I want to know, too!

Hi Barnmom

Looks like there's no answer to this question. I also posted it on the Appliance forum and I got the same thing there. I guess there are some of us who want to know but in all likelihood it probably can't be done. Boo Hoo

Iris

You might consider taking steel wool and rubbing the surface. 4X will clean glass without scratching it, the courser grades will scratch. Start with the finest grade and try to buff it out - uses LOTS of elbow grease. If that doesn't work, as an extreme measure you could 'hide' the scratchs by adding some more with 3X. Nothing happens try 2X, etc. Sort of a backwards solution.

Glassquilt,

Thanks for the tip but I don't think I'm brave enough to try that. But I will pass the tip on
Thanks again

Iris

I'd really be cautious with that Scotchbrite solution. My Advantium got it's scratches when my husband decided to clean it with Scotchbrite. I think you'd really have to know what you were doing with that method--in the wrong hands, it could just do more damage, IMO.

I agree completely with you, azzelea...but I was fortunate to be able to actually watch him do it and it made me a believer out of me. You HAVE to go with the grain and use a very fine scotchbrite pad and lots of WD-40. It saved me a ton of money, I was ready to change out the cooktop (just the ss frame part) which is quite expensive. It totally took the marred (it was more of a mar versus a tiny scratch)area out, I am thrilled). Maybe if someone has some bad places, they could find an old ss something to practice on and get the feel for it first, better to be safe than sorry, for sure, so you make a very good point!

I should think the automobile refinishing people should have the combinations of abrasives and cloth necessary to polish almost anything.

Having said that, I would not be surprised if some "stainless" has a rather fragile surface.

This is from the Kitchen Forum........

Here is a link that might be useful: SS scratch removal

nancy jean, thanks for the above thread on ss scratch removal, I found it most interesting, as well as helpful! At least we know there are a few tricks to help with the ss scratches...especially those that are just at eye level and you see them each time you walk in the kitchen and turn the lights on...lol That is how mine was on my cooktop, that the appliance guy, helped remove by his little magic trick...the eye went straight to it, and must have not been just me, since he asked if I wanted him to work on it! I know you have to learn to live with some of them, (or you would drive yourself nutty) that is just how ss is going to be, but it's so nice to know, if you have some that just bug the heck out of ya, there are a few tricks to try that really help soften them!!! Thanks again:)

raybeck, did he mention the purpose of the WD40 in this process? This thread and the link from nancy jean has been very helpful. Sandy

breenthumb, most definitely the WD40 is very important in the process. Glad to be of help, I was thrilled beyond my wildest expectations with the results! Just take it slow and easy until you get the hang of it, better safe than sorry! Good luck...:)

Just realized, I didn't really answer your question correctly, breenthumb...he told me you need to keep it lubricated, and it did seem to work. Told me it also will remove stains, etc. (the WD40) from SS, to just soak it down and let it sit for awhile then go back and clean up...who would have known that.......not me...ha ha He did make a believer out of me, tho...also be sure to go with the grain of the SS. I even used this process on my sinks, and they look a thousand times better, I was going to replace them with a cast iron sink, but they looked enough better that I decided to stick with them and just replace the faucet, etc. I'm not a SS sink lover, but know how to care for them makes a huge difference, IMO. Don't try removing the scratches with the WD40, he said, that part of the process that is very important, for some reason. Hope this works for you, too!!! Let us know, okay?

WD40 is a wonder ! It works on almost everything!

Here is a link that might be useful: uses for WD40

Somewhere along the line during our kitchen remodel my new stainless steel cook top got scratched. I had heard of a product called Micro Mesh. I got mine from Scientific Instrument Services. www.sisweb.com/micromesh/ I got the kit for metal finishing kit (MX-90) . The company that makes the Micro Mesh has a web site too. It's www.micro-surface.com. It took me about 10 minutes to remove the scratch.

