How to get Near-Chrome Finish on 303 Stainless?

A 426 Hemi would be a sight to see in 1 of these LOL. The true knockoff wheels lead me to believe it's a 66 Cobra (rumored to have been built with 428s). I've never known a non functional hood scoop on the real deal though - not that I have much more than books to go by. Hope the OP will school us on what he has there.
 
Cadillac said:
I do this all the time with stainless and aluminum pieces. Your gonna want to refine your scratches down to at least 800 to 1000. Then using a buffing wheel and I believe the white compound will give you a mirror finish. You need to remember your scratches should get finer with the different grits. If you see deeper scratches you have to get them out before going to the next grit. Beauty of stainless is once polished it’s done. No need for a clear like aluminum that tarnishes. Nice car by the way. Got a 428cj?
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The car pictured is not mine, but a buddy's. He built a stunning car--an ERA 427 Shelby Cobra that he narrowed the hips on (the narrow hipped 427 street cars are the rarest of the rare--they built about 10 of them). He's the one that gave me the idea of putting an original luggage rack on the back of ERA (won't be a narrow-hipped car, but will be street trim--no pipe, scoop, or roll bar). His car has a 427 side oiler. I built a 470 out of a 427 new side oiler BBM cast iron block. My motor is pretty tame--it only makes 450 HP and 500 ft-lbs of torque--just about right for a nicely mannered street 427.:rolleyes:

Next weekend I will fab an arbor to hold the stand-offs so I can complete the sanding up to 2000 grit, then polish. Thanks for the tip!

I think I'll pick up a polisher at Harbor Freight (unless somebody tells me it's a waste of money). My 8" bench grinder is 1750 RPM--good for grinding tools, not so good for buffing. While I'm on the topic, what do folks recommend for polishers and wheels? I've seen the long shaft versions as well as the ones that look like bench grinders.

One other question about polishing stainless--I assume a respirator is a good idea to avoid breathing what's coming off the wheels?
 
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Unless your doing wheels or parts that aren’t accessible from a bench grinder wheel I would stick with a bench grinder. Wheels you can check Eastwood company,casewell,even grizzly has them and the compounds. I use the sewn ones which are a little stiffer. I don’t like the floppy ones that are a bunch of disc on a arbor. You’ll need a wheel for each compound so you don’t contaminate wheels. I use a bunch of old hacksaw blades bunched together to ruff up wheel when it gets glazed. Works great. A regular bench grinder will do the job you don’t need a specific polishing grinder unless you need the long shaft that comes with that polisher. And rubbing alcohol cleans all the left over compound perfectly. Can be a bear to get out of corners without rubbing alcohol.
 
I've polished parts for the Camaro. Sand with progressively finer wet dry sand paper until you get to 1000, making sure your'e getting all the smaller and smaller scratches out in each finer step, then polish with compound and finish it with a final cut polish. As previously stated, use a polishing wheel or you'll be at it for a long time. Sorry, this is an old point & shoot camera photo, so it's a little fuzzy. The parts were actually pretty close to chrome. The downside is the finish won't last like actual chrome, so it needs constant attention to keep it's shine.

camaro 5.jpg
 
A polisher is useless for this, as are Simichrome and Flitz. You need the cotton buffing wheel on a bench grinder, using black rouge. No need to sand finer than 400-500 (actually 320 will do). The wheel will do the rest. Clean with industrial alcohol, not rubbing alcohol.
 
ezduzit said:
A polisher is useless for this, as are Simichrome and Flitz. You need the cotton buffing wheel on a bench grinder, using black rouge. No need to sand finer than 400-500 (actually 320 will do). The wheel will do the rest. Clean with industrial alcohol, not rubbing alcohol.
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What do you mean by a polisher? I meant something like this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-buffer-94393.html

Is this the black rouge?
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-lb-black-polish-compound-96779.html

Sewn wheel:
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-spiral-cotton-buffing-wheel-69700.html
 
For small projects, diamond paste works well. It is available from MSC and McMaster Carr in grits as fine as 14,000. It cuts fast and requires very little to do the job.
 
Passivate then electroplate . :encourage:
 
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