How to reduce scratches on stainless steel?

Is your stainless steel splashback scratched? Do you want to refurbish a stainless steel extractor hood?  Discover right now how to remove scratches with our best tips test.

Stainless steel adds a real touch of class to your house. Whether it’s a  splashback, a  mirror or some form of protective panel, stainless steel is a metal that looks good in any room. But treating it the wrong way when cleaning or using it can leave marks. And this is well-known since multiple sites already have tricks and tips for removing or improving scratches on stainless steel. #grandmothertips

So we’ve decided to test some of these methods so we can compare them and tell you the best tip for dealing with scratches.

Tips for improving small scratches on stainless steel ✨

If you need to remove small shallow scratches on your stainless steel panel, there are several techniques. You may even have some of the products on this list in your own cupboards.

Toothpaste

Toothpaste is an abrasive product which you can use to lightly polish a surface. To reduce scratches on stainless steel, apply a fine layer of toothpaste with a soft cloth in the direction that your custom stainless steel panel has been brushed. Leave to dry then rinse with soapy water before drying with a microfibre cloth.

Special clay cleaner

Clay cleaners are famous for restoring the sparkle to metals, restoring the whiteness to your most fashionable trainers and cleaning plastics. They are one of the best products to have in your cleaning arsenal. They’re very easy to find in the stores but you can also make one at home if you’re very keen. Clay cleaners are effective on shallow scratches as their action gently polishes out imperfections. By applying the clay cleaner using a sponge in the direction that the stainless steel has been brushed, you will be able to reduce small scratches.

 Stainless steel sanding block

In stores, you can find abrasive sanding blocks so you can clean without ruining a stainless steel surface. These extremely fine-grained blocks should be used in the direction the steel is brushed and repeated sanding should gradually erase micro scratches.

Car bodywork polish for removing scratches

You can use just the same polish you would use to get a scratch out of your car’s bodywork to remove micro scratches from stainless steel. Once again, the product must be used in the direction of brushing so that you don’t create new scratches. Please be careful with the polish you use because some could tarnish your panel. In such cases, you can restore the shine to your stainless steel splashback again using a clay cleaner.

600 grain bodywork sandpaper

Car bodywork sandpaper is a very fine sandpaper used to sand the paint on car bodywork. There are different sorts depending on the sanding stage (usually you start with the larger grains and then finish with a very fine sandpaper for a shiny, smooth appearance). To sand out traces of scratches on your stainless steel panel or extractor hood splashback, it is advisable to use a 600 grain in the direction the steel has been brushed in. A little like steel wool, the main idea is to sand out the bad scratches by trying to work in the original brushing direction.

And which methods won?  🏆

After having tested and retested these 5 tips on several stainless steel panels, we noticed that not all products produced the same quality result. If you just want to give your splashback or extractor hood base a little touch up, a clay cleaner or scratch remover will do the job. However, if you really want to remove all your scratches for good, I advise you strongly to get the sanding block or 600 grain bodywork sandpaper. From the very first few swipes, these two gave me really superb results. (video proof is here 😉)

Tips for deeper scratches

For deeper scratches, certain sites and forums have methods for trying to restore your stainless steel panel (red polishing compound, glass wool, professional sander, etc.) But these tips can be complicated in practice. They need more equipment and the results are not guaranteed.

We personally would recommend that, if your splashback is too damaged, you should just replace it.

Replace my stainless steel splashback

See you soon for new tips and tricks of all kinds 😀

John