I first heard about this product from a doll collectors group. Some of the women had discovered that the very fine micro mesh could be used to remove scratches from the vinyl doll.
I have no affiliation with this company. I'm just a very happy consumer!

Katy

Here is a link that might be useful: Micro Mesh

Alrighty! God bless the internet!

I am involved in maintenence in a small hotel. I'm not sure what attracts vandals to stainless, but, they doo seem to like to TRY to brand the elevator doors... leaving them visibly scratched. It is an annoyance to me, and I have done my share of scratching over the scratches.

WD-40 here I come! And, I'll bring you all a (favorable I hope) report next week.

I actually joined your forum because in addition to work applications, I think I can get some greenhouse advice here as well.

AP Wagner has a product that works great. It is called scratch b gone. You can find it here:

Here is a link that might be useful: Scratch B Gone from AP Wagner Appliance Parts

Between scratches and fingerprints I am glad I did not get the SS appliances I was at first hell-bent on getting. My DH works all over town going into commerical food service kitchens. He told me the scratches and fingerprints (we have three kids) would drive me nuts. He also didn't want to see the industrial look at home. Glad those of you that did get them have got some tools, now, to get that behind you.

Hi, all.

So after FOUR long months of a kitchen renovation, I cooked for the first time the other evening. I still had the protective film on my appliances, and carefully peeled off the blue film from the oven. But there was a weird pink film on the area around the knobs for the burners. I DID read the manual and found them to be a gelatin substance, and wiped them off with a sponge. DUMB me used more elbow grease than needed AND used the scrubby side of the sponge... so now I have scratches on the stainless after the very first use of the range. EGAD.

So I appreciate reading these tips. I'm going to wait and see... the scuffs are only visible in certain light and in certain spots (I discovered what I was doing and switched to the soft side of the sponge).

I also found this link to a product that is said to remove scratches - the photos are pretty impressive. But I can't endorse it b/c I haven't tried it. Anyone tried Scratch-B-Gone?

Here is a link that might be useful: Scratch B Gone

Sorry to bring a cloud of darkness, but... most of the scratch remedies listed WON`T work on household appliances. Reason being, most of stainless steel appliances used in homes has a protective finish over it to help prevent fingerprints, smudges, scratches, etc.Trying to remove any scratches or swirls from an appliance that is coated will only make the poblem worse! So far, I haven`t found ANYTHING that repair this type of finish and I`ve been in the cleaning business for 25 years. If your appliances are "true stainless steel" (commercial grade), then there are quite a few remedies and products that will repair the scratches. You can call the maker of your appliance and they usually sell a product that will fix the scratches, or else they will recommend a product/ remedy. I hope this helps! If I ever do find a solution to the scratch problems, I will post it. P.S. I have a Frigidaire side by side stainless front refrigerator, a GE Profile Spectra range/oven with stainless front and a Frigidaire Gallery professional series dishwasher with stainless front also. ALL of my appliances are badly scratched from my children! I found out the hard way that ALL of my stainless appliances have the protective coating on them. Needless to say, the protective coating wasn`t so protective against kids! I definately would not recommend anyone to buy stainless steel appliances if they have children or dogs!!

Like so many others, I made a mess of our new stainless steel refrigerator with the back side of a sponge (I'm sure the neighbors down the street heard my wife when she saw what I did). I just bought the Scratch-B-Gone from a local appliance store, and my marriage is saved - it looks like new!!!! I cannot recommend this product enough!

I made the mistake of trying to wash my refrigerator glass shelves in my new ss sink. Of course there was soapy water and it wasn't until I let out the water that I found the scratches. I almost cried,I was so disappointed. If anything will help,it would be a blessing!

I recently found Scratch-b-gone at a local store and this product really works for stainless steel scratches... it removes the scratch and refinishes it so youll never even notice it was ever there. My husband used it on our BBQ top to help get rid of some of the staining and it was amazing! You can find it on www.scratch-b-gone.com or in a store like we did. They also carry a cooktop treatment i used on my stove.. (after the scratches were gone) that helps seal aginst spills, grease and stains.

