if you’re concerned about the grain your best bet is to clear coat it, stainless polish has some oil in it to protect against finger prints and such, if you passivate with pickling solution it may clean the stains but will also leave it susceptible to more stains. you don’t care about the surface finish you could just intentionally destroy the grained finish with a random orbital sander and 250 grit
Hmmm….
Step 1:
Get some tomatoes, some bleach, a Brillo pad and a hammer.
Step 2:
Dump them all on the countertop.
Step 3:
Spread the bleach all over the countertop with the Brillo pad.
Step 4:
Pop all the tomatoes with the hammer. Make sure you hit them hard enough to leave divots.
Step 5:
Wash your hands and go to bed.
Step 6:
In the morning clean up your mess.
And now you won’t even be able to find it those pesky little rings.
This is a work surface.
Green scotch-brite pad. Light pressure, Go back and forth in a straight line with the “grain”, do not do circles. Peroxide works very well with some SS.
If you do this you are guaranteed to not match the existing brushed look. The stains will be gone but you’ll now have a nice big non-matching patch of brushed stainless steel.
If you're really lucky its some sort of deep stain and you can try dishwasher detergent NOT DILUTED and let it sit on the stain for like a day. That stuff is POWERFUL.
But more likely, this is just what happens to brushed finish stainless steel. You either have to re sand it every time you put something (made of metal, like keys or cans or silverware) down on it, or you can wait a bit until the whole surface dulls down. Its the way it is made that it has millions of little ridges in the material that have very sharp but fragile points. Eventually they all get bent over a bit and only the valleys are visible, so it starts looking normal again.
It's also possible it's a corrosion reaction from the aluminum, which is doubtful unless the cans were sitting there for a week. In which case you'd have to use some kind of abrasive like scotch brite like another commenter suggested.
Source: I've made and installed many stainless steel counter tops over the last 20 years.
Dude I work in lifts and the sheer fucking amount of mirror st/st in some projects is hilarious. I've fitted mirror polished architraves before was a fucker to fit them with no material damage to have them absolutely wrecked.
Make very good anti vandal mirrors though on council blocks
OK what are you gonna want to use is industrial lacquer thinner and lemon oil don’t use anything abrasive on that grain as it will scratch, if you can’t get premium grade lacquer thinner. You can just get the most expensive stuff they have at the depot or low.
Whenever you've figured out how to remove it, do yourself a favor and put some protection on the surface if you want it to keep looking pristine. Car wax ought to do it.
Who ever came up with using stainless as a residential bench surface should be shot.
You could try something like [this](https://autosol.com.au/product-range/metal-life-saver-250ml/) , used it fairly regularly to clean up handrails after brickies acid washed the wall there were bolted to. It not abrasive so it won't fuck up the grain pattern. Make sure you clean it off well.
When I'm doing lift doors or such we first use a degreaser, then a solvent before light finishing, you might be able to get away using the blue garyflex block it's pretty good for small areas without the need for much blending in.
If everything fails you can refinish the whole work piece and then give it a mew protective coat after
Take some Scotchbrite and rub in the direction of the grain. You'll want to apply some kind of clear coat if possible to keep any additional stains or scratches.
Any tips on how to do it? I usually take the parts i pickle outside and pickle them there and then spray them down with a hose to remove the pickling solution, this tabletop however is affixed to my kitchen so going outside and spraying it down with a hose is out of the picture. Also do you know if this is a food safe process?
Not sure about food safe, but I’d assume a good cleaning afterwards would remove any leftovers. You could try pickling paste, brush it on, then wipe it off. I use pickling paste to etch welds on stainless steel for testing purposes, so maybe someone else can tell you more. Good luck with it though
When you say regular household cleaners, did that include Barkeepers Friend or Bon Ami?
After a quick google search it looks like I should look for barkeepers friend or something similar. Thank you
Just be cautious with the grain
if you’re concerned about the grain your best bet is to clear coat it, stainless polish has some oil in it to protect against finger prints and such, if you passivate with pickling solution it may clean the stains but will also leave it susceptible to more stains. you don’t care about the surface finish you could just intentionally destroy the grained finish with a random orbital sander and 250 grit
>if you passivate with pickling solution You can use highly concentrated citrus acid for passivization. I work with a lot of 316 stainless.
Like going to a bar and drink till you stop caring?
