Soft Stainless on Door

[Kevin]

The previous owner had some stainless DMC plates that said something like "This automobile is property of..." and then his name affixed to the bottom of the door near where the catalyst sticker is. I left them on for about 2 years and finally decided to take them off today.

To clean off some of the adhesive, I used some stainless steel cleaner and a scotch-brite pad, but once I was done, I noticed I had ripples in the stainless that I must have caused (see photos). Apparently, this part of the door is pretty soft. I don't feel I was pressing extremely hard, just enough to rub off some old adhesive.

So, this post is to serve as a warning, and I was wondering if anyone else has ever had this issue and if they were able to smooth things back out again?


Edit: Heh the photos got posted upside down, but you get the idea.

[Patrick C]

Mine has these too. I doubt you caused this...likely happened during stamping.

[DMCMW Dave]

Stamping die draw marks. More pronounced on earlier cars, but very common. You didn't do it.

[Kevin]

Whew, glad to hear I'm crazy, I thought there was no way I could have done that. I guess cleaning the area made them more prominent in the light, and the previous owner had a decent idea to cover them up.

Thanks, all!