Polishing headers

[Spook1969]

Quick question on cleaning the headers. I’ve finished two sets headers and they have come up comparable to a polishers but the third set is proving difficult.
I’ve used the same method on all three sets;

1. Washed with Magnum washing up liquid.
2. Painted with Harpic 10x cleaner and left for an hour then washed off.
3. All residue wire wooled off
4. Cleaned with 0000 grade wire wool and AutoSol
5. Final once over with electric polisher

First two sets came up like new but the third set, which to be fair was the worst of all, is not coming up at all.

Any thoughts on an alternative method? Each set takes about 3 hours and I don’t really want to pay a polisher £100 to do it.

 

[REKMec]

Quick question on cleaning the headers. I’ve finished two sets headers and they have come up comparable to a polishers but the third set is proving difficult.
I’ve used the same method on all three sets;

1. Washed with Magnum washing up liquid.
2. Painted with Harpic 10x cleaner and left for an hour then washed off.
3. All residue wire wooled off
4. Cleaned with 0000 grade wire wool and AutoSol
5. Final once over with electric polisher

First two sets came up like new but the third set, which to be fair was the worst of all, is not coming up at all.

Any thoughts on an alternative method? Each set takes about 3 hours and I don’t really want to pay a polisher £100 to do it.

Got any pictures of the ones that came up and also the one that’s not?

 

[Spook1969]

Ones that came up

 

[Spook1969]

Can’t find one of the ones that didn’t. Haven’t given up yet.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Sometimes you have to go back to emery paper and then work through progressively finer grades before moving onto metal polish

 

[Neil W]

If you can be bothered to remove headers and pipes the best thing for stainless headers is using a polishing mop