# New Number 1 DIY disaster



## Halo Jones

Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!

Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.

Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:


Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .

Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........

(edited to try and get images to show)


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## novocaine

abrasives are your only solution. start high, work down the grits till you have a completely mirror finish, then add back in the brushed steel look buy sanding with the appropriate grit (normally 400) in 1 direction only.


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## porker

Sorry for the mistake. We all make them though from time to time. I think you hve two issues here. One is what to do about the gouging and one on refinishing. My experience of stainless is that it is very hard so don't underestimate the work involved. Whatever you do I would try it first on a scrap of the same material if you can. My Dad tried to polish a scratch out of a stainless sink. Not sure he made any impression on it. Different grades of stainless vary in hardness. One thing in your favour is that the finish looks brushed rather than mirror. You can create a brushed finish with a belt sander and scotchbrite but to match you may end up doing the whole top.

You could fill the gouge with something like JB Weld but you will always see the grey colour. Hard to see how deep the scratches are but will they reduce by sanding/polishing?

I would probably try to find some abrasive that would match the brushed scratch pattern to see if I could blend it in. You will struggle to get a perfect match I think so if you can't live with that I think an alternative solution will be required.


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## marcros

It is hard to tell from the picture but there looks like there is a significant amount of material displaced. I doubt that you will be able to polish it out. 

I would consider replacing it. It may make you cry now but it is highly visible and it will annoy you 5 times a day for many years. Does the house insurance cover accidental damage?


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## Setch

The pictures aren't working for me, so there may be obvious reason why this won't work, but can you turn it over?


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## Phil Pascoe

Me neither.


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## AES

No pic for me either.


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## novocaine

most likely cant turn it over because it's glued down.


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## harryc

Can’t see how you can ever sand those deep gouges out.


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## novocaine

Other option, don't repair it, remove it. cut it out and inset a ceramic tile, tell people it's a trivit to stop pan bottoms maring your lovely stainless surface. 

having looked again you have deformed the steel as already mentioned and that won't polish out.


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## Halo Jones

Thanks all for the responses.

I had attached links to my Google photos. I could see them in Chrome but not in microsoft Edge. No idea why. I have hopefully embedded them for everyone to see now?

I think I could probably finish out the last 80 mm or so but the first 20 - 25 mm is really deep, which is why I thought about the likes of JB weld type of product.

The top is glued down and the reverse side is not finished so turning wouldn't help. Also, it would be practically impossible to get it properly lined up with the oak lipping again so it would mean starting again.

Our insurance policy would probably cover getting the steel replaced but again, it would mean redoing the whole top. It might come to that but I would probably try to live with it for a while before going down that route and see how much of a patina the stainless develops over time.


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## AES

Thanks, pics working now.

That really IS a bit of a "pineapple" (that's what I wrote but you know what I mean!), especially the deepest bit.

I haven't tried before but I doubt very much you'll get JB Weld (or any other 2 part) to match the highly polished surface you've got on that SS. Such adhesives CAN be "coloured" by adding fine metallic powders to the mix before spreading, so it MAY be worth a try on a bit of scrap, but as above "I 'ave me doubts" it would blend in well.

How thick is the SS top, and what's directly underneath it, and how thick is the under surface??

A really good welder MAY be able to fill those scratches in, then grind them back flush again, but assuming a "normal wooden" surface directly under/in contact with the SS work surface I can't really see that working (without a lot of damage!) either.

As someone else above has suggested, are you sure you can't cut that piece out and replace it with a "trivet"? Perhaps cut out with a REALLY fine-bladed small dia circular saw, or even a multi tool with a FINE blade? If really careful, any damage done to the underneath (and/or to the oak edging) could - maybe - be covered by the ceramic tile/trivet?

Or rather than cutting the SS, maybe just mounting (with epoxy) the trivet plus a suitable edging ON TOP of the damaged area?

I think I'm out of ideas, sorry (and frankly none of the above inspire me particularly - dunno about you. Whatever you do, short of stripping it all off and starting again will, I guess, end up sticking out like a bulldog's "biscuits")!

Good luck, let us know how you get out of it in the end please.


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## Spectric

I agree with AES, a good TIG welder could run small beads to fill the worst of the gouges, heat would only be very local and give you something to polish back.

Also maybe silver solder, but the heat would not be as localised as TIG.


