I hand polished to a perfect shine using only sandpaper by hand some small SS boat parts and tubing for a Bimini top. I started with 400 grit paper to remove some scratches, then onto 1000 grit to smooth out some more, it looked pretty good at that point. But then I used 10,000 grit sandpaper bought off amazon, and that made it look like mirror finish and it did so very fast. So only those 3 levels of paper were needed.
Years ago i worked in a chrome plating work shop, some thing like that could be dipped over night and replated then washed in acid and it would come out brand new, no scratches, the cost would be the same as all those wheels and polish, most of the replating that went on was for boat restoration railings and bolts, you may want to look into costing it out cause it does inside the pipe too and could save money in the long term
Wanted to thank you for this video. For me it was the discovery of the unitized wheels which can cut your workload heavily .Also safe with higher rpm angle grinders
Please educate me: Isn't the "stainless"-part a coating? Or is it a kind of steel through and through? The results in the video looks amazing, and I love that somebody restore old materials instead of buying new!
No that is real stainless steel, if its from a boat, probably 316. Its all homogeneous. The coating youre thinking of is likely “chrome” normal mild steel, plated with nickel, then coated with chromium, this stuff rusts like regular steel.
Thank you so much this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Straight to the point without a bunch of fancy sales! Now to do all the stanchions on my boat lol
Never thought of using the pad on a grinder I have pedestal mounted buffing machine. Got some ATV exhausts to buff and this certainly will be making it easier Baie Dankie
I just did that on a motorcycle you could also use mothers mag polish on course steel wool then mothers on fine steel wool. It took me much less time and the results were the same. Not sure if you have access to the mothers mag polish but most auto stores carry it. Great work on getting the scratches out sometimes you have to do the sanding on areas that were the metal was not finished or even around the welds.
The guys at the place advised us as our stainless steel was looking pretty darn bad to go with the route we are previously using.. It looks really good so we're gonna stick to what we know! 😊
Good job, Ricky. Take care not to overheat the surface. Overheated surface loose the metal structure of the alloy. This causes corrosion and stress corrosion. Because of this after welding it is used to take pickling paste or pickling bath for removing tinder instead of grinding with angle grinders.
Hi Wanambi , im not sure if you have used unitized abrasive polishing discs before ? yes if you are not careful you could damage the surface of the material but to change the molecular structure of the stainless steel alloy will required a lot more head, commonly associated with a cutting disc of a grinding disc. the method displayed is how all stainless steel railings are polished in South Africa after weld joints have been removed , non the less we do acid dip the stainless steel after welding.
Ricky, you are right - it must be high temperature to demolish the structure of the alloy. Of course, to polish it is a need to work abrasive. Te only reason I posted it was the "warning" for all the others not to take an angle grinder to make the welting even an then polish it. This is the point never works. I am sure - so I followed you - you know what you do :-)
Oh the joys of polish metals on a boat, it bring back the good old days. I feel sorry for Ricky there is so much to polish but will give you the look you want. looking forward to the next one.
there's also a set of polishing wheels that are like a more durable grade of scotch brite pads....they work much the same way as this; run up through the "grits" of them, finish with a good polish..... I've used them to restore old tools to service; they make quick work of it....
Excellent job. Very shiny. I sometimes use a grinder with a mechanical speed variation switch 1 - 10 to make it a little more comfortable especially on the more course wheels. They are also very handy for other grinding applications. But, love the vlogs x
Really great result - something very satisfying about painting and polishing - like bringing something back from the dead and giving it new life...PS What final colour will the outside of your boat be? Currently blue - I'm hoping white...
Thanks so much! We will be keeping it Blue, we were thinking white but the time and cost it would take just isn't worth it for us right now! Maybe in the future! 😊
Impressive! In what materials are the grinding discs ? We've just built our arch with industrial INOX 316L, so we need to polish it now to look like a mirror. I'll try your technique :)
Its a lot of work but it sure does look good. Just did that for my boat steering wheel, had a rubber all the way around the wheel and started breaking down and getting black shit on our hands, i cut it off only to discover i had a stainless steering wheel that had rusted in certain areas, knocked the rust off with some fine steel wool, then hit it with i think a green (or possibly black) bar for cutting then the white bar, came out real nice. Threw some wax on it for good measure.
Everything can be bought by coastlands 3M, Port Elizabeth.. The discs are unitized disc, fine & medium. Denim buffing wheel 115mm. As well as stainless steel finishing compound. We can't give you the exact brand because ours has worn off the packaging so have no idea what it is called.
