Maintaining Exterior Stainless Finish

[cvalue13]

Urine works for jelly fish stings

while hilarious in action, there’s no benefit of urine to jelly fish stings (other than the comedy)

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[John K]

while hilarious in action, there’s no benefit of urine to jelly fish stings (other than the comedy)

Urine is a Preventive for jellyfish stings. When going to the beach, have a friend apply. I tell this to my wife all the time.

 

[HaulingAss]

Here's my response to this question from this thread:
https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/washing-cleaning.287/


I just use a mild detergent and water with a soft microfiber cloth when I need to wash my DeLorean. I dry the panels right away to avoid water spots....this is very important.

Beware of the stainless polishes as they look great... for about 10 minutes. After that the polish attracts dust and then your maintenance efforts are useless.

Once a year or as necessary, I use BarKeepers Friend to remove stains and restore the brightness to the Stainless Steel panels. It's like a laser scrub for the panels. Stainless will develop a thin layer of oxidation. That's normal, and the layer protects the panel. BKF removes that oxidation and therefore leaves virgin stainless behind. Over time, that natural layer of oxidation returns. After many years or exposure to the weather, the stainless develops a dull appearance.

A few people will probably eschew the desire to brighten it periodically, going instead for more of a hand-rubbed oil patina. This could be accomplished by periodically wiping it down with a light oil and not worring too much that it attracts dirt. Then, the patina will build up rich and mellow, and it can be washed with a mild shampoo and non-abrasive cloths so as to not disturb the patina in order to give it an appearance that looks timeless. If they tire of that, they might use a Scotchbrite pad to start anew.

Others will buff it to a mirror shine (which I think will look stunning at first glance, but maybe not in a good way). Too gaudy for me.

Others might even try to use a glass-beading machine to create a satin finish that looks other-worldly when the glass beads are uniformly sized and the used/broken beads are not recycled back into the glass beader. This works on regular mild stainless steel, I'm not sure how well this technique works with cold-rolled steel because the surface may be too hard for the glass beads to leave the miniature and uniform impact craters that create this sheen on unhardened stainless.

But Franz said the finish, as supplied by Tesla, would be chosen to be something owners could easily maintain themselves, by hand. Something that minor surface scratches could be easily removed, probably with a ScotchBrite pad used unidirectionally. Many will go for something more individualistic, and you may see general interest storys on how different Cybertruck owners have subtly individualized the finish on their personal Cybertruck using unique polishing patterns, different grits, and/or creative masking.

 

[Cyberman]

Ok, I have the real solution. I own a custom built 2001 F550 flatbed truck with a stainless steel bed. It gets plenty dirty what with me keeping sand & gravel, bags of cement back there. Once a year, I hit it with a blow torch, once you give the quick once-over with actual fire, all kind of stains and blemishes disappear. Any discoloration can then be remedied with a pass with a grinder with a wire brush wheel. Keep it simple, folks.
But seriously, relax. It's STAINLESS FUCKING STEEL, people. Soap 'n water's all you need.
The owner
(of CT #216,000)

 

[DMC-81]

speaking of, for you and especially @CyberGus (because he lives down the st

Is a SS car’s exterior notably hotter than a painted car, particularly in direct central Texas sun?

Understanding that painted cars get plenty hot themselves, I *believe* auto paint has certain cooling/reflective qualities that minimize heat collection - or at least minimize heat transference when touched.

Anecdotally, at least, my shovel left in the sun seems to get a might hotter to the touch than the hood of my truck.

All that said, any notable difference in body panel temps to the touch?

Curious mostly due to having three little ones that would lick a hot stove if thry could reach it

Yes, the bare stainless seems hotter to the touch in the direct summer sun, at least that's my experience in Florida.
It would be interesting to measure that, compared to painted vehicles of various colors.

 

[Cyberman]

All right, I'm gonna break out the big guns now. In order to return you CT to its factory original state, once a month or so, mix up a couple of buckets of concrete, slather liberally all over any exposed surfaces. The lime in the coconut concrete will absorb all spots/chemicals/hard water stains. After a couple of days, take a hammer no larger than Fran's sledge, and beat all around the truck to break off the shell. You'll love the results. If you're still not satisfied, cover it in lighter fluid and set it on fire. This will burn off all the imperfections, leaving a factory fresh look on your Cybertruck.

 

[WHIZZARD OF OZ]

The Stainless steel used in the Cybertruck has had it's grain structure, density, hardness, tensile strength and ductability (amongst other things) altered by the cold-rolling process so it will not behave like the body panels on a DeLorean (or like the stainless steel on any of your kitchen appliances) because none of those products have been hardened by cold-rolling multiple passes under rollers with many tons of pressure. Cold-rolling can even make some grades of stainless that are non-magnetic, become somewhat magnetic.

Fridge Magnets are Cheap !
'Lets stick together, C'mon C'mon' [Roxy Music]

 

[CyberGus]

speaking of, for you and especially @CyberGus (because he lives down the st

Is a SS car’s exterior notably hotter than a painted car, particularly in direct central Texas sun?

Metal left in the sun gets hot. The surface finish just makes it a matter of degrees (har har har).

The problem with a shiny car is that it’s like being on a boat: you get much more sunburn than you think you are.

 

[Rutrow]

Urine is a Preventive for jellyfish stings. When going to the beach, have a friend apply. I tell this to my wife all the time.

Sperm cures acne.*

*I'm gonna get my account suspended again aren't I? ?

 

[PilotPete]

Nothing cleans stainless better than urine. Urine works for jelly fish stings, it will work equally well for SS.

I now see the benefit of NOT having door handles.

 

[Crissa]

Yes, the bare stainless seems hotter to the touch in the direct summer sun, at least that's my experience in Florida.
It would be interesting to measure that, compared to painted vehicles of various colors.

That's mostly because it's more conductive than most paint, not because it has absorbed less solar irradiance. It can therefor dump heat into your hand faster than the painted surface.

-Crissa

 

[LDRHAWKE]

Another good reason not to be one of the early deliveries. I am sure we will be seeing a lot of posts from early owners on what doesn’t work in keeping the stainless clean.

 

[Mini2nut]

I'm confident that Tesla will include a section on "caring for your stainless steel exterior" in the electronic owner manual.

 

[HaulingAss]

I'm confident that Tesla will include a section on "caring for your stainless steel exterior" in the electronic owner manual.

That would be funny if it were a blank page.

 

[cbrtrckrsrvd112219]

What will we have to do to maintain the stainless finish? Will washing be enough or will we need to use iron removers, degreasers , and ceramic coatings to make it look great all the time?

who cares... I will treat it same way I treat any other car: wash it occasionally.
Also as someone already mentioned appliances already figure out fingerprint solution and I expect it even more resistant to harsh elements.

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