Will wetsanding work on polished Stainless Steel (tips)?

C

CobraRed

New member
Wondering if wet sandpaper sheets will works if going with grain during sanding followed by Flitz polish.

shown here:

18 Sheets of Wet-Dry Sandpaper; Your Choice Of 14 Grits - eBay (item 330212435854 end time Feb-18-08 09:51:57 PST)



I was thinking about starting at 320 and working up to 1200. I've polished alluminim many times using sheets of paper, will this work for SS?



the side pipes (have two sets):



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they used to be polished, just the road has had its tole on them.



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I haven't personally tried actual wetsanding, but #0000 steel wool would probably do the job. I use that on polished stainless all the time with excellent results. Just do a test spot in an inconspicuous location first to make sure it doesn't overly scratch the surface.
 
need this sandpaper to fix knicks on my cylinder head anyways, so thought i use it for this too. Why does steel wool work better than fine grain?
 
I myself just use the medium steel wool that come's in a variety pack of 16 at lowes. I use it on my valve head and intake manifold plenum and it came out great. They also have super fine(0000) at lowes too.
 
I used to use the 0000 steel wool with oil to clean the gunk(mostly tar) off the megs on my Marauder then hand polish with Blue Magic and they would turn out pretty good. Then I discovered a better way, first I spray down the megs with Rain X tar and bug remover gel, let it dwell for 30 minutes then wipe it off, then I use rechargable drill with a 3" white polishing pad and go to it with the BM and it works great. The polish breaks down better and I get an amazing Shine. It looks like your working in close Quarters and would be best if you could drop the pipes for better access to work. You won't have to do this every time!! I did mine last October and since then with my wash routine, I spray with RX, let it dwell, wipe off, rewax, and they still look great after a Michigan winter. I see it as polishing your paint-it doesnt need the full treatment after every wash. I picked up RX at PEP Boys in the bargain bin for $3.00.



GOOD LUCK:spot



PS- Magnaflow didn't use sandpaper or steel wool to achieve the finish on that exhaust when you received it-it was POLISHED!
 
I agree with all the above, 0000 wool, you can get some at Lowes. I've actually sanded some with 2000 grit and it leaves little hologram looking trailers everywhere, not a good clean way to brighten them up....:grinno:
 
Not to hijack the thread but if you have some dings from rocks on your tip can you sand them off and polish it back? I have a few on my exhaust tip and I'd like to get rid of them. Just curious.
 
HiTek21 said:
Not to hijack the thread but if you have some dings from rocks on your tip can you sand them off and polish it back? I have a few on my exhaust tip and I'd like to get rid of them. Just curious.
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Yup, but just like paint correction use the least agressive method first. Wet and drysandpaper with a backer, a cheap eraser works, soak your wet and dry paper overnight, use a spray bottle with water and a little soap to keep it lubed. If you know someone who is a tool maker or mold maker he could get the dings(above the surface)out with a file.
 
I used wet sanding and metal polish to do this SLP Loudmouth system. The grit was 1,500 and 2,000 and the polish was Adams #2. After the stainless sanding, I followed with a cotton buffing wheel drill attachment and Mother's Billet Creme or NXT Metal Polysh (whichever was handy at the time)



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Toto
 
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Here is my effort. If the tips are stainless you should not have a problem cleaning them up. If chrome you cannot level as your efforts will cut through the chrome.
 
POPPAJ said:
I used to use the 0000 steel wool with oil to clean the gunk(mostly tar) off the megs on my Marauder then hand polish with Blue Magic and they would turn out pretty good. Then I discovered a better way, first I spray down the megs with Rain X tar and bug remover gel, let it dwell for 30 minutes then wipe it off, then I use rechargable drill with a 3" white polishing pad and go to it with the BM and it works great. The polish breaks down better and I get an amazing Shine. It looks like your working in close Quarters and would be best if you could drop the pipes for better access to work. You won't have to do this every time!! I did mine last October and since then with my wash routine, I spray with RX, let it dwell, wipe off, rewax, and they still look great after a Michigan winter. I see it as polishing your paint-it doesnt need the full treatment after every wash. I picked up RX at PEP Boys in the bargain bin for $3.00.



GOOD LUCK:spot



PS- Magnaflow didn't use sandpaper or steel wool to achieve the finish on that exhaust when you received it-it was POLISHED!
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah. I'm definitly taking the pipes off to do this. I actually bought the paper to sand my intake manifold crossover and some knicks on a ported cylinder head (one of two im putting on). So im taking the whole engine apart, so taking off side pipes is not biggie. lol
 
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