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## FranWood

Ouch, I feel your pain.

I think you're going to struggle make that invisible. What's the reason for now wanting to start again? Is it material cost? Could the material be repurposed for splashbacks etc or for another project or possibly sold on?


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## Rorschach

You might be able to planish the metal back into place, but Stainless is not terribly ductile so that may not work. Getting it welded is a good idea.

Regardless of what you do it will require sanding. If you sand the whole area though it will all match and SS worktops scratch during use anyway so it wouldn't be long before the whole surface would be scratched.


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## Halo Jones

If I were to go down the welding route who is the best person to get to do the job? A standard blacksmith, or is there someone more specialised I should find?


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## Rorschach

Your standard blacksmith probably isn't up to the task there. You want a specialised stainless steel fabricator.


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## AES

Oh no, definitely NOT "yer average welder/blacksmith" IMO!

If you go that route I suggest you want someone who has A) good experience of FINE welding in SS (e.g. I THINK it's TFrench of this Forum who does it professionally - on food processing vessels etc,) and; B) someone who has a portable TIG welding set. Not sure how you find someone like that but it needs (IMO) to be someone who's prepared to come to you and do it on site.

ALSO when you find such a bloke you need to take his advice as to what prep he recommends for protecting the wooden (?) surface under your worktop.

Good luck mate.

Edit for a P.S. IF I was still in the business - I'm retired now - and not living in Switzerland - I'd suggest someone who is an FAA/CAA-approved welder out of an aero engine repair workshop. They do all sorts of very fine welding on all sorts of weird and wonderful metal alloys - often very thin - and all without too much "disturbance" to the surrounding parent metal. But someone WITH a GOOD portable TIG set too.


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## novocaine

There is no way you can repair that with weld. Not a chance. Zero possibility. Don't even bother. 
Reason number 1. You heat it up, burn the wood underneath and melt the glue
2. It will warp, its thin stock and it can't have a heat sink on the back. Even spotting it you will get it hot and it will warp.
3. Unless you are very very very good at it, you'll get a mark where it was welded. Not to mention discolouration and the like. 

Seriously, welding is not an option.


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## novocaine

Oh,and your going to be paying him as much as a new sheet and then some, thay skill does not come cheap.


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## Halo Jones

Thanks for all your ideas. We have accepted that we are not going to make anything like a seamless repair. So, with the idea that at some point in the future I may pick up the courage/will to make a brand new top for the time being we will just hide it!

The part that is damaged is above where our food waste bin is going to be and the cooker sits right behind that spot on the island where the damage is. So - I will make a "feature" end grain chopping board that is designed with a lip to sit over the edge of the island and allow the veggie off-cuts to be scraped straight into the compost bin.


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## novocaine

Great. Now delete or lock the thread befote the tirade of discussion about something thats already decided starts.


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## Setch

Halo Jones said:


> Thanks for all your ideas. We have accepted that we are not going to make anything like a seamless repair. So, with the idea that at some point in the future I may pick up the courage/will to make a brand new top for the time being we will just hide it!
> 
> The part that is damaged is above where our food waste bin is going to be and the cooker sits right behind that spot on the island where the damage is. So - I will make a "feature" end grain chopping board that is designed with a lip to sit over the edge of the island and allow the veggie off-cuts to be scraped straight into the compost bin.


Sounds like an excellent solution, good lateral thinking.


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## doctor Bob

I think I posted in your previous thread about the SS top we did.
Bad luck, mistakes like this are so frustrating, but they happen and sometimes you just have to suck it up.
Like the chopping block solution.
I wouldn't let the guys do the edge as it's risky and expensive, So I did it, very, very carefully.


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## AES

@Halo Jones: Whatever happens mate, I reckon you're going to thoroughly deserve that first part of your Forum handle! 

But speaking seriously for a mo, I don't personally know either novocaine or Rorschach. But having been a member here myself for some years now, I have learnt that both of those blokes tend to speak good "horse sense" when it comes to bashing metal about in various ways. Now you have the situation where one bloke says "Yeah. Might be a good idea to have a go at that" (and I tend to fall into that view myself too, though my own welding experience is very limited), while another bloke, equally to be respected, says "No chance mate".

I honestly don't know what you should do, but if you regard your food waste bin chute idea as "only" a temporary solution, I can only suggest you investigate the welding "possibility" more deeply. For a start perhaps a PM to member TFrench???

