Submitted by stonedriller t3_10fp2ho in DIY
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Submitted by stonedriller t3_10fp2ho in DIY
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Strong alkalin cleaners, usually those that are made from caustic soda/sodium hydroxide/lye, won't pit stainless steel. It will however eat away and pit aluminum.
Hot caustic soda is used as an industrial oil and dirt cleaner for steel and in general won't harm it.
Consumers are famously good at understanding what materials their products are made of. Best thing to do for future needs is keep a rag nearby just for the stove. Every time you use the stovetop, spray the rag with your everyday kitchen cleaner, wipe it down. Throw rag out, put clean rag out. Takes like 15 seconds including the walk to wherever you put dirty towels to wash. For flat top ranges this almost 100% eliminates any effort. For other stoves it is still a huge time saver. I never even considered it could prevent something like this
As the other poster mentioned - you can definitely make the scratches far less noticeable on stainless. One of the products that I can recommend is something called "Rejuvenate". Its a metal polish paste that you can use along the grain of the stainless that works very well for minor scratches like what yours looks like.
Don't think you'll eliminate it, but you can try using a similar or slightly finer pad but scrubbing with the "grain".
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This old House has the best methods, 100% use these guys!
Add more scratches. Then add smaller scratches to cover those scratches. Repeat until scratches small enough.
this is what polishing is
Scratch B Gone kit can be used to restore the grain of the finish. Have used it to refinish a marred sst ventilation hood. Its tedious, but gives good results if its bare metal. (A non affiliated link)
If you don't want the link to connect back to you, delete everything after the code after the dp
Like: https://www.amazon.com/Barrys-Restore-All-Products-Scratch-B-Gone/dp/B078YY6BM7/
If you want it shorter, you can also remove the name: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078YY6BM7/
This is likely a #4 finish you are trying to replicate. The steps involved are here
You probably need step 3, possibly step 2 if the scratches are deep.
You may be able to just buy the non-woven pad and use that alone link (or with a handle)
I would try to find 3"x1" flap wheels with a 1/4" shaft that could be used in a cordless hand drill. You should be able to find these in 60 grit sand paper, and medium grit non-woven (maroon) link. Be sure to move the rotation of the tool with the grain.
This is probably the least expensive method, but definitely not the ideal - the the final result will correspond with the hand skills of the person attempting it.
I would recommend something finer than 60 grit, as that is the starting point for non polished stainless. Did stainless steel polishing years ago in a commercial metal shop.
I would suggest just step 4, with the grain. Will be a bit of work. When using a flap wheel, unless you are experienced, it can lead to overheating and leave discoloration from the heating.
Fabricator here. You are right- red scotchbrite pad on a linear (pneumatic stroke) sander or handheld pad or scotchbrite belt on a belt sander. Use a length of wood as a fence to keep your strokes parallel. This garbage cladding is super thin so you are right to warn of burning it so if using a flap wheel, keep it moving. These Scratches are about as shallow as this #4 brushed finish and there’s no need to knock it down with 60 grit (which is far too coarse unless starting with a casting)
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If damage is limited to just the SS panel surrounding the control panel (assuming, since that’s all that’s shown) you might want to check the price for a replacement. Had to replace the SS front panel of warming drawer on my LG range due to dent and scratches. It was about $70 all-in.
Not saying not to try removing the scratches yourself, but if all else fails, a replacement may be less expensive than you think.
Use a few drops of fine machine oil and a chammy.
Use a green scotch brite and scrub in the direction of the grain.
Depending on how deep they are. Spray a smudge of WD40 or baby oil on it and wipe. Won't make the scratches go away but fills the gaps and dries, making it look much better.
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I think the best thing to do is get a couple of different grits sandpaper or scotch-brite, and test them out on a non-visible part of the stove to see if you can match the original "grain" of the brushed finish. If you can't, better leave it as is.
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Someone showed me pictures of a major renovation that included top of the line professional grade appliances. Back like 15 years ago when SS appliances just caught on. Within the first few months his mother did this, but 50x worse to the big stainless steel refrigerator. He showed me pictures. It was ruined.
In future, if you need to get polymerized oil off, get a EuroScrubby. With a little detergent and hot water it will clean pretty much any surface, including plastic, without scratching.
Oh hey I think your sister hired the same cleaning person I did. She scratched all my bathroom faucets and when I brought it to her attention she said it’s bc I had so many hard water stains she had to scrub hard. Like how does anyone think damaging it is better than saying I can’t get these out? Also she didn’t fully get them out, and I’ve always been able to so I think it was also another case of not even trying to let a cleaner (or vinegar!) sit for a bit to help dissolve it. (This apartment does have really hard water - it builds up super fast in hot water kettles and humidifiers too)
Polish it out
This is a #4 finish (or close to it). It can be redone, but it will take some tooling (belt sanders, etc), or some careful hand work.
Put new metal stove on top of old metal stove with scratches. The new metal stove will get 100% of the attention. The lamest question you will get is "why is that 2nd stove there?" Bc the other is scratched. How did the other stove get scratched? Installation of the 2nd stove. Could not be avoided.
So sorry this happened. You could try Comet and Revere Stainless Steel and Copper Cleaner to buff the stove to help get the scratches off. Something else you could try is sanding with wet sandpaper which is recommended for deeper scratches.
There are a few other tips here: https://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-remove-scratches-from-stainless-steel-appliances.htm
I hope one of these works!
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d4m1ty t1_j4yakac wrote
Buff it out. Next time sister should clean her stove a little more often to not require so much elbow grease.
>She used a metal scrub to clean the metal stove. She didn't let the soap or cleaning situation to sit for a couple hours.
Spraying exposed metal with caustic cleaners and letting them sit isn't a good idea either. Metal can pit. It would also cause the plastic display to fog out if any got on it and was left for a time. Steel surfaces require elbow grease and Barkeepers friend or a Stainless Steel cleaner. If none of these were available to use, all that is left is pure elbow grease and a brillo pad.
Regardless, if you are waiting months between cleaning, you are going to have a bad time no matter what you do.