Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Buffing steel question

I buff a lot of stuff (chrome, stainless, aluminum, brass, etc). But usually paint the steel stuff because it will tarnish within a week with humidity. Has anyone buffed plain steel to a shine, then used non-yellowing automotive clear-coat on steel? I also saw Eastwood's metal protect, but this is just a coating, not a clear. Just wondering if anyone has had any luck with keeping steel shiny with either product. If not I'll just go back to painting.

One concern is that the surface is too smooth for the stuff to 'stick' to. Any thoughts?

Thank you old gas members,
Steve

I have seen in the hot rod community some clear coated raw steel cars, but I think they scuff the steel and let the clear provide the shine. I believe if the steel was polished to a mirror-like finish, the clear coat just wouldn't stay on a car in the Texas Sun. For indoor stuff, it may not be a problem. If you don't get an answer soon, you can PM me and I can ask one of my friends who does custom auto paint work.

Clear coat is the only answer that can hold up to the weather and does so without lots of upkeep.

If you know anybody that does powdercoating, they can do clear and it looks great. The size of items would be limited however.

I've done it rarely, polishing steel, and then clear coating it can work. Lots of different grade steels, may not polish to as high of a shine as you want but probably be pretty good. Problem with clearcoating is you lose some of the shine too. I've been playing around with "power sealer" made by wizard I believe. Lose less shine as its goes on like a wax, not sure how it will hold up. I've only used it for indoor use and with parts with high luster. If you can get a high luster it will oxidize slower too. I've heard of a dip type product out there too, but havent found out what it is yet.

I've restored quite a few items where I polish out the steel and powder coat it clear. To me it looks more like a polished stainless finish than say chrome. Clear powder coated parts will hold up for a long time. Obviously it may not be a show finish if the part is pitted and the pits cannot be sanded or ground out before polishing.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I will try the clear coat on some smaller parts (which is all I really have right now). If I need it for larger parts, I will try the powder coating route. The guy who does my powder is cheap. I knew they did the powder in translucent colors but I did not know they have clear. Thanks for the help and the lesson.

Just an fyi, powder coat comes in most any color imaginable and can be custom matched to any color. It can be applied not only to metals but also wood and glass. There are hi-temp fillers so even damaged parts can be repaired and then coated. I seldom paint anything, usually only if it won't fit in my oven.

Just for fyi, Powder Tech Services- 1000 6th ave. south Nashville Tn. has a oven big enough for car frames. In the same building as R & B Cycle.

I didnt know about clear powdercoat either, have to try that sometime! Agree that the finish will look at best more like stainless steel, not chrome.

Id try to use a high quality clear, you'll lose less shine and its hard to stick to polished anything, so good clear is helpful!