As I've tried to indicate above, I've got no personal axe to grind here - I just THINK" that done in the "right" way (whatever that may be), welding MAY produce a suitable solution. But one thing you CAN be sure of if you do go further in that direction, novocaine is dead right if my own experience of aviation-approved aero engine component welders is anything to go by - such a welding job would cost an arm and a leg!

How much is a complete new SS worktop worth to you BTW?

Anyway, all due respect to both members above, and again, good luck to you whatever you do (and BTW, novocaine is also right IMO when he says we do NOT want a great long argument about this here)!

Cheers


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## novocaine

Ok parting remark on the subject. 

Would you let a bloke set a small fire in your new kitchen followed by chucking metal dust all over it? 
I would not. 

Doesnt matter. Good solution has been found.


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## Rorschach

I've seen some amazing work done on incredibly thin SS stock by a good welder but novocaine makes a good point about the cost. A good welder could do it, but it would be expensive, a cheap welder could do it, but might cause damage.

I think your solution is wise and as I mentioned, it will get damaged over time anyway and it might soon blend in after you have "refinished" the top once or twice.


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## Halo Jones

doctor Bob said:


> I think I posted in your previous thread about the SS top we did.
> .......
> I wouldn't let the guys do the edge as it's risky and expensive, So I did it, very, very carefully.


Bob - you did post in the previous thread and your island top was the inspiration for ours. Next time  the wife does it so I don't get the blame - except she would do it flawlessly! I need to let it go and move on.

AES - the raw materials for the top came in at about £300 so not the end of the world financially. I thought it was really good value for the final look - if I had executed it properly! It is the work and potentially "[email protected]#king it up" at the last minute again that puts me off - for now.

As for the welding back and forth. I realised I know the director of a local engineering firm because his son is a Cub at the pack I lead. Turns out they fabricate a lot of stainless steel.... He said it could be welded and ground back but he wouldn't do it because the steel would warp and distort and never lie as flat as it was.

Thanks again for all the advice and not laughing out loud


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## Deadeye

Halo Jones said:


> Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!
> 
> Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.
> 
> Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:
> 
> 
> Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .
> 
> Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........
> 
> (edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340
> View attachment 101341



Ouch!

Different idea: rub down the worst in just that area, until smooth. Then choose a dinner-plate sized silhoutte you really like; make a stencil and sand/shot blast/etch a pattern on.

In other words...make it a feature. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dp0AAOSwq7pfNFxU/s-l1600.jpg

Or inlay a geode slice


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## foxbat

Resign yourself to the look, embrace it as a talking point?


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## Terrytpot

Halo Jones said:


> The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the topView attachment 101340


A while back I obtained an almost brand new gas hob from my mother's neighbour who "didn't get on with it" and gave it to me as a thank you for services rendered. The only real issue with it was the horrendous mess she'd made of its brushed stainless top by attacking it with , I'd swear, a brillo pad! Before swmbo would let me install it at ours I had to rectify the finish which didn't end up as hard as I suspected it would have been (although very scratched,it was nothing like the bites taken out of yours,more like the bits from 60-95mm shown above). I started by removing all the bits and bobs attached to the hob then grabbed a scotchbrite scouring pad and some olive oil and went at it making sure I followed the existing grain pattern. Five minutes later it was good as new


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## mikej460

Deadeye said:


> Ouch!
> 
> Different idea: rub down the worst in just that area, until smooth. Then choose a dinner-plate sized silhoutte you really like; make a stencil and sand/shot blast/etch a pattern on.
> 
> In other words...make it a feature. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dp0AAOSwq7pfNFxU/s-l1600.jpg
> 
> Or inlay a geode slice


I like this idea but could be a messy business not to mention expensive. You could make a nice oak chopping block to match and either cut out a hole in the steel or glue it over the damaged bit?


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## Notters

Halo Jones said:


> Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!
> 
> Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.
> 
> Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:
> 
> 
> Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .
> 
> Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........
> 
> (edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340
> View attachment 101341


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## Notters

Halo Jones said:


> Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!
> 
> Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.
> 
> Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:
> 
> 
> Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .
> 
> Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........
> 
> (edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340
> View attachment 101341


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## Notters

Looks like a good place for a matching oak chopping board!


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## johnny

sorry for your mishap.......you must be gutted .

My advice for what it is worth is that you will never be satisfied with any sort of repair.

