Water stains

[dj]

Hey fellow bus nuts.   I got a question about how to remove hard water stains off the stainless on the side of my MCI 102A3.  The guy I got it from parked it next to a field where the farmer was irrigating and sprayed the side of my bus for who knows how long. Got a lot of staining on the side as well as the aluminum wheels. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks Doug

[PP]

Depends on how much elbow grease you want to put into it. You could try 1200 grit wet sanding and polishing (works on both aluminum wheels and the stainless) or skip that and go right to a wool pad on a cordless drill with polishing rouge. Some people suggested using brake fluid one time and it took me forever to get rid of the dull look it left on the stainless. Thankfully, i only did a small spot before I could see it wasn't working. I think they thought I might have aluminum panels like a GM or something odd like that. And then there will be those that suggest you just hire it out. Which I have to admit, sounds better every year  Good luck with whatever you try.
Will

[Scott & Heather]

Take a pic. That will help us. If it's light water spotting just use a stainless polish rouge with a powerball and high speed drill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[luvrbus]

If its iron build up you have a lot of work ahead of you plenty of sanding lol I saw a detailer using a onion after the sanding, the onion part what it was for is anyone's guess but I never bet against another persons tricks is my motto

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Before you try the other things you might try getting a dryer fabric sheet wet and see if that will do anything.....just be sure to immediately rinse it off as you go or it may leave a milky film on it.

[windtrader]

post a pic. The options depend on the current surface. For example, if the SS is polished, do NOT use 1200 as that will scratch the surface big time. You could start testing a small area (1") with 3000 rubbing compound to see how quickly it removes the material. Adjust from there.

[luvrbus]

3M Fast Cut will work but any compound takes a touch if you heat the stainless from buffing it is there forever,1200 sander paper works then you buff the scratches out,all depends how bad the problem is on what you use.I used a 3500 grit diamond pad on my MCI 8 made for counter tops it worked great   

[dj]

Hey thanks for the input,  I did find something that works...its an acid wash for aluminum wheels I got it at a truck shop....that and scotch bright (the kind that has the sponge on the back) works really well ...warning use rubber gloves that stuff burns....but works good then a bit of rubbing compound and its done....Thanks again

[Oonrahnjay]

Hey thanks for the input,  I did find something that works...its an acid wash for aluminum wheels I got it at a truck shop....that and scotch bright (the kind that has the sponge on the back) works really well ...warning use rubber gloves that stuff burns....but works good then a bit of rubbing compound and its done....Thanks again

     Thanks for that info.  What are the warnings and cautions on this product?  Do you have the brand or trade name for the acid wash.

[dj]

hey again,   the stuff I used is NWIS Formula 21 aluminum brightener. I its made by Northwest Industrial Solutions in Portland Oregon. I can hook you up with an address and phone # if you want.

[Oonrahnjay]

hey again,   the stuff I used is NWIS Formula 21 aluminum brightener. I its made by Northwest Industrial Solutions in Portland Oregon. I can hook you up with an address and phone # if you want. 

      I'd appreciate this.  Just Googling turned up a lot of extraneous stuff.  It's pretty likely that many people would like to check this out in detail.  Thanks,   BH