Shine On Footloose

This is one project that I would have gladly paid someone to do if I had know how much effort it was going to be and how long it would take me to do it.
I decided that I would start polishing the stainless steel siding on Footloose this summer and started shopping around for the necessary compound and buffing pads I needed to do it. I already had an old Craftsman 7 inch grinder/sander that I purchased years ago when I first got into welding and I assumed that it would be adequate for the job.
It was ,just barely, and I wasn't (really). I am 60 now and my fingers are still sore from buffing Footloose three months later.

I have a friend who is converting a MC-8 and he gave me a block of Green compound that he is using on his stainless and it appeared to work OK but it was extremely easy to get the SS too hot which makes it stretch and buckle. He did not know what it was called but only that someone else who knew someone else who did a lot of this kind of thing told him where to go and what to buy......You know the story.

After extensive searching on the web, I finally came up with what I thought was a good source for the compound and buffing pads Caswell Plating. I ordered a few online just to get some idea of what kind of job I was getting myself into. I later found another online resource Brightworks Inc. but have not ordered from them yet.

I started on one of my curb side baggage doors and soon discovered just how much work this was going to be.

• You will need at least one large block of the Black compound and one or two large blocks of the Stainless compound. I am not really happy with the stainless compound I got from Caswell Plating and think that it did not have enough abrasive in it. I suggest that you may want to get this from Brightworks.

• I purchased (4) 7 inch "Sisal" buffing pads and (4) "Cotton" buffing pads. The Sisal pads are supposed to be used with the Black compound and are more aggressive than the Cotton wheel used with the final Stainless compound for shining. I later purchased 4 more of each pad when I discovered just how fast they wore out.

• There are two buffing motions needed to obtain the desired finish you are looking for. One is called "Cut" and is obtained by moving the buffing wheel over the surface in a direction opposite the wheel rotation and a moderately hard pressure is required. The final finish is called "Color" and the buffing wheel is moved over the surface in a direction which is the same as wheel rotation and a moderately light pressure is required.
  Now the real fun is that you have to do all of this with both the Black compound and again with the Stainless compound.

• Be sure to tape all of your trim and everything adjacent to the stainless and try to avoid digging too much of the tape out with your buffer since it will cut the paint quite readily.
  I used a product called Extreme metal polish to get the small corners and other areas that were not accessible with the buffer. I will dig up a phone number and post it when I get time.

  The Xtreme metal polish is available from Advance Chrome Connection, Fort Worth TX. (817)626-3064 at $6.00/ container. I purchased 2 container's but only used one.

• Wear Safety Glasses. Your buffer will sling this stuff EVERYWHERE.

• You first have to go over the surface with "Black" compound using a "Sisal" pad to remove the original finish. This also provides some initial surface polish. I found that it is easier to do the fluted SS on the MCI if you hold the buffing pad at about a 2 o'clock angle and push it across the panel from left to right between the ribs. I then held it parallel to the ribs and pulled it under each one, then across the top of each one. This sounds easy until you do it for about an hour with a grinder/sander that weighs about 10 to 12 lb..
  

• You apply the compound to the buffing pad by simply dragging the edge of moving pad across the edge of compound block for one or two seconds and you can usually tell when you need more compound when it does not appear to be doing anything. Don't waste the compound by attempting to saturate the pad, it will simply sling it off.

• You will probably "burn" some spots with the Stainless compound if you let it get too hot without compound on the pad. This is no big deal and all you have to do is apply more compound to the pad and go over the area lightly until the "burn" disappear.
  

• Do not mix compounds on your buffing pads. After you go over the whole coach, or a specific area with the Sisal pad and Black compound, you switch to a Cotton pad and go over it again with the Stainless compound until you are happy with the results. I have been over some areas on Footloose once or twice already and I am still finding areas I am not happy with.

• Keep an eye on your buffer, especially if it has any kind of fan cooled motor. My Craftsman started smoking about 9/10 of the way through this ordeal and I had to tear it down to remove about 1/2 lb. of cotton and sisal threads that the fan pulled into the motor housing.

• One final note, Don't wear good clothing when you do this and be prepared to get black. I mean REALLY get black. The buffer will sling the residual wax and black residue from the compound everywhere and your face is no exception.

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