How to make your stanless steel door sills look brand new

[EMC22]

The stainless steel door sills on the Cayenne were in pretty bad shape, so I started looking for options to bring them back into respectable condition.

This is what they all looked like before I started:



So after some research and a little trial and error as well this is what I did:

Step 1: Wet sand with 150 grit sandpaper:

This is enough to take out even pretty deep scratches, although some may require a little more pressure in the affected area to get rid of)



Step 2: Wet sand with 220 grit sandpaper


For both of the above steps I used Diablo Palm sander sheets that I had lying around.
I wrapped the sandpaper around a sponge sanding block to ensure even distribution of pressure.


If you are very careful and linear with your motion you can achieve a nice “brushed” finish as can be seen in the picture.
I actually did this with the trunk trim (pictures later in the post), but for the door sills I wanted a high gloss finish.

For Steps 3 and 4 I used the Eastwood Automotive Polishing Kit Eastwood Buffing Kit - Paint Buffing Kits - Buffing and Polishing Kit

I also used a Craftsman Pro variable speed drill (running at 2500 RPM)

Step 3: Polish with Tripoli (brown) compound and the large round (cylindrical) buff

I do 4 very slow passes with a good amount of downward pressure, followed by 6 more passes reducing the pressure each time, thus allowing the buff to spin increasingly faster with each pass.
This step polishes out most of the 220 Grit sanding marks, but still leaves a slightly hazy appearance.



Step 4: Polish with White Rouge and the spiral sewn wheel.

I do 2 passes with medium pressure, followed by another 4 passes with reduced pressure allowing the wheel to spin faster each time. This results in a high gloss, mirror finish.











For the trunk I wet sanded with 150 to get the deep scratches out, then I polished with brown compound, to smooth it out a little and then went back with 220grit to get the brushed effect.
I didn’t have time to finish it off completely today, but here are some pics in the interim. I should have taken some before pics, but basically this area was even worse than the door sills before I started.

[wdmaccord]

Nice work!!

[Pureshine]

Great wright up

[DetailedByPrecision]

Nice job on that sill. You think we can get away with using any other compound/polish besides the kit?

[hernandez.art13]

Nice write up, you could seal in your work. Meg's Ultimate or Menzerna Power lock.

You could even clear coat it. I can't find the picture of the metal truck, but when I asked them how they did it. They said we just clear coated it. Which made sense.

Just my opinion, but you don't want to leave metal just exposed like that. So seal it

Keep it up

Art

[hoyt66]

Great idea! I will definitely use this. Thanks!!

[57BORNTORUN]

I have done many stainless trim parts for my cars and lots more to do.I use these products as well as the rouges.It cuts sanding time in half.The Trizact bands have a short life span for the money but it does speed the process.

Expander Wheel Alone

Eastwood Company: Search Results for 13115c#inproducts

[EMC22]

Nice work!!

Great wright up

Nice job on that sill. You think we can get away with using any other compound/polish besides the kit?

Thanks everyone.

I think it would need to be a hard paste product at least, else it will be spraying all over the place
I did actually try a couple of paint compounds with a 3 inch GG orbital initially (following the least aggressive first - approach) but that was of no use at all given the depth of the scratches.
I think the key is high RPM at 90 degrees to the plane of the surface, and the ability to apply a good bit of pressure.

Nice write up, you could seal in your work. Meg's Ultimate or Menzerna Power lock.

You could even clear coat it. I can't find the picture of the metal truck, but when I asked them how they did it. They said we just clear coated it. Which made sense.

Just my opinion, but you don't want to leave metal just exposed like that. So seal it

Keep it up

Art

Thanks - very good point. I will be adding some sealant this week. Still trying to decide which one...
I didn't want to clear coat it because I know it will inevitibly get scratched again, so I prefer to be able to go back and repair areas as needed without having to strip the whole thing.

Great idea! I will definitely use this. Thanks!!

I have done many stainless trim parts for my cars and lots more to do.I use these products as well as the rouges.It cuts sanding time in half.The Trizact bands have a short life span for the money but it does speed the process.

Expander Wheel Alone

Eastwood Company: Search Results for 13115c#inproducts

Thanks - will take a look.

[KillaCam]

Wow impressive. Only one sanding step and the rest used compound? There's no scratches at all even with that aggressive sanding step and no sanding following? I don't have any experience with polishing SS.

[vet]

Great job!