Headlight, cowl light, radiator shell Stainless Restoration?

[CC-Mo]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Just as in aluminum, the key to a shine is how smooth the surface will be. The benefit of a mechanical buffer is the time saved however you will find that water-sanding with grits up to 5000 will produce a very respectable lustre without using a wheel. Rouge is a medium that removes material, however it typically induces heat that allows a strong potential for warpage. I have a 7½ hp Cincinnati buffer that is used to gloss up after each piece has been repaired and water sanded to 5000 grit.

I don't have any pictures of my headlight case or the headlight rim fixture, but below are pictures of the fixture we use to hold a radiator shell. Notice there is a flat surface tightly adjoining any area where the spinning pad could grab the work. Not only does this protect the operator and the work piece, but it also maintains the proper shape of the piece to keep from distorting it during the polishing process.

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Brent, thank you! That's the answer I was searching for, the ability to use 4-5k grit paper prior to polishing without damage.
On off-topic extremely expensive mirror polished aluminum wheels/parts, I've done this with great success. Now they didn't have 90 years of (never been polished) behind them but I have repaired & maintained them with good luck all the same. Normally the main culprit was just baked on water spots and some minor scratches & blemishes.
I actually prefer to polish by hand. I'm just not set up to do it mechanically and like the full control of doing it manually.
I researched last night where Henry was promoting "rustless steel" on the headlights, grille & trim for 1930. But the 28-29 like mentioned above are actually nickel plate? It seems like stainless would be 100% forgiving for polishing but nickel plate a guy could possibly burn through?
That would be a bad day. I've priced new headlight/cowl buckets & they are high!
Edit: Google took me to a MARC link where it shows all A metal finishes. 30-31 are indeed stainless as compared to 28-29 that used more nickel and chrome.