Hey guys,

So the other threads made me pull out a pair of 1.7/1.8 SS HE's that I've had lying around and clean them up. Here's my problem though, the easy off worked like a charm. I wiped them down and started polishing with the very fine steel wool.

I'm finding oxidation spots though, will it just take some elbow grease with the steel wool and some polish to get them out or do I need to do something else?

Thanks all
-- Steve

Steve try "Simichrome Polish" Made in Germany. Its a polishing past, you use very little and I have had great luck with this stuff. It cleaned up the pipes on my 70 Trumiph Tiger and many other things. You can find it in most good bike and automotive stores.

SS will not rust but can be stained by it. One can polish SS to a mirror shine with the proper tools. If there are impurities in the metal itself, then its FUBAR.

Here, here to Simichrome! One of the best multi-use polishing compounds I've EVER found. Been using it for 30 years. Seems to have an inhibitor built into it, so things stay polished for quite some time.

Here's a pic of one of my SSI's (bought in '75). Last polished, including tubes, in 1999. Pardon the spider webs - car's been parked for 4 years (but not much longer).
Pat

As you said, impurities in stainless will cause rusting. If you are unaware of the process for creating stainless, ask someone. Most is crude & comes from thrid world nations utilizing child labor. It requires some really ugly chemicals & doesn't always come out right (SSI's have always been perfect). We have a set of Oneida stainless slatware, made in India, that is so totally crap we stopped using it when it was 5 years old. Yeah, there's crap stainless out there, particularly when you have 8 year old kids making it on the streets of Bangalore!

Pat,

Everything is very clean down there. What treatment was done on the Engine and transmission case?
Did you change out the fuel lines back then?

Very nice.


Bob

Not to hijack the thread, but Pat, isn't that the jackstand type and configuration that almost took out Gint! Be careful.

Paul

Stainless "will" discolor from rust.

Take a magnet to them. If it doesn't stick, just clean them up and go...