copper range hood

[LD]

Hello again;

Who could tell me how to restore a copper range hood to it's former beauty? The shine is totally gone - it looks like it was scrubbed raw by the real-estate company cleaning crew when the house went on the market. You can even see the swipes they took with.... sandpaper? Is there anything that can be done, or is it too far gone?

Thanks in advance.

LD

[Charlie Spitzer]

you'll probably never get it shining again. you can make it be even by using finer and finer grits (rouge, cerium, etc) and using some sort of buffer (perhaps a car waxer/buffer). you use these with water. you'll have to dismount it first to work on it though as it'll be a lot easier if the surface you're working on is horizontal. look at lapidary places for the materials.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[Jim Kent]

I basically agree with Charlie. You're in a world of hurt because copper is such soft stuff and can easily acquire deep scratches. In addition to his useful advice, I might add trying a trip to your local auto refinishing jobber. They have some potentially useful products that might help, and it wouldn't hurt to ask their advice either. I'd consider starting with 00/000/0000 steel wool and progressing to the finer grits of wet/dry paper. You should be able to find grits up to

6000 or 8000 which is fine enough, with patience, to restore even soft copper to mirror-like finish.

The other option may be to put the best face on the problem and try to give it a "brushed copper" look.

['nuther Bob]

I'd use all wet/dry paper for the initial work... maybe the final. Use steel wool if you want a brushed look, sandpaper to get to a final polished look.

The secret to a good finish is to start out with a rough paper that will remove (blend ?) the major scratches. How rough ? It might be 80 grit, it might be 240 grit. You have to decide based on the condition. Don't start too light, as you will not remove the major scratches, you will just buff the edges. If you move too quickly up through the grits you will have the same problem so move up through the papers slowly.

I might go 80/100/150/240/320/400/600/800/1000/1200/1500. Sandpaper is cheap on a per sheet basis, spend a few minutes to do it right. When you get to 1500, you need to move to a polish. I would recommend "3M Finesse-IT II". It removes 1200-1500 level scratches. You can get from a autobody supplier or I can point you to an on line source. You can then move to a finer polish such as "3M swirl mark remover". It's up around a 2000 level. That should do it.

Bob

['nuther Bob]

I should have added: MAKE SURE IT'S SOLID COPPER FIRST !

Use a sharp object to make a scratch somewhere no one can see - like the hidden mounting service. If it's solid copper, you're OK to polish. If it's plated, forget all that's been posted !

Bob