chrome plated stainless steel?

["Dick Benjamin" <dickb@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've done quite a bit of polishing of stainless steel trim on my various
cars - I think I may have learned a few things about it.  One is never to
overheat the part, and the other is to be sure to use the special rouge that
is intended specifically for Stainless Steel.  If you use the other types of
polishing compounds, this sort of off color result is a usual consequence.
If this is what has happened to you, get some stainless steel polishing
compound and re-do the parts, being careful to not overheat them and the
color should come back to normal with enough effort.

I do recall, however, that someone on the IML reported on a car with chrome
plated stainless steel trim - I think it was on a car in the early 50s.
That surprised me then, and I still wonder about it, but perhaps this was
done for some reason on some cars.

Well polished stainless steel of the right alloy will produce a shine which
is extremely bright, almost the equivalent of chrome plating, but it takes a
LOT of work!

Dick Benjamin
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <RandalPark@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: IML: chrome plated stainless steel?


> Richard,
>
> The stainless trim on your Imperial is not chrome plated. I suspect what
may have happened is that the polishing was too intense and overheated the
metal. I don't know what you can do to correct this after it has happened,
but I have been cautioned about how over aggressive polishing can over heat
and discolor the trim.
>
> Paul
>
> In a message dated 12/31/2003 5:58:52 PM Eastern Standard Time,
lecrown60@xxxxxxxxx writes:
>
> > Hi everyone.
> >
> > I have started the restoration of some stainless on my 1960 Crown.  I
have been sanding and buffing and the metal has changed color.  I swear I
have taken off a thin layer of chrome plating!  Has anyone else experienced
this?  I have restored a '52 Pontiac which was covered in stainless and that
stainless looked nowhere near as bright after 40 years.  My Imperials' side
trim especially looks more like chrome than stainless, the reflections just
look more clear than what I would expect to see in stainless.
> >
> > When I have sanded or buffed out damage I swear the metal has gone from
a blue cast to a yellow cast.  I thought it was just that I had not buffed
with the final rouge and that the color would match the original once that
had been done.  It didn't.  Specifically, my car had some body damage
between the bumper and trunk lid and at some point this was repaired.
Whoever did it hit the stainless over the bumper with their sandpaper.  I
hit this with the buffing wheel and swear I have gone through chrome and now
I have a yellow spot.  Now I have to rechrome pot metal and stainless
too??????  The small piece of trim on the gas door is chrome plated pot
metal and I am thinking they plated the stainless to match it in color?  I
have witnessed this phenomenon on each piece I have done.  I sanded the rear
fender-well shield to remove rock damage and the color changed there too.
It looks very nice finished, like newly polished stainless should, but I
swear I can see a difference between the sanded and unsanded areas.  Am I
insane or did Imperial really chrome the cars' stainless?  I had to spend
over three hours on the fender shield before I was happy with it.  Should I
keep on polishing or do these pieces need to be rechromed?  There is a very
good chance this could all be in my imagination. Say it ain't so Ethel!
> >
> > Richard Burgess
> >
> > '60 "LeCrown"
> >
> >
> > Do you Yahoo!?
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