I'd like to bend a piece of 5/16 stainless rod so that it has a straight segment about 2" long, and then bends in a tight-ish circle (1.5" outside diameter) for about 2/3 or 3/4 of a circle, sort of like an informal script "P", not quite closed off at the bottom of the loop.
It seems as if the obvious way to do this is with some heat, but the last time I did this kind of thing, the stainless ended up brownish is some areas and bluish in others, not nice and shiny and silvery. In that case, it didn't matter to me (as long as things remained strong and ... well, stainless). But for this piece of work, I'd like to make it look pretty again when I'm done. Is there some secret wash, or do I have to sit down with a polishing wheel, etc. ?
It seems as if the obvious way to do this is with some heat, but the last time I did this kind of thing, the stainless ended up brownish is some areas and bluish in others, not nice and shiny and silvery. In that case, it didn't matter to me (as long as things remained strong and ... well, stainless). But for this piece of work, I'd like to make it look pretty again when I'm done. Is there some secret wash, or do I have to sit down with a polishing wheel, etc. ?
