How to remove scratches from stainless steel refrigerator doors?

A. The first step is to determine what type of finish was used on the door. Rolled finishes are used on this type of product because they are the simplest to produce and lowest in cost. They are nondirectional and as such cannot be blended or repaired. If the product design calls for the removal of welds and the finish blended then a rolled finish is not used and this finish may be repaired using polishing methods since this is how the original finish was created. Look for a weld; it is a good place to start. The Nickel Development Institute has a web site [nickelinstitute.org] and a handbook #9012 with enough information to make you an expert on stainless steel finishes.

Hi Allison, sorry to hear of your frustration. Why do you think your appliance is beyond repair. Yes, dents and dings are permanent at this time but if we're talking scratches then I introduce you to Scratch-B-Gone --

adv.
Our industry-accepted kit has helped owners like yourself work wonders with removing and refinishing Stainless surfaces to almost new. Please look to www.barrysrestoreitall.com for more information and ideas before giving up.

Yes there are products offered with protective coatings but these are not without their problems either and once these are scratches, they are scratched forever. Hoped this helped.

A. Sadly you had a bad deal with this one. Actually Stainless Steel is the 'real' deal. It is just that the particular model you purchased and own is what GE calls 'Clean Steel'. This is their offering of a finger print, lower cleaning maintenance product and as you found out it is a series of coatings over a steel frame, thus it is magnetic. Unfortunately this was a costly lesson. Have a great Holiday anyway.

Hi, Mitchel. If it is plain steel masquerading as stainless to mislead and trick you, and as a result it proved unfit for the purpose (as it did), you should be compensated. Please hunt for a class action suit. You won't get much money out of it, but such suits do teach manufacturers to think twice about trying to fool buyers.

When someone tries to mislead you about what they are selling you, they are cheating you -- and it is the perpetrator of deceit, not the victims, who should be taught "a costly lesson".

Regards,

Q. I have terrible scratches on my GE clean steel refrigerator. Is there anything I can use to remove them, or least make them less obvious?

A. You can easily buy replacement parts rather than a whole refrigerator. The contractor redoing accidentally scratched our brand new ss french door refrigerator ($2500). To replace one door cost $125.

Much more cost effective IF the scratches can't be repaired.

Q. On September 16, 2009 John S from Hoover Alabama wrote that he replaced the stainless steel door of his GE French door fridge for $125. Where did he find this? I cannot find it for less that $600. A contractor dented and scratched mine.

A. Hi, Nancy. Sorry that you apparently misunderstood, but Barry Feinman, the developer of Scratch-B-Gone, said it won't. These are not stainless steel, they are just painted to look like stainless steel.

Regards,

A. I have removed water stains from stainless steel by spraying it with Tilex Fresh Shower Daily Shower Cleaner and letting it sit for a day. Then re-clean it with the same stuff the next day. Repeat if necessary. The EDTA in the cleaner will eat away the mineral deposits, which is the problem, without damaging the steel. I think most any brand of daily shower cleaner will work but this is what I used (I like the smell).

A. Hi Michele, if you can tell us the make/model of the refrigerator, although it might not help, it's just possible that some reader will be familiar with what the problem actually is -- staining of real stainless (directional or non-directional finish), stripping of a stainless steel colored paint, etc.

Luck & Regards,

A. Nor is Goof Off just one product, but a brand that encompasses several products. Which one is the culprit here?

  Excellent point, Ray. Unfortunately, as soon as a brand name / trade name starts becoming recognized and thus have some marketing value, the manufacturers tend to slap that name onto every product they make :-)
To my limited knowledge, Goof Off started as an "adhesive remover" ... but now we have Goof Off concrete cleaner, toilet bowl tablets, rust stain remover, hand cleaner, spot & stain remover ... and that's just from the first few pages :-)

Regards,