Removing scratches on painted kitchen stoves and refrigerator doors

A. Well firstly, it appears that you used either an abrasive cleaner or an abrasive pad to clean your fridge with ... bad Idea. I would say that your fridge is probably powder coated (I also have a black fridge in my home and I know for sure it is a powder coat finish). As for getting it repaired, my opinion is that it probably needs to be totally refinished; going on your description, maybe call or write the manufacturer of the product you own.

Regards,

A. I have seen this problem and have saved the doors by simply water sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper followed up with water polishing with a compound. Then using a good wax high speed polish. It turned out amazing and customer wanted me to do complete fridge. Hope this helps anyone!

A. Don't despair! I wiped our black refrigerator per instructions from the manufacturer (soft cloth dampened). I had scratches on both doors. Home Depot suggested Turtlewax liquid car polish [affil links] w/carnuba. Use the sponge dampened to apply, let dry, and use a soft cloth to remove. Results: My black refrigerator doors look great. Remember to make sure that cloth is clean w/no abrasive materials or oils on it. Good luck!

A. Also, don't put magnets on the doors. We didn't, but we had a kid at a party think she would be funny and put magnets all over the doors....this scratched them beyond belief. I am glad for the tip about carnuba wax ... I will be buying some tomorrow!

Thank you! Thank you! I was in a hurry to remove Scotch Tape from my shiny black refrigerator doors and grabbed my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to speed up the process ... well it removed the tape but also took off the shiny finish! It looked awful. Thanks to the above postings I also purchased Turtlewax liquid car polish [affil links] w/carnuba and it did the trick! I did three different applications and it looks wonderful!

 I'm so glad my suggestion to use car wax with carnuba helped! Scratches reflect light which is why they look so bad, especially in daylight. The wax softens the edges of the scratch so less light is reflected and the scratches all but disappear!

I now include a waxing of my black refrigerator door just to keep it looking shiny and new.

Well now I don't feel so bad about my new refrigerator and cleaning it and scratching it. The wax idea worked! And not only did it help with my scratch problem, I tried it on the stove I have which has a shiny black top. It shines it up and cuts through any grease that may be on there. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to clean that stove and the darn refrigerator. Now I know how. So TY TY TY!

I am soooo glad I found your car wax tip. My daughter got ahold of a magnet and scratched my one-week old black refrigerator doors! I am running now to find the wax!

A. Hi Dean. If it's painted to look like stainless, yes. If it's actually stainless steel, please see letter 4148, "Removing scratches from stainless steel appliances".

Regards,

A. Hi Ken. I doubt that it makes much difference whether you use the carnauba liquid turtle_wax_carnuba vs. the Carnauba paste -- but since Jean refers to "the sponge", I'd say it was likely the paste.

Regards,

You all have saved me from going crazy. I have had my black shiny appliances just under a week and all three have light scratches on them. My fridge was scratched from magnets....never ever use magnets on the shiny surface-when they move, they scratch. Secondly, my husband was cleaning the stove and my new microwave for me (I know I should be happy); however, he used a paper towel and I have scratches everywhere! I am leaving now to go buy the wax you all have suggested. Thank you.

A. I've had my black shiny fridge for 2 days and I did the same thing. My husband suggested using his Mothers' Carnauba wax. I've applied it three times so far. It looks better but not quite there yet. I did see a tip on a car waxing site that pointed out that the wax for our purposes is not so much about applying and removing, as it is about applying and working the wax into the scratches so it can fill them. I'm glad I'm not the only person to have done this....And thanks to y'all I just removed the few magnets I had on the door, lol.

I too have a black top stove and used clorox wipes with the abrasive side. I didn't realize I had done this. Thanks for the advice on the carnuba wax. I wasn't sure this should be used on stove tops because of the heat. I do now clean with Windex Commercial Line ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and a soft cloth and it leaves no streaks.

A. Hi Kathleen. I would have thought that all stove tops were porcelain (vitreous enamel), rather than paint or powder coating, and thus rather difficult to scratch, although chippable. I'm surprised to hear of a scratched stove top.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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!! I have had the same problem with scratches on black door fridge -- the car wax works so well -- but please DO NOT USE car wax on the surface of a flat top black stove. The wax is extremely flammable and could cause a fire; also, burning car wax can cause toxic fumes.

Donna Robb
- Port Perry Ontario Canada
April 16, 2012

This thread helped me out tremendously. Got delivery of a new Whirlpool Refrigerator today, and while taking off some tape, I used paper towels and 409 to clean the doors. Needless to say, I created a couple large scratches.

After reading this post, I went to my car store and purchased some rubbing compound ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and Turtle Wax Carnuba Wax and some Terry Towels.

Came home, and hit it with the rubbing compound ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . Removed compound after it dried with the Terry Towel, and then followed up w/ the Carnuba wax. The door looks BRAND NEW, as it should, since it is brand new.

Thanks again for this thread, as it was EXTREMELY beneficial for my needs.

A. I just tried Whirlpool Appliance Polish and Cleaner on my "pebbled" black fridge, and it worked pretty well. All the small scratches were gone, and the fridge was mirror-like shiny (which is pretty hard with a rough surface.) I needed to re-apply and buff several times, but the difference is noticeable even to my husband. However, the smell gave me a headache, so maybe sweet smelling carnuba wax is better.