Anyone try sanding their stainless steel?

[HaulingAss]

The thing you need to be most careful of is being sure that you use the right grit. If you use one too low, you end up with nastier swirls. Use too high of one, you end up with a mirror finish. I thought I read in one of the Tesla service manuals that they recommended a particular grit. As someone said earlier, get a scrap piece of SS from HD and practice with different grits to find the magic one.

Scratch remover is ultra high grit… I would be careful of that as it’s made to bring a sheen back to clear coat. That will definitely give you a mirror finish.

You need to go pretty fine to get a mirror finish, past 1000 grit, probably to 4000 grit.

I've found the most suitable grits for removing fine scratches and bringing the finish back to new condition is to start with 320 grit to get the fine scratches out, move to finer grits until you get the desired look. The factory grit looks to be around 500-800 grit (depending upon the type of sanding pad used).

Pro tip: The Tesla instructions say to use 1" overlap between strokes. At first I thought they meant your passes would only overlap 1". That does not give the desired result. Each pass should be offset about 1" from the last pass. To my way of thinking, I would call this a 5" overlap (if using a 6" sanding pad). This is required to get an even finish. Once I figured that out, it was easy to get beautiful results.

Also, don't bear down hard, a light touch is all it takes and your abrasive pads will last longer.

Sponsored

 

[Fausto]

You need to go pretty fine to get a mirror finish, past 1000 grit, probably to 4000 grit.

I've found the most suitable grits for removing fine scratches and bringing the finish back to new condition is to start with 320 grit to get the fine scratches out, move to finer grits until you get the desired look. The factory grit looks to be around 500-800 grit (depending upon the type of sanding pad used).

Pro tip: The Tesla instructions say to use 1" overlap between strokes. At first I thought they meant your passes would only overlap 1". That does not give the desired result. Each pass should be offset about 1" from the last pass. To my way of thinking, I would call this a 5" overlap (if using a 6" sanding pad). This is required to get an even finish. Once I figured that out, it was easy to get beautiful results.

Also, don't bear down hard, a light touch is all it takes and your abrasive pads will last longer.

Do you have a link to the sanding pads you used? I was looking at the ones on the official Tesla refinishing site but it looks like you have to order everything in bulk.

 

[HaulingAss]

Do you have a link to the sanding pads you used? I was looking at the ones on the official Tesla refinishing site but it looks like you have to order everything in bulk.

I have a Festool Rotex RO FEQ 150 Sander with a dust extractor, and Festool abrasives. I start with the coarse sanding action and finish with the polishing action (the sander has two modes). If you google "Festool Vlies" (means "fleece") in 150mm or 6" diameter, you will find a number of Festool dealers stocking these in 100, 320, 800 grits. I've never found them listed for anything but MSRP. You shouldn't need the 100 grit unless you are taking out deep damage. The 320 grit will polish out normal scratches and give you a good base to apply whatever polish texture you want to end with. Some might even like the finish left with 320 grit but, if you go finer, it will be easier to avoid visible sanding patterns.

I've also experimented with Festool Platin abrasives in 500 and 1000 grit for the final finish, which use silicon carbide (instead of aluminum oxide) and its sandpaper with a thin, soft foam backing (instead of a non-woven pad with abrasives distributed throughout). The silicon carbide is harder and cuts nicely on the HFS of the Cybertruck. It has a more uniform sizing to the abrasives, and a cleaner cut, which gives it more of a satin appearance. The 1000 grit doesn't make a mirror finish obviously, but its like a dull mirror (or reflective satin). The 500 gives a very similar finish to the 800 vlies, just a bit more "satin" looking. I like the finish of all three of these products better than the finish mine was delivered with. The finish seems more uniform with less of those little 5mm diameter circle "scratches" that my Cybertruck came finished with.

I would recommend dust extraction while sanding to keep the pad and metal surface clean for a nice uniform finish and to increase the life of your abrasives. There are cheaper options than Festool out there that will probably give similar results, but Festool abrasives are well regarded, if not over-priced.

 

[Fausto]

I have a Festool Sander with a dust extractor, and Festool abrasives. If you google "Festool Vlies" (means "fleece") in 150mm or 6" diameter, you will find a number of Festool dealers stocking these in 100, 320, 800 grits. I've never found them listed for anything but MSRP. You shouldn't need the 100 grit unless you are taking out deep damage. The 320 grit will polish out normal scratches and give you a good base to apply whatever polish texture you want to end with. Some might even like the finish left with 320 grit but, if you go finer, it will be easier to avoid visible sanding patterns.

I've also experimented with Festool Platin abrasives in 500 and 1000 grit for the final finish, which use silicon carbide (instead of aluminum oxide) and its sandpaper with a thin, soft foam backing (instead of a non-woven pad with abrasives distributed throughout). The silicon carbide is harder and cuts nicely on the HFS of the Cybertruck. It has a more uniform sizing to the abrasives, and a cleaner cut, which gives it more of a satin appearance. The 1000 grit doesn't make a mirror finish obviously, but its like a dull mirror (or reflective satin). The 500 gives a very similar finish to the 800 vlies, just a bit more "satin" looking. I like the finish of all three of these products better than the finish mine was delivered with. The finish seems more uniform with less of those little 5mm diameter circle "scratches" that my Cybertruck came finished with.

I would recommend dust extraction while sanding to keep the pad and metal surface clean for a nice uniform finish and to increase the life of your abrasives. There are cheaper options than Festool out there that will probably give similar results, but Festool abrasives are well regarded, if not over-priced.

Many thanks for the reply.

Sponsored