Scored New SS Table. Need cleaning suggestions

I scored this table for free from a friend. He brought it to me and said it had been sitting outside. After cleaning it up it still has this haze on one end of the table top.

I'm not sure if it is some chemical reaction from another metal coming into contact with it, or if it was due to exposure from the sun as something may have been sitting on the other end keeping it covered and protected. You can see some of the haze along the edges on the "clean" end.

I used Bar Keepers Friend on it and it didn't budge it at all.

Any suggestions as far as what compound or cleaning agent (if any) I could try?

Nice score!!

BKF would have been my choice. Is there a clear-coat or something on it I wonder?

How about a cloth buffing wheel and some rubbing compound, maybe you can buff it out.

Haze or not, nice table for a brewer!

Derrin said:

Nice score!!

BKF would have been my choice. Is there a clear-coat or something on it I wonder?

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+1

Try EZ -OFF oven cleaner. Have had great luck with it removing the most stubborn and baked on stains in the past.

EdWort said:

+1

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I tried that already. Sprayed it with cool clean water to wet the surface, applied the BKF and let it sit about 1 minute then used a worn out green scrubby on it and i didn't change a thing.

Should I use it differently?

apparatus said:

Try EZ -OFF oven cleaner. Have had great luck with it removing the most stubborn and baked on stains in the past.

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Have you tried it on Stainless Steel? I just read a can of Easy-Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner and it read not to apply to exterior surfaces.

Could this be what my haze is to begin with?

It couldn't hurt to try the EZ-off on a small area first. It just might work.

Nice score BTW. I'd love to have a table like that.

I would try polishing compound, the kind you find near the car washing and waxing supplies.

try bar b que sauce. we used it to clean the grill counters at the rib joint i worked at as a kid. seriously, can't it be sanded and polished?

Do you have any kind of buffing machine like for your car or how about an angle grinder? Check out my keg polishing thread. If I can make a crappy keg shine, the table would be a cake walk.

Yambor44 said:

Have you tried it on Stainless Steel? I just read a can of Easy-Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner and it read not to apply to exterior surfaces.

Could this be what my haze is to begin with?

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Yes, have used it on exterior SS surfaces.

Carnuba wax.

Tried the Easy-Off last night per instructions and it did nothing. That stuff does smell wicked though! Sprayed it on a small spot on the corner and tried to get out of the garage (door open off course) before I got a whiff but didn't make it! Anyway, went back in 20 minutes per instructions and thought at first it had worked, but it hazed right back up.

I will see what waxing/compound products I have around next. I'll keep ya posted.

CLR maybe?

CLR is not a bad thought...although BKF is acidic, so I'd expect it to be effective if the stains were mineral deposits.

I still think a powered buffing wheel with some rubbing compound is the way to go...like Bobby says, if you can turn a battered old keg into a mirrored surface, this should be a snap!

If BKF, EZ-Off and elbow grease didn't do anything to it, you're going to need to apply power and grit. I would recommend a belt sander with the finest grit belt you can find. Because of the grain structure of SS, it tends to respond better to being sanded or polished in one direction; ie-belt sander/single side of buffing wheel. The belt sander with the fine belt and very little pressure should give you a nice combed grain finish to the table. From there you could polish it further if you wanted/needed too.

Try it on the underside of the table first to see if you like the results.

And angle grinder and flap discs would work well also, but you'll be chasing swirl mark directions for days. Unless you're going to shoot for a random looking finish, I'd go belt sander....

You could give this a try
DeLorean Motor Company - 9-2-0 Cleaning Supplies

It's the same metal so it should polish out.

Bobby_M said:

Do you have any kind of buffing machine like for your car or how about an angle grinder? Check out my keg polishing thread. If I can make a crappy keg shine, the table would be a cake walk.

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Here is what I am trying to use. Any ideas on this compound? This stuff is as hard as a rock. I'm just rubbing it on the Stainless but it doesn't seem to make any difference whether it's on it or not.

Yambor44 said:

Here is what I am trying to use. Any ideas on this compound? This stuff is as hard as a rock. I'm just rubbing it on the Stainless but it doesn't seem to make any difference whether it's on it or not.

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Those are used with a cloth buffing wheel on bench grinder . They wont do anything by hand .

springer said:

Those are used with a cloth buffing wheel on bench grinder . They wont do anything by hand .

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Well that makes sense! Any suggestions on what compound I can use as this stuff is screwing it up!! :cross:

Okay, I read back thru Bobbys keg polishing thread and found that I do indeed have the right compound. Also, learned how to properly apply it to the disk (getting it spinning and apply to the disk).

I started with the white (now with black edge) polishing disk and #5 polishing compound. Didn't like that so I switched to the Burgandy and #2. Nope again. Then went to the Blue disk. First pic seems okay but second tells the real story.

Any thoughts on how to clean this up?

Here some before and after pics. Now the "other" side looks dingier. LOL I know it still looks rough (swirly) but I can live with this for a bit while I wait on Bobby to try those other products out!!

I ended up just washing it with more BKF to remove the black greasy buildup since I have no clue what I am doing!

Is it possible that you're expecting too much too soon? I progressively went finer and finer on the polishing compound, but you also have to wash the pad really well or switch to a new one because it will still have the coarser grit embedded. Also, if you are leaving residue on the metal, you need to keep the machine going to buff. I'll do a video when I try the caswell stuff out, maybe this weekend.

Bobby_M said:

Is it possible that you're expecting too much too soon? I progressively went finer and finer on the polishing compound, but you also have to wash the pad really well or switch to a new one because it will still have the coarser grit embedded. Also, if you are leaving residue on the metal, you need to keep the machine going to buff. I'll do a video when I try the caswell stuff out, maybe this weekend.

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That would be awesome Bobby! And yes, I am probably being too impatient as all my posts above without waiting for answers would allude to!

How do you "wash" the pad?

Hot water and dish detergent is what I used.

I have about the same table and a sink like it all in SS that I stole from my parents dairy farm when they sold it out. Those SS tables can be cleaned and shined to picture perfect quality in about 10 min. Find a big truck stop or commercial truck dealer and ask for SS acid wash. Get a gallon pump spreayer and mix per instructions. Spray on and let sit a few min. Hose off with a garden hose. Thats it. You can take months worth of road and winter chemical grime and stains off a SS fuel tank in the time it takes to empty a 12oz bottle.