Q&A for How to Polish Stainless Steel

Yes, of course. If your stainless steel is good quality, the finish should hold up.

"Bartenders Friend" in the original powder form is hands down the the best product for polishing heavily tarnished stainless steel. I was amazed by the results and everyone I've recommended the product to agrees. I was able to remove heavy carbon and tarnish from a stainless steel barrel that appeared beyond saving as the result of a fire. Mix warm water and powder to form a paste, apply with a sponge working in the direction of the grain. Polish dry with a non-abrasive cotton terry cloth. Repeat the process until desired finish is achieved.

Soak in a bucket of white vinegar for 1 - 5 days, depending on amount of rust. Scrub with a metal brush afterward.

Try soaking it overnight with good old soda crystals. If this doesn't work, acetone nail polish remover might; it has to be pure acetone. You could also use a solution of water and biological washing powder; leave for a few hours or soak overnight.

Astonish oven cleaner works great, and you can rub with a cloth dipped in paraffin to keep it gleaming. If rusted, rub with lighter fluid and clean with kitchen cleaner.

Yes, many which vary according to application. For example, Most of us will work with 304 which is common, but 316 is more resistant to mild acid even at cooking temperatures so is better for food-grade use. Austenitic steels (200 & 300 series) are the most common overall but the ferretic (low-or zero nickle) and martensitic are common in industry.

What you use depends on how deep the scratches are but while stainless steel is quite tough stuff, it's still a metal and can be scratched by other metals. Pan scrubbers are the first thing to try - unless it's a gouge, in which case a case-hardened file is probably in order. We see scratches because they disturb visible light - so although we can remove a scratch, that usually means we're left with a lot more smaller ones. So they trick is to randomly scratch the surface until the "bad" scratch has gone. Typically we do this with a random, circular(ish) motion or a tool that will do that for us. Repeat with finer compounds until done.