Polishing Steel...anyone have any tips?
03-03-2008, 10:47 PM
#1
Polishing Steel...anyone have any tips? I may attempt to polish my red strut tower bar that doesn't match a damn thing on the car. I am going to have it stripped and then I am going to polish it.
Any pointers on how I should go about this or what I should use to do it?
Thanks.
Any pointers on how I should go about this or what I should use to do it?
Thanks.
03-03-2008, 10:52 PM
#2
Depending on how it looks after it is stripped just wetsand in finer and finer grits until you hit 2000 or so. Then you can hit it with a buffing wheel and compound to make it shine like a mirror! Hand polishing will do good too but not as good as a wheel.
03-03-2008, 11:07 PM
#5
Just shooting ideas around. I may end up just going to someone diff and getting it all powdercoated plain black.
BTW, there is a polished version of the bar available so I would assume its the same metal? Or am I horribly wrong? lol
-brian
Last edited by Blackbirdws6; 03-03-2008 at 11:12 PM.
03-03-2008, 11:08 PM
#6
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Good info is good info. The guy that was goin to powdercoat the parts cannot do a piece as long as the bar so I just figured it could be polished. Could I simply polish it up and then grab a can of clear and spray it on?
Just shooting ideas around. I may end up just going to someone diff and getting it all powdercoated plain black.
-brian
Just shooting ideas around. I may end up just going to someone diff and getting it all powdercoated plain black.
-brian
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03-04-2008, 12:05 AM
#8
Good info is good info. The guy that was goin to powdercoat the parts cannot do a piece as long as the bar so I just figured it could be polished. Could I simply polish it up and then grab a can of clear and spray it on?
Just shooting ideas around. I may end up just going to someone diff and getting it all powdercoated plain black.
BTW, there is a polished version of the bar available so I would assume its the same metal? Or am I horribly wrong? lol
-brian
Just shooting ideas around. I may end up just going to someone diff and getting it all powdercoated plain black.
BTW, there is a polished version of the bar available so I would assume its the same metal? Or am I horribly wrong? lol
-brian
03-04-2008, 12:12 AM
#9
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i had mine polished nice and forgot and left it out in the rain and it rusted alot. i gotta re sand and polish it now.
how do you guys strip it? i used sandpaper. could i have gotten it sand blasted?
how do you guys strip it? i used sandpaper. could i have gotten it sand blasted?
03-04-2008, 08:05 AM
#11
It is a Hotchkis STB. I should have just included that but forgot to mention it. Is it aluminum? That would make things sooo much easier 
. Looking at the description, the powdercoated ones are steel but the polished one is aluminum.
-Brian
. Looking at the description, the powdercoated ones are steel but the polished one is aluminum. -Brian
03-04-2008, 11:05 AM
#12
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Yes, the powder coated ones are steel. A good way to tell if it's steel or aluminum is try to stick a magnet to it, if it sticks it's steel, if not it's aluminum. You can also look at the welds and/or the actual weight of the item. The aluminum stb costs considerably more than the steel. Aluminum will also oxidize over time w/o a protective coating.
Last edited by SPECIALIZED STAINLESS; 03-04-2008 at 11:11 AM.
