Stainless steel is a great product for use outside but it will require some form of maintenance to keep it looking good for the life span of the product. Stainless steel won't rust like the steel on your car but can form surface rust, this surface rust is commonly known as tea staining. This tea staining is only on the surface and some cleaning will take it off. If the product is never cleaned then the tea staining can eventually effect the steel in a more permanent way.
WE WILL USE THIS STAINLESS STEEL COVER PLATE FOR AN EXAMPLE.
Here you can see that the product, after 8 years has some forms of surface rust. Follow the steps below to restore the stainless steel to its original shine.
STEP 1
Start by giving the fitting a good scrub with warm soapy water, you'll be surprised how clean the fitting comes up.
STEP 2
After the soapy scrub if there are still rust marks you may need to use a stainless steel cleaner. Use this cleaner working hard on the rust marks still left. There are a number of stainless steel cleaners available in Hardwares to clean BBQ's etc.
STEP 3
After the scrubbing and cleaning take some stainless steel polish (we find WD40 works really well) and give the fitting a good wipe over. This not only restores the stainless steels shine, it is also great at providing a future layer of oil that helps protect the fitting going forward.
TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED.
The rust is gone the stainless steel looks new again. Tips: Be careful not to scratch the surface when giving the fitting its original scrub. It can be good to follow the grain or lines in the stainless steel when scrubbing so any marks blend in.
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