anyone know how to fix scratches in stainless steel?

[John]

Hello group, Building a new house and several things had to be redone. The most important was the vent hood over the cooktop which is a brand new Dacor. The people who were working on the vent scratched the front edge of the Dacor. They are very fine scratches, much like the scratches that make up the pattern in the stainless. It appears to me that if one was to use a light abrasive you could correct the scratches back to original. The builder said "Barkeepers Friend" should fix it right up. Again these are not gouges, but fine rubbing scratches so it looks like an easy fix but wanted to check. Thanks! John

[Joseph Meehan]

Sure the builder said that. It does not fix the scratches, it will hid them, sort of, but I'll bet you will still be able to see them even when visitors can't.

There are only two fixes:

1. New hood.
2. Re-polish the hood. You may be able to re-polish just the one surface. I'll bet it will be easier and cheaper to replace it. Trying to get the same quality polish as the original is going to be very difficult.

[bill a]

most finishes are applied at the mill literally with sandpaper. the trick would be to find which grade of paper matches the existing pattern (probably 600 grit wet r dry) and figuring out how to keep the motion of the paper nice and straight. if the grit seems to be the same, but it still doesn't look right, you may need to use the paper with lubricants like water or light oil, etc. if there's somewhere on the unit that isn't too visible, i would do some testing there first, in case your first attempts make spots worse than the original problem. if the existing pattern is not straightline, all bets are off :) bill

[John]

Thanks so much..It looks like the factory finish is "sandpapered" its not that high gloss shine like the put on some stuff. It is the "industrial looking" fishish which looks as if it's put on by finely sanding. These are tiny, and if I were not so picky I would probably not bother with it but would like to make it like it was..Luckily they did not gouge it or anything. This looks as if they drug something across the front edge. Might try the really fine sand paper on the back edge and see how it behaves with the pattern. Thanks so much! John

[m Ransley]

Well if the builder said barkeepers friend why not let him do it. Id say depending on sctatch size they must be sanded out with finer and finer grit. Satin, brushed stainless will be the easiest to fix. But I cant see it from here

[Joe Bobst]

Tell him to do it then. He put the scratches in he should take care of them. If that doesn't suit him, ask for a parts + labor deduction from your final bill. Good luck.

Joe

[Playintennis5274]

go to your auto parts store and get some "mothers" brand wheel polish , this stuff works miracles. it's in little white can.

[John W. Wells]

So, when is your builder coming out to fix it right up? Seems like it's the contractor's responsibility to correct or replace what his people screw up.

I've been using "Friend" for a short time on our stainless kitchen sink. It must contain some sort of fine abrasive because it removes (with some effort) hard water residue. And it seems to leave some sort of wax on the surface which creates a temporary shine and helps prevent further residue--for a short while.

And if that's the "most important" fault you've got, count yourself as very fortunate!

--John W. Wells

[Greg]

Stainless is supposed to scratch. Leave it alone. In 10 years that will just be the first scratch ... if you can still see it. Bartenders Friend is a soft buffing compound that tends to blend the scratches and give the piece character

[I-zheet M'drurz]

THANK YOU!!! we have a bingo!

All true.

Good lowered, people. It's a kitchen, not a museum. A scratched up Stainless surface is a badge of honor for a production kitchen, the stuff takes it *all*, year after year without rusting or any other kind of serious decay.

[dadiOH]

Try what the builder told you, should do it.

--=20 dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.05... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[willshak]

I have a stainless steel top on my range. It gets scratched pretty often by pots and pans that are dragged over it.It looks pretty bad when the range hood light is on. Every once in a while, I use one of those scrubby pads (sponge on one side and a green woven scrubber pad on the other). I just scrub the SS with the green side in the direction of the SS grain using Bartender's Friend. It gets all but the deepest scratches out.

[I-zheet M'drurz]

I moonlight at a marina/restaurant that is as busy as it gets during all but the deepest of fall and winter. As you might guess, just about every work surface is Stainless. Needless to say, it's all scratched to some degree. We wipe it with wet rags, but if something needs scrubbed/dislodged, we use a steel scrubber. Not to be confused with a Brillo/SOS Pad which will deteriorate as used, these don't break down, and they're not all that abrasive. The only thing that scares me about these cleansers is that they're basically a "rubbing compound" like you would use to rub a scratch out of car paint, they're designed to work by taking off some of the surface. I guess for occasional home use that would be fine, but I wouldn't be going through a can a month unless you're prepared to see some serious erosion of the surface.

[Joseph Meehan]

Note: This is a new home.

This is a new hood.

This is the responsibility of the builder.

The builder should be replacing the part they damaged. It should not be the duty of the buyer to fix it.

Personally I think it was unconsciousable for the builder to tell the owner to try some Mickey Mouse fix.

[John]

Hello everyone and thanks for the comments..I agree, the builder should fix it. But at this point we may end up in court over shitty masonary work on the outside.(rocks falling off) We have already put a hold on his 5th and final draw till he fixes it, but as a result of that he has stopped all work on the house. The fine scratches on my brand new $1500 Dacor cooktop seem small in comparison. Now, if they were deep scratches I would be bitching for replacement but they are very fine and I can probably do better than the incompetence that has been working over there. I agree it is a kitchen but damn..let ME put the first scratches on things! :-) I might try the barkeepers stuff or even the fine steel pad. I am glad this has the satin finish and not the high gloss polished look some stuff has as that would be much more difficult. Thanks again for everyone taking the time to offer your comments!!! John

[Charles Spitzer]

bartenders friend is oxalic acid crystals. it acts as a buffing compound because of the crystalline shape, but isn't really. it will dissolve in water. the acidic water will then dissolve the calcium/mineral deposits.

[John W. Wells]

Aha! Thanks for the enlightenment!

--JWW

[Wayne Boatwright]

"John" wrote in news:cmg119$2jm$ [e-mail]:

In a used condo I once bought there was an older dishwasher that had a SS handle that ran the full width of the door. The SS had a high polish finished that had many fairly fine scratches in it, but not enough to consider it a "patina". Figuring I had nothing to lose, I used 000 steel wool with a bit of cooking oil, rubbing back and forth the full length of the handle. By the time I finished I had a very even satin finish that looked as though it was original.