I want to fabricate a luggage rack for my bike using stainless steel stock. Does anyone know of a way to bring stainless stock to a chrome like finish without a lot of expensive machinery?Thanks. John B
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYRBfsz-ZRQ"]YouTube - How to Polish Stainless Steel[/nomedia]
I wouldn't start on the belt sander like the you tube guy did with good stainless stock, you'd be going backward. I've come close to a mirror finish starting with 320 W/D progressing up to 800 W/D. You could go up in grit even more but it's a bike rack right? After that, get a buffing wheel you can mount on a grinder or if that's not available in a high speed drill. Use off the shelf rubbing compound for your first pass then finish with a good polishing compound. Last step if you're wanting even a finer finish would be something like liquid clay polishing compound. On a side note--somebody needs to come up with the ultimate fine finish for polishing and name it "Baby's Butt".
You can use wet or dry sand paper or get some polishing paste and a 3M pad. Use the paste on the pad liberally (lots) and let it leave a residue as you polish the piece and then when you are done let it dry completely and buff it with a terry-cloth towel.
