Rayburn lid scratch removal/polishing

balls · 27 Sep 2018 at 08:23

We moved into a new place about 4 months ago, and the previous owner decided to have a go polishing out some scratches on one of the hoods of the rayburn in the property.

I've tried continuing with that and even after trying 3k wet and dry on a sander its still looking very matte and swirls & scratches on it.

Any recommendations of things to try? I do have a DA polisher I use for the cars, however the steel (or possible chrome) is a bit tougher

NoobCannon · 27 Sep 2018 at 12:58

What on earth is a rayburn

balls · 27 Sep 2018 at 13:29

NoobCannon said:
What on earth is a rayburn

budget aga

Felix · 27 Sep 2018 at 14:00

There are companies that will come and re-enamel them. Have you got a local aga specialist?

The_One · 27 Sep 2018 at 17:20

a rayburn is no where near a budget aga!!

balls · 28 Sep 2018 at 21:13

Felix said:
There are companies that will come and re-enamel them. Have you got a local aga specialist?

Its the steel (or possibly chrome) hob lids that are scratched rather than the enamel

balls · 28 Sep 2018 at 21:14

The_One said:
a rayburn is no where near a budget aga!!

It's a very different thing I realize, however many will have heard/seen an Aga, but may not have seen an Rayburn

Transam · 29 Sep 2018 at 00:22

The fella who used to service our Aga had a fancy polishing thing (a bit like a Porter Cable buffer as I remember, but this was 25 years ago) - used to buff up the whole thing during a service. The service was £150 though, for an oil-fired Aga (new wick, clean the flue out, polish). But again, 25 years and the fashion for AGA/Rayburn will have knocked up the price hugely.
You can buy new chrome bits but they aren't cheap either. Such are the trials of owning an AGA or Rayburn. Cost a fortune to run, as well...

Flibster · 30 Sep 2018 at 23:12

You shouldn't need to go significantly higher than 3000w&d tbh. Probably 5000 tops. I'd probably avoid an orbital sander for this, you really need the straight lines from either a belt sander or just doing it by hand. Change direction by 90° with each step up of grit. Keep it all really wet so there's no overheating of the abrasive, possibly even adding a drop of washing up liquid to the water just to add a touch more lubrication.

Then I'd probably go with a coarse polishing compound and then a fine compound, just to make sure. Should be able to get pretty close to a mirror finish with those.

We used to use a dirt cheap bench grinder with the grinding wheels bodged and replaced with polishing wheels. Lasted years. Used decent bar compound and a bit of practice.

It really does depend what it's made from though and any coatings as well. Much easier if removable too.

Transam · 2 Oct 2018 at 21:51

That's pretty much exactly the way my GF likes it... at Uni I'd practice on the dirty old bench grinder, then come home and try it on the missus. She made me stop using the belt sander though.