Removing acid stains from stainless steel

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BetterSense

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I accidentally splashed hydrochloric acid on my stainless steel sink and apparently I did not rinse it well enough. Now there are dark grey and rusty looking splatter marks all over it. Is there any way to remove them? Is there a certain cleaner that will brighten it or would it help to sand it with super-fine sandpaper?
 
try bar keepers friend.

Chlorine can be quite damaging to stainless steel though, so you might have trouble rejuvenating it.
 
You will have to Scrubby or sandpaper the metal surface and expose a new surface. The chlorides in the HCl have compromised the stainless and it will now rust. Keep that stuff away from stainless!
 
after you remove the rust with sandpaper, you need to repassivate the steel surface or else it will rust again. the oxacilic acid in barkeepers friend will do that.
 
probably start at 400 or 600 grit, then once the discoloration is gone, you can go as high as you need to match the rest of the finish.

use some water while your sanding to help remove the rust powder.

after you are done, put some barkeepers friend on the whole thing and let it sit for 15 minutes or so.
 

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