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Reconditioning stainless steel fascia on appliances?

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rdytro

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Closest sub forum to be relevant. Anyway, there are a lot of technically minded people here who might have technical suggestions. My new unopened Samsung fridge has been waiting several months for my new kitchen and renovation project to be finished. I was greeted with a slightly shocking sight on opening it yesterday. I believe the streaky 'brushed' finish is original and the actually more attractive patina is what happened. Polystyrene foam covered bits didn't change. To me it looks like some kind of mild form of oxidation probably catalyzed by light (covered areas are as they were). Samsung service are saying it's due to dust contamination but the areas under the polystyrene which were much more dusty than the exposed areas (there was little dust generally) didnt change or react.

Firstly, can someone identify what happened?

Secondly, can I make the whole thing have this patina? Maybe buffing with something slightly acidic? If not, how else do I homogenize the finish, bearing in mind the metal is very thin and I expect Samsung to refuse to do anything (consumer protection basically doesn't exist here).

P.S. Environment here is BONE dry.
 

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In my opinion, it's due to inferior metal. I would avoid trying to modify the finish with anything acidic. That's a recipe for tragedy, because it's so difficult to control.

The first thing I would do is take a microfibre cloth and buff the finish with mineral oil. That might work, and it might not, but at least it won't make any permanent change to the finish, and does nothing that cannot be reversed easily. Get ready to sweat; this will be work.

If that didn't work, you can go to the next step. You can try to homogenize the finish, but you're taking a risk.

Go to an auto supply store, and purchase the finest-grit paint buffing compound they have. Try to get one that gets great reviews from professional car show preppers.
Try this product on the back of the fridge first. That way, if the outcome isn't what you want, the result will be out of view. You'll need practice.

This type of product is the opposite of the oil; do NOT use a heavy hand. Be gentle.

Years ago, I tried to use mineral oil with a bit of baking soda. Results were inconsistent. The same goes for toothpaste; the results were inconsistent. When I say "inconsistent", I mean that there were examples that definitely were not good. If you think you are being too careful, think again. You can NEVER be too careful when you're dealing with soft metals ... and these doors are soft metal.

I wish you the best of luck.

Jim
 
For anything stainless steel I'd try Barkeeper's Friend first. Try it out on a non-obvious spot first.
 
Perhaps the journey of the container ship transporting the refrigerator took much longer than expected due to the collapse of the supply chain. It could be algae or mold.
If nothing else helps, I would try chlorine bleach on a small inconspicuous area.
 
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Which barkeeper's friend product should I get? There are a number
 
rdytro said:
Closest sub forum to be relevant. Anyway, there are a lot of technically minded people here who might have technical suggestions. My new unopened Samsung fridge has been waiting several months for my new kitchen and renovation project to be finished. I was greeted with a slightly shocking sight on opening it yesterday. I believe the streaky 'brushed' finish is original and the actually more attractive patina is what happened. Polystyrene foam covered bits didn't change. To me it looks like some kind of mild form of oxidation probably catalyzed by light (covered areas are as they were). Samsung service are saying it's due to dust contamination but the areas under the polystyrene which were much more dusty than the exposed areas (there was little dust generally) didnt change or react.

Firstly, can someone identify what happened?

Secondly, can I make the whole thing have this patina? Maybe buffing with something slightly acidic? If not, how else do I homogenize the finish, bearing in mind the metal is very thin and I expect Samsung to refuse to do anything (consumer protection basically doesn't exist here).

P.S. Environment here is BONE dry.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't touch it. If a refund/exchange is out of the question with your retialer for whatever reasons they make up, I'd leave it be.

Whatever happened to the uncovered surface will likely happen to the covered part of the surface now the polystyrene foam and plastic is off. It may take a few months but I expect it will all end up the same.

No chemicals, no abrasives, no polishes.
 
