricey.
Good luck,

[arcdawg]

i worked at a stainless shop building exhaust hoods.... we used a SHAKER sander and vairing grits of scotchbrite

p.s. its very hard to to get it perfect.... do a online search for stainless refinishing

[walker]

Try sanding by hand, with a block. If you are intent on using a belt sander be sure to use good quality belts, use a real light touch and use a light oil too(wd-40) it will help the belts last longer.

[FM117]

Thanks everybody, I'll try to find some emery belts
and try a little lube on them. In the future I'll take a LOT
more care to prevent scratches and nicks in the surface
while building the **** thing!
Dave P.

[Teeps]

Just fyi, I have no experience using this tool, but apparently they do make this specifically for stainless refinishing.
Search for "Dynisher"

http://www.transposales.com.ph/Product%20Photos/dynabrade_p17.htm

Above link is just an example of one, you move it back and forth, and it makes a grain pattern on the surface.

Production tool and supply is down the road from me, and they sell two different model Dynisher's 50730 and 13450, but ouch, kind of expensive.

They also have a web site, www.pts-tools.com

I'm sure you can get them from other tooling places like mscdirect and grainger.

Looks like the one tools uses a thicker abrassive roll, but does a similar function to what one could do by hand.

I think the real trick there is that they use kind of a cushion/cloth type roll, real fine particle, just like emery paper.

[Flat-out]

FM117,

You would be surprised at how many things you can get to look good with a standard random orbital sander (round discs). I have finished SS and Al w/ good results. You can get different grits and see which one you like and go over previous sandings if you don't like the finish. One of the main benifits of this tool is that it is hard to do serious damage to work work.

[dyn88]

i work with machinists and they are all **** bent on using the old D/A to finish plate parts. We in the weld fab sshop frown upon this, A nice directional finish with red scotch brite is so much more attractive. I realize this vears away from the originalpost but a D/A looks like you are trying to hide mistakes.

[HAWK]

I must agree with dyn88! The red Scotch-Brite yields a great finish. I cleaned my SS kitchen sink with it and realized, a little late, I had added a new brushed look. I use the red S-B pads a lot on my angle die grinder to clean Al before welding. With a lighter touch it ( the red Scotch-Brite ) adds a really nice brushed look, but hand scratching is the way to go.

[FM117]

I got the look I wanted by using 60 grit on a belt sander then
went over it by hand with a course scotchbrite pad. This gave
a nice uniform look, cleaning the color off the weld zones was
somewhat of a pain, had to do it all by hand ( I like power tools )
but it came out ok.
Thanks for the ideas.
Dave

[arcdawg]

as far as dicolorization goes my old shop had this little wand with steel wool at the end that you plugged into 110v and dipped the wand into some kind of acid..... man that made quick work of that task !!

**** i miss that shop !!

dawg

[Scott V]

as far as dicolorization goes my old shop had this little wand with steel wool at the end that you plugged into 110v and dipped the wand into some kind of acid..... man that made quick work of that task !!

**** i miss that shop !!

dawg

Yes that works but I kind of like this product (Walter) and others for SS

If any of you guys want to impress your wife, go to a decent welding store and look for Walter products for Stainless steel protection. I do not see it at the website but whoever carrys Walter stuff will have it. It kicks butt on protecting stainless frigerators and such. Your wife and girlfriend (maybe not in that order) will like it so much they will beg you to go to the welding store to find other good household stuff!!!! Plus it shows them you do really care about housework!!!!!!

http://www.jwalterinc.com/servlet/wa...al&item=53G016