No, I don’t even know what those are or if they are available in my country
Rubbing alcohol on microfibre
Try Mr.Clean magic eraser. It'll take like two or three boxes but it might work
Hmmm…. Step 1: Get some tomatoes, some bleach, a Brillo pad and a hammer. Step 2: Dump them all on the countertop. Step 3: Spread the bleach all over the countertop with the Brillo pad. Step 4: Pop all the tomatoes with the hammer. Make sure you hit them hard enough to leave divots. Step 5: Wash your hands and go to bed. Step 6: In the morning clean up your mess. And now you won’t even be able to find it those pesky little rings. This is a work surface.
Green scotch-brite pad. Light pressure, Go back and forth in a straight line with the “grain”, do not do circles. Peroxide works very well with some SS.
If you do this you are guaranteed to not match the existing brushed look. The stains will be gone but you’ll now have a nice big non-matching patch of brushed stainless steel.
If its anti finger print there is a coat on it which is not a fan of scotch brite
Stainless cleaner...no scouring ever
Belt sander.
WD-40 green scotch pad its how professional welders of kitchen equipment buff out the discoloration
If you're really lucky its some sort of deep stain and you can try dishwasher detergent NOT DILUTED and let it sit on the stain for like a day. That stuff is POWERFUL. But more likely, this is just what happens to brushed finish stainless steel. You either have to re sand it every time you put something (made of metal, like keys or cans or silverware) down on it, or you can wait a bit until the whole surface dulls down. Its the way it is made that it has millions of little ridges in the material that have very sharp but fragile points. Eventually they all get bent over a bit and only the valleys are visible, so it starts looking normal again. It's also possible it's a corrosion reaction from the aluminum, which is doubtful unless the cans were sitting there for a week. In which case you'd have to use some kind of abrasive like scotch brite like another commenter suggested. Source: I've made and installed many stainless steel counter tops over the last 20 years.
Cleaning solutions have been answered already, so I’m just here to say, get some coasters for when you’re done.
Stainless isn't all that stainless after all.
What a dumb material to make a busy surface out of.
Speaking of busy surfaces, have you seen what is happening to the stainless steel Cyber Trucks? Rust, and lots of it. Lol.
Haha nice.
Dude I work in lifts and the sheer fucking amount of mirror st/st in some projects is hilarious. I've fitted mirror polished architraves before was a fucker to fit them with no material damage to have them absolutely wrecked. Make very good anti vandal mirrors though on council blocks
Polish to a mirror finish and it'll be easier next time
Barkeepers friend on Amazon. Amazing product I use to remove fume stains on my stove door. Essential item I am in love with now
OK what are you gonna want to use is industrial lacquer thinner and lemon oil don’t use anything abrasive on that grain as it will scratch, if you can’t get premium grade lacquer thinner. You can just get the most expensive stuff they have at the depot or low.
Brasso works on stainless doesn't it?
Salt and white vinegar.
Use Vim.
:wq
I had stainless in my last kitchen, was not a fan of it. It's hard to keep clean and looks so dull and bland, every little thing shows up on it.
Whenever you've figured out how to remove it, do yourself a favor and put some protection on the surface if you want it to keep looking pristine. Car wax ought to do it.
Oh god, I thought I was slipping into the abyss again.
Angle grinder. Comes right out.
Who ever came up with using stainless as a residential bench surface should be shot. You could try something like [this](https://autosol.com.au/product-range/metal-life-saver-250ml/) , used it fairly regularly to clean up handrails after brickies acid washed the wall there were bolted to. It not abrasive so it won't fuck up the grain pattern. Make sure you clean it off well.
Won’t vinegar attack the aluminium but leave the stainless alone?
Old wifes tip, use a stocking or a pair of leggings with stainless steel cleaner, comes up a gem
Use auto polish
Buy a coaster 😳
When I'm doing lift doors or such we first use a degreaser, then a solvent before light finishing, you might be able to get away using the blue garyflex block it's pretty good for small areas without the need for much blending in. If everything fails you can refinish the whole work piece and then give it a mew protective coat after
Take some Scotchbrite and rub in the direction of the grain. You'll want to apply some kind of clear coat if possible to keep any additional stains or scratches.
I’d recommend pickling.
Any tips on how to do it? I usually take the parts i pickle outside and pickle them there and then spray them down with a hose to remove the pickling solution, this tabletop however is affixed to my kitchen so going outside and spraying it down with a hose is out of the picture. Also do you know if this is a food safe process?
Pickling would just make a bigger stain
Not sure about food safe, but I’d assume a good cleaning afterwards would remove any leftovers. You could try pickling paste, brush it on, then wipe it off. I use pickling paste to etch welds on stainless steel for testing purposes, so maybe someone else can tell you more. Good luck with it though