I R&D sanded and polished stainless steel sheeting for electronic control panels for oil drilling rigs before we found a supplier that could provide those for us. It was very finicky work and right from the get go one must be extremely careful if they want a consistent finish across the entire sheet. Basically I started with ~600 grit and got the surface very smooth with all sanding running in one direction top to bottom and then went up the grits till I used diamond buffing compound with a power tool. After cleaning off the buffing compound the finish was very nice but consider that this control panel sanding/buff job required 2 days of 8 hours each to get polished to the grade that was desired. I advised management and the engineering department that anodizing a soft aluminum would be easier and snazzier but they wanted stainless due to the corrosive nature of the drill hole stuff. I don't recommend getting into a cutting and polishing job with a fridge. It's simply too large and tedious and requires a lot of supplies and materials and the metal is thin. Can you return this fridge?
 
Hmm. I suppose the front plates are some kind of cheap stainless alloy with a oleophobic coating. Try spraying water on it to see if the water droplets behave differently on the altered surface.
It seems like some moisture may have reacting with the surface beneath the poly. Or maybe the poly had some release of gasses that reacted to the surface.

I'd try to apply some autosol in a hidden place to see how it behaves. Maybe at the bottom of a door on the inside where the plate is folded around the corner.
1729141759212.png
 
restorer-john said:
I wouldn't touch it. If a refund/exchange is out of the question with your retialer for whatever reasons they make up, I'd leave it be.

Whatever happened to the uncovered surface will likely happen to the covered part of the surface now the polystyrene foam and plastic is off. It may take a few months but I expect it will all end up the same.

No chemicals, no abrasives, no polishes.
Click to expand...
I agree. It seems from experience that this is a project that's going to really go south and end up with a mess. Not recommended to sand and polish.
 
rdytro said:
Closest sub forum to be relevant. Anyway, there are a lot of technically minded people here who might have technical suggestions. My new unopened Samsung fridge has been waiting several months for my new kitchen and renovation project to be finished. I was greeted with a slightly shocking sight on opening it yesterday. I believe the streaky 'brushed' finish is original and the actually more attractive patina is what happened. Polystyrene foam covered bits didn't change. To me it looks like some kind of mild form of oxidation probably catalyzed by light (covered areas are as they were). Samsung service are saying it's due to dust contamination but the areas under the polystyrene which were much more dusty than the exposed areas (there was little dust generally) didnt change or react.

Firstly, can someone identify what happened?

Secondly, can I make the whole thing have this patina? Maybe buffing with something slightly acidic? If not, how else do I homogenize the finish, bearing in mind the metal is very thin and I expect Samsung to refuse to do anything (consumer protection basically doesn't exist here).

P.S. Environment here is BONE dry.
Click to expand...
Before you change anything on the surface, can you make sure that there is no paint or other sealant (plastic) on the metal?

Could it be that it is simply months of exposure to sunlight/UV?

First I would clean with normal dishwashing liquid, then with a commercial bathroom cleaner. Do not leave it to soak in, but wipe it with a scratch-free cloth.
 
I agree, likely the s/steel is coated (to minimise fingerprints in use).

We had fridges delivered then stored on-site will waiting for the reno to progress recently. Had an issue with coating on one door after peeling off the cling film that protected it. Remediating would require working over the entire door, with uncertain results, but it's too small/inconspicuous an area to worry about so left it be, so far at least. May get the replaced if it gets worse.

Your case is more extensive, but I'd also wait and see. It may equalise over time. But certainly weird. Treatment would depend whether there is a coating which has aged unevenly (say) or whether it's between coating and metal, or bare metal.

You'll either be cleaning the coating, or the metal. Or removing the coating, treating the metal and perhaps re-coating. If you do try surface treatment, try to get hold of a linear-action polisher instead of a rotary-action one. I can think of tools and treatments to remove the surface and refinish, but in aggregate they may cost more than the fridge.
 
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I think there are good comments in here - even barkeeper's friend is questionable as it's abrasive and will tend to remove coatings. But if you do go that route, you may end up in a situation where you have to keep continuously polishing it until you end up with something quite unlike the original.

Alternative suggestion: Get a vinyl wrap in a fun color and cover up the SS.
 
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