Can you please give the exact model of discs you are using.(even buffing one if possble).I couldnt find anything like what you are using in my country.Thank you
Save all the Stainless Steel you can ....the old stuff is American and English S.S. and is real 316 the new stuff is Chinesium 3?? and will rust like no tomorrow...and you should get a variable speed 7 in buffing grinder to do the polishing. Your wheel and compound will last longer..but ya did good !
LOL! get a small 1200W polisher/sander with a variable speed control ,appreciate the enthusiasm but a 10" 10000RPM grinder is not really the right tool for a cloth finishing mop.
They are unitized disc's. I'm not sure where you could get them that side but I'm sure if you Google it, it will let know know where you can find them in your area. Make sure to get the fine cut and get white bar buffing compound suitable for stainless steel. In S. A we got them at coastlands sales.
@@livingwiththemaias I thought when you sand the stainless steel you ruin its upper coating and its more vulnerable to rusting/corrosion? and isn't 400 grit really rough why not 1000-2000 and which finishing paste do you recommend in usa? and how do you sand in between the railing fittings? you cant with that sanding disk
I’ve been all over town and the internet looking for fine 300 grit and medium grit polishing discs for my angle grinder and the highest grit I can find anywhere is 120, which seems way too rough to be a finishing polish.. wondering if you can put the link to the discs you bought here so I can find them? Thanks much in advance!
Look for United Abrasives Unitized wheels to buy in the USA . If you look below in the comments there is another brand called Grifton but havent used it . The SAIT is a pro wheel. The real real value that this video provided is the dicovery of the wheels .Normal ppl wouldnt even know the existence of this product
Hi , we have used many of those wheels and this is also tips from someone that we met that has been doing stainless steel for over 30 years . The wheels would last longer at lower rpm but it works great
I use the same system for polishing 316L Stainless that Ricky demonstrates in this video. The fine and very fine surface prep pads can be found on Amazon; www.amazon.com/Griton-SP409-Silicon-Carbide-Preparation/dp/B00TDO3ZJW/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1534389567&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_two_browse-bin%3A3515875011
A polishing kit made for 6 or 8 inch Angle Grinders that includes all compounds and polishing wheels can be ordered from Caswell Plating. I highly recommend this kit which includes a stand-off adapter (arm) that extends the wheel a few inches away from the grinder, easier to get into tight spots when polishing welded tubing; www.caswellplating.com/buffing-polishing/buffing-kits/handheld-grinder-buffing-kit-6.html
Keep in mind, the surface prep pads noted above - there is Silicon Carbide and Aluminum Oxide, the disc will be labeled S/C or ALO respectively. The S/C is about double the price, but I have used both and find the ALO to be just as effective. Funny thing is it says max rpm is 13,300 and my grinder is at a set speed of 9000 rpm but this still 'melts' the compound and can leave a residue on the metal. When I mount these same discs on my stationary motor that only spins at 3450 rpm, I never have this problem. So if you have an adjustable speed grinder, turn the speed down low!
It's unitised disc's. Medium and fine to do the cutiing and then a buffing wheel with stainless steel polish. You can get the disc's anywhere in the world.
@@livingwiththemaias "Unitised"? Is that like the type or brand? Sorry for my ignorance and I do appreciate your response. I'm just very impressed with how quick you did that and achieved that result with essentially only 3 steps. I have a bow roller that I need to do and want to do exactly what you did, so I'll look for that "unitised" if it's the name or type. Thanks again!
use WD40 or alternative to help with overheating the stainless steel, this metal is great to clean and can handle the heat from 11000rpm single speed grinders
@@becool27 I want to remove some discoloration/tarnishing from a stainless steel Jenn-Air propane grill - how do I accomplish the polishing while maintaining the brushed look of the rest of the BBQ?
The first disc used is a flap disc, this is usually used in the first stage to remove any rust or oxidation on the surface of the metal. The second wheel he used is a Nylon Fibre polishing wheel, this is finer/higher grit than a flap disc, you remove the marring and grind marks from the flap disc with this wheel. Now for the very last step, in the video he used a polishing mop (quite an oversized one, I assume it isn't designed for a 4 inch grinder), he applies a bit of metal polishing compound on the mop and starts polishing the stainless pipe. There are proper polishing wheels designed for grinders, specifically a felt polishing disc (for angle grinders), you should be able to find one at a weld supply store as well as the polishing compound.
