Polishing keg

This is what I ended up with after polishing kegs. I'm not overly satisfied with the results. We used gator grit light pads and then polishing pads with #2 and 5 compound. Does anyone recommend anything for a final finishing process? Maybe I'm doing something wrong or my kegs weren't that nice to begin with.

Mine looked like that also, hit it with a buffing pad again and the jewelers rouge, but hit it HARD!! I did that because I got pi$$ed, and it turned into a mirror.

Look's good to me.

Looks good to me. But I wouldn't want a mirror finish, personally

(Nice poker table!)

That looks good! After my first inaugural running of my brewery I decided not to polish due to the inevitable ugly heat marks produced on my keggles. Anyhow I appreciate the effort people put into polishing them up!

If you feel like you always ues 1500 grit wet sand paper.

htey look GREAT! perfefct for makin beer.
all happy-pretty and all you get to do is watch beer nasties drip down it.
stickwith the 80/20 rule, and you win.

i wouldnt do the 1500 route, but if you do. only go in one direction (circumference) and any mistakes will blend into a brushed look.

thank you guys very much for the advice! I hit it real hard with the buffing pad and here is the before and after.

Very Nice!!!!

Yup, just more time is all you needed.

If you want a Mirror finish, use 1500 thru 4000 Grit sandpaper. then use the buffing compound.
..polished many many items for custom bikes and such....using sandpaper one step at a time taking it down to 4000 Grit..1500-2000-2500-3000 Etc. makes a shine like no other!

If you don't mind me asking, how many hours did it take you to get the keg looking that good?

to do this to the keg, it took approximately 4-6 hours if you have the right tools, if you dont have the right tools, I think it will take about 4-6 decades. I used an angle grinder with gator grit backing pad, buffing pad, and 2 and 5 compound like I have heard. Heres what I started with. However, I did grind up a lot of pads, probably 2 cleaning and 3 buffing. I think its worth the time and dollars.

More tips here: Stainless Polishing Tips

I really like those ears that hold the old lid on.