chrome my stainless body??

[darqueMeye]

so i was working on polishing my stainless body so that it would have a chrome like appearance. but many hours later i dont have what i want. i was wondering if i were to chrome or nickel plate it, would the internal tolerances be all messed up and make the body useless??

[athomas]

You can get the stainless body to a mirror finish, and it will be a lot easier to maintain than chrome and a lot cheaper. Plus you won't have to worry about tolerance issues.

When you polish your body, you first need a grit that is course enough to remove the rough beaded finish. Use a 220 grit to start. I always found that a good quality wet paper worked best. Keep it wet to keep the grit free of metal shavings. Once you get the beaded finish smooth, move to a 400 grit paper and sand until you have a uniform finish. Then go to a 600 grit and repeat. The last step of sanding should involve a 1500 grit paper. This will leave the body very smooth but with a dull mirror finish. Now you can use a chrome polish and a cotton cloth to bring the body to a mirror shine.

A total of a couple of hours of sanding should get you what you want.

[darqueMeye]

You can get the stainless body to a mirror finish, and it will be a lot easier to maintain than chrome and a lot cheaper. Plus you won't have to worry about tolerance issues.

When you polish your body, you first need a grit that is course enough to remove the rough beaded finish. Use a 220 grit to start. I always found that a good quality wet paper worked best. Keep it wet to keep the grit free of metal shavings. Once you get the beaded finish smooth, move to a 400 grit paper and sand until you have a uniform finish. Then go to a 600 grit and repeat. The last step of sanding should involve a 1500 grit paper. This will leave the body very smooth but with a dull mirror finish. Now you can use a chrome polish and a cotton cloth to bring the body to a mirror shine.

A total of a couple of hours of sanding should get you what you want.


Here's where i'm at. do you think i could just use the cotton wheel at this point? Or try the 1500 grit paper. To get to this point i used an abrasive wheel made for polishing metal. I just cant get it any brighter than this. I want it to be a MIRROR.

<img src="http://lh4.google.com/adam.cake/R-HsPFP-3HI/AAAAAAAABNs/dpI9sH7Jy_U/s400/DSC00417.JPG.jpg" /><br><img src="http://lh6.google.com/adam.cake/R-HsJlP-3GI/AAAAAAAABNk/_bdMuK47GyA/s400/DSC00415.JPG.jpg" />

[smilestyler]

You need more sanding with a finer wet sandpaper. Lookin good so far though :clap:

[athomas]

If there is any texture to the surface, then you need a finer sandpaper first. If it is smooth but dull, then you should use a cotton wheel or cloth and some polish to bring out the shine.