Good luck!

I had a new refrigerator delivered in the morning, and by evening it had scratches all over it! Yikes! This was from magnets. I was sick to my stomach all night long! Rule #1: Never put anything on the face of a stainless steel appliance! Stainless steel is a rather soft metal alloy (compared to some other metals). The magnets themselves didn't scratch it, but the micro-particles of dirt did. Anything held tightly to the metal will scratch it. Even if you put some tape or cloth between the magnet and the metal…

The scratches were at eye level, so whatever solution I embarked on to remove the scratches demanded much care. Several posts talked about solutions to stoves and sinks, which are, by their nature, *expected* to get scratched up a million times over. Removing scratches from a refrigerator is a whole different animal!

I began by checking out this forum and several others and even watching a couple of videos. None of them worked as prescribed and I'm about to tell you why.

Every stainless steel appliance is different. Some faces are harder than others. Some have a heavy brushed look. Other don't or to a noticeably lesser extent. So the optimal solution for my refrigerator will be different than the optimal solution for my dishwasher, etc. So what I learned through this process is that it is just that -- a process. You will have to experiment. There is no silver bullet for an answer.

I tried an abrasive hand cleaner, chrome polish, polishing compound, and steel wool and Scotch-Brite with WD-40. I will talk about each of these shortly, but first, I can't stress enough HOW IMPORTANT IT IS to rub in the SAME direction as the existing grain buffed into the finish at the factory. It is easy and perhaps habitual to hand rub in an arc, oval, or circular motion -- no matter what product you use. You must discipline yourself to rub in straight lines only -- the same direction as the grain. I also found it wise to use a wood block (or other rigid object) for evenness in the rubbing rather than the uneven pressure of my fingers. So in every case, I used a cloth with some product applied to it and wrapped it around a small wood block which I held in my hand.

The abrasive hand cleaner improved the scratches, but didn't remove them completely -- even after about 5 applications, wiping it off and using Stainless Steel cleaner and polish after each. I needed something more abrasive.

Next, I used Turtle Wax Chrome Polish. This is a micro-abrasive paste. It was more effective in removing the scratches and the rag turned black from the fine particles of steel rubbing off onto my rag, but it had an unfortunate side effect. It’s grain was too fine for my refrigerator, and it was obvious where I rubbed and buffed with the chrome polish. It appeared darker in that area. That region was now more polished and lost some of the brushed look of the rest of the finish, and so it was obvious that I tried to fix the problem. Now, I not only had to remove the scratches, but I had to add back the brushed look of the stainless steel. I will never use chrome polish again, except perhaps... on chrome!

Next, I tried Turtle Wax Polishing Compound which is a little rougher-grit paste than chrome polish. This wasn’t as effective at removing the scratches -- although by now, they were only half as deep. What I liked about the polishing compound, though, is that it brightened the dark region somewhat and restored the brushed look that was removed with the chrome polish. I still felt like I needed something with a little more abrasiveness, though.

Next I tried steel wool soaked in WD-40. This was totally ineffective. So was the Scotch-Brite. It needed more bite. Perhaps trying steel wool without the lubricant (WD-40) would be better, but I didn’t try it.

But I’m converging on a solution. I want to go out and buy rubbing compound, which is a step more coarse of a grit than polishing compound. But I haven’t and I won’t, and here’s why… My refrigerator developed two other unrelated mechanical problems and the manufacturer will be replacing my refrigerator tomorrow. With this in mind, I didn’t want to work on the scratches any further in the event I messed it up and didn’t have time to rectify it. So, I’m sorry to leave the readers hanging, but I feel very optimistic that rubbing compound is going to be the most effective -- for may particular refrigerator -- in both getting out the scratches, and leaving a finish that is very similar to the factory’s brush look. But keep in mind that experimentation is key. Rubbing compound may not be the best product for, say, my dishwasher, which was made by a different manufacturer.

I hope this helps!