Brushes steel trim

[cynthia3488]

How do I remove scratches from brushed steel (silver plastic interior trim? Bought 07 Solora & trim on doors has light scratchs-probably caused by dealt belt when pulling it forward to fasten.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Brushes steel trim

Brushed metals have a very specific texture to them, and if you try to remove a scratch from that surface you will most likely flatten the texture and create a shiny area where the scratch was. As unsightly as the scratch may be, a larger, shiny spot is usually even more noticeable. Even if you were to rub in the same direction as the brushed texture, the applicator you're using probably won't conform fully to the existing texture and you'll still start to create a flat spot, although it might not show up as dramatically as it would if you cross buffed against the texture.

We know this sounds like a lot of "ifs and maybes" but the truth of the matter is that removing scratches from any textured material is very difficult, if not impossible. To remove a scratch from anything means you have to level the surrounding material down to the bottom of the scratch. That's all fine and well if all of the surrounding material is flat and smooth, like paint, but if the surrounding material is textured (has high spots and low spots - basically the definition of a scratch) then leveling it means you'll be taking the tops off the high spots while barely touching the low spots at all. You end up taking away the texture with the scratch.