kettle to look like new

[crush]

Register to remove this ad. It's free!

I had a 20gal blichmann boil kettle before starting on a Kal clone, so I only needed to get 2 additional kettles.

My old boil kettle looks a bit shabby next to the new polished ones. It's not heavily soiled, and maybe a little discolored from the propane flame at the base. There appear to be some fine scratches on it also. Is it possible to get it back to looking like new?

[milldoggy]

Check out Bobby M's polishing tutorial over at HBT. Some of the processes should work for you. You probably will just need some polishing compound and a polishing wheel. Not sure what options you have in Norway though. You could try with a very fine plastic scruby and some Bar Keepers Friend also.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/polishing-your-keg-more-than-clever-euphemism-54025/

[rosenjm]

Try stainless steel cleaner for kitchen appliances and cookware. A quick goggle search and Amazon will provide you with more possibilities than you want. Our appliances came with "Weiman" brand and that seems to do a pretty good job.

http://www.weiman.com/products/steel/cleaner.php

[Castermmt]

Bar Keepers Friend is a product that's made for stainless steel. Keep in mind that the kettle has a mirror finish, so make sure you test any product out on an area of the kettle that can't be seen like the bottom first in case the product works differently then you would have hoped.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V72992/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theelectricbrewery-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000V72992

[crush]

Thanks for the info guys, I'll take a look for the products you recommend and check out the video. I've seen some nicely polished kegs around here, so it's obviously possible to get a good finish. How about the scratches, can I cover up those?

I don't know if it's just because my kettle has dulled over the years, but it looks quite a bit different from the new kettles. Like castermnt says, the new ones have a mirror finish, but I don't remember my original kettle (bought in 2008) being ever that shiny, even when new. The handles have also changed, and the new kettle has some kind of "shimmer" in the finish.

[Castermmt]

YouTube is great! here is a link to some polishing Stainless steel clips. Hope this helps.

Stainless Steel for Dummies


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRvtuIFoqCM&feature=related

[milldoggy]

To remove scratches, you have to use gator grit like pads on a polishing wheel or grinder. Bobby explains it well. My kegs had some deep scratches and his method took them out.

[crush]

how about something like this:

http://www.biltema.no/no/Verktoy/Slipe-og-kappe/Polerverktoy/Polermaskin-PM-240/

200 kroner is about $35.

What does polishing actually do to the scratch? Does it fill it in with something, or does it just round off the edges, making it less visible.

[milldoggy]

You will need plastic scratch pads. I used the gator grit medium and fine on my angle grinder. Then use a cotton buffing pad with number 2 and 5 polishing compound. Not sure a polisher like that has enough rpms. Can you get an angle grinder?

[Castermmt]

There is very fine grit in some of the rubbing compounds that can actually remove the small scratches in the thing being polished. Best thing to do is take it slow until you have the right product so you don't damage the kettle. You should be fine with rubbing compound, your kettle doesn't look that bad.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NMDFNY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theelectricbrewery-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000NMDFNY