Been reading about polsihing aluminum rims and it got me thinking. My car will be sitting for a while longer now. Could I use the same techniques used to polish wheels to polish my SLP headers, or are the other types of materials I should use?

 

OH MY GOSH dont do it. I use to work in the polihsing shop a Street & Performance. Polishing stainless steel takes a very very long time even with all of the expensive polishing compounds special wheels. The way we make polished headers is by polishing each part of the header at a time then welding it together, once its welded it gets sent back to the polishing shop for touch up buffing. With the techniques that you would use to polish aluiminum would take for ever on stainless steel I'd think that at least.I've never done it that way before.But if you still want to do this i would suggest getting a piece of steel and attempting to polish it first.Before you do something to regret.

 

Yep it can be done but SS is tougher than aluminm and will take longer to do. Start with a sisal buffing wheel if you can find one. If not then at least use a tightly spiral sewn wheel. There are special compounds for SS that will cut it faster but you can use black emory to start and white rouge to bring out the final shine. It would be lots of work but would look great when done. Headers so bright I gotta wear shades

 

I just ran across an old ('93) catalog from a company called "C & D Products" that specialize in buffing equipment. I don't know if they are still around or not, I haven't ordered any new buffing stuff for years, but you could try them to see. Their PH# is (800) 255-0615. They have a stainless kit in this catalog for $27 that includes two 6" buffing wheels, stainless compound and white rouge. They also sold the stainless compound seperately for $8. The prices have probably gone up some since this catalog.

 

SLP uses cheap stainless (304 I believe) which still rusts. All that work and in a short time it'll still turn brown.

I've polished stainless before, and I usually start by getting it smooth on a satin wheel, then using the red polishing bricks, and bringing it to a shine with the white bricks. I don't know how that translates into consumer products tho. THis was all professional polishing equipment. I turned some stainless tail pipes on a lathe from Schedule 40 pipe, then polsihed it. Took forever and I still couldn't completely get the lathe marks out.

 

originally posted by Jim85IROC:
Yes, SLP uses 304SS for their exhaust components.
I polished 3/4 of length of the tail pipes on an SLP 304SS catback system. The entire system from the intermediate
pipe to the muffler and the part of the tailpipes right at the muffler that I did not polish turned brown. However, the tailpipe sections that I did polish have not turned and are still fully polished and shiny today like they were back in '92 or '93 when I originaly did them. I just wash them when I do the car, and maintain them with auto wenol no more than two or three times a year at most, usualy only once a year at spring time.

If brick red, they are probably "jewlers rouge" which is a fine cutting compound for soft metals usually used with a loose buff, if more brownish than redish it's probably "brown tripoli" which is more course than jewlers rouge and is for general cutting of nonferous metals and is usually used with a spiral sewn buff or vented buff. The white brick is probably "white rouge" which brings out the color and final shine and is usualy used on a loose buff or flannel buff. Stainless compound is light gray and is for general cutting of ferrous metals. It's usually used with a spiral sewn buff. Emery is for fast cutting and is dark gray or black. It's usally used on a sisal buff, or spiral sewn buff. The "satin wheel" you mentioned are probably what is comercially sold under the trade name "Zip Wheel". They are used without compound and have an abrasive embedded in them.