stainless steel corrosion

[spinaltap1]

Hi guys, I have a bit of stainless steel corrosion on my bonnet near the windscreen.
I'm wondering what is the best way to clear it up.
Would it need the wolf wheel or could it be worked out with a blending pad.
Thanks!

[Timeless]

Try the 3M green pad first - I use them a lot. Have you tried Bar Keepers friend? I prefer the liquid over the powder.

[David T]

Start with the least abrasive pad and if that doesn't work go courser till you remove the corrosion. You can go all the way to 80# sandpaper if you have to. Then work your way back using finer (less course) pads till you achieve the finish you want. Here is the "problem" though. Once you get the hood looking good the panels next to it will look bad so you will wind up doing the whole car. Some handy tips, use a small piece of a 2 X 4 so you apply even pressure. Use masking tape to help guide you and keep you straight. Cover the facias and trim with masking tape so you don't scratch them. At the end of your strokes be careful to stay straight and not curve. Takes some practice but by the time you are all done with the whole car you will be an expert! Anything you can do with a polishing wheel you can do by hand, it just takes a lot longer! For anyone who wants to do this with power tools I say learn how to do it by hand first, you can do a LOT of damage quickly with power tools if you don't know what you are doing. Leaving wet leaves on the S/S is the worst, it gets into the pores of the S/S and takes a lot to remove the stains.

[dn010]

I've had to battle "corrosion" on my car when it was parked next to my bench grinder and I was using the grinder to form some steel. Steel particles landed on the car and eventually began to rust. Easily fixable with the green scotchbrite pads but took a few times to get it all off.

[r00b]

I don't know if that's corrosion, it kind of looks like in winter when I get slush from the road on my car and it dries. It gets into the grain and can be scrubbed away with barkeepers friend. I went to a Delorean get together in CA when my car had a lot of that slush residue in the grain. I over heard the idiots speculating that it was stainless corrosion.

[JETS 81 DMC]

Hi guys, I have a bit of stainless steel corrosion on my bonnet near the windscreen.
I'm wondering what is the best way to clear it up.
Would it need the wolf wheel or could it be worked out with a blending pad.
Thanks!

Do you know what may have caused those marks?

Stainless steel does not corrode easily. I think it is not corrosion but like others have said and try the blending pad with some cleaner first, even Windex. Worth a try be for you get too aggressive.
My .02 :cheers:

[David T]

Stainless steel does corrode. What can do it and how bad depends on the alloy, there are a lot of different kinds of S/S. It really doesn't matter if it is corrosion or just stuff embedded in the surface. The treatment is the same, you abrade the surface until it is gone and then you regrain (scratch or polish) the surface to achieve the finish you want. I had a BBQ grill once and it just corroded away. Turns out it was made in China and their S/S was really bad and it just rotted away in only a few years. Chinese S/S alloy was really just shiny CRS (Cold Rolled Steel) and had no resistance to the weather. The S/S on a Delorean is very good quality and a heavy (thick) 16 Ga. Like Marty said in BTTF "That's Heavy Doc!".

[dn010]

The S/S on a Delorean is very good quality and a heavy (thick) 16 Ga. Like Marty said in BTTF "That's Heavy Doc!".

Makes you wonder how the "new" left front fenders will hold up.