Whatever you do it will still show because you will never be able to match perfectly the brushed satin stainless finish of the rest of the worktop.

This is what I would do.


Apply a thin Stainless steel Trivet pad!....... placed over the top of the damage made with the same finish it would blend in perfectly and look designed that way....you could get it engraved or embossed with a picture of your house or cat/dog or something
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/meta...oL5euQjUre2C9zLQDsxoCJj0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## johnny




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## sirocosm

I had a full stainless restaurant style kitchen in a previous house. Most of it was purchased used and there were lots of nicks and scratches everywhere. I am going to assume you put stainless there because that area will take some abuse, so it won't be long before you have many more nicks and scratches. So I would just buff and/or flatten anything that might catch, and leave it at that.

A couple of the used stainless furniture items we bought had holes drilled in them for various reasons. One we hid by installing a small steam table, and the other with a trash ring.


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## GuitardoctorW7

Bump


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## Limey Lurker

I rather like the idea of TIG Brazing; perhaps TIG Silver-soldering is a possibility; it would need less heat than even a TIG Braze, so would likely distort much less. There are several videos on You Tube.


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## rafezetter

no point leaving this here - I was merely trying to offer another alternative.


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## Sgian Dubh

Halo Jones said:


> Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?!


Level off the damaged area if required and cover the whole lot with another sheet of stainless steel, maybe including folded returns to also cover the wood edging? Slainte.


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## Retired

Hi,

A good TIG welder could repair it but at high cost and in Scotland are there any Tig welders locally?

TIG Welding

Pulse welding would keep heat down allowing it to cool rather than trying to weld it all at one go. I have Tig welding kit and it's a difficult skill to acquire; I've only ever used it for aluminium. Tig welding isn't cheap and for a home workshop is expensive; a decent Tig welder new for a home workshop will cost around £1,000 then comes gas needing a BOC or similar account for the cylinders; my welding helmet set me back around £400 then of course are the filler rods etc. which all bump up costs; it will be very difficult indeed to get the damage Tig welded then comes the finishing; the long term solution is to replace which I know will also be painful to your pocket.

Kind regards, Colin.


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## Transit80

Halo Jones said:


> Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!
> 
> Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.
> 
> Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:
> 
> 
> Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .
> 
> Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........
> 
> (edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340
> View attachment 101341


You need someone with one of these.


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## julianf

For my work, I make fancy metalwork for things where the finish needs to be perfect. Eg -








If the OPs metal work was mine, I'd junk it. 

There's talk of Tig - 

Assuming the filler used is an identical grade to the original, assuming the welder has skill enough for the job, and that it does not burn up the underside too much (it pretty much will) and assuming you can restore the brushed finish spotlessly... A lot of assumptions.... Anyway, if they all pull off, what's a call out from a skilled Tig welder going to cost you? It won't be cheap at all.

Put it this way, I can Tig weld. Welding isn't what I do for work (much) but stainless is only DC Tig work so it's the easiest of the lot. And I'd be looking at replacing the job, as I'd think I could mess about for ages with it and it still wouldn't look right.

If the job is glued down, heat may free it, and then adding a brushed finish to the other side (assuming the shape can be flipped) would be simpler.

Again, I'm not a professional Tig welder, however cosmetic metal work is what pays the bills here, and I would junk the part rather than burn time on a fix that is unlikley to be invisible.

I mention this to save you time and bother rather than just be pessimistic!


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## julianf

...all that said.

I would burn a small amount of time with a da sander to try and get it as smooth as possible and then a hand held belt sander to see if the grain could be restored in a resonable way.

You might be lucky, but, if it can't be done in a quick and simple way, then I would cut my losses and replace.


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## clogs

I work with this stuff.....
sorry to say, it's a throw away......I have had to scrap items with less damage than that....

marcross it quite right it'll drive u nuts......it's a learning experience.....
once the money is spent on the new sheet u'll soon forgive ur'self....


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## novocaine

I've already said all of that Julian and I'm in complete agreement with you. The OP has accepted it an come up with a solution, but as is often the way of this forum, it falls on deaf ears of others who have to show how high they can water or wave the tackle around. 

I'm not a professional welder, in fact I never finished my grading, instead deciding to finish uni and make less money. I can use TIG to an acceptable level as I can with MIG, Arc and gas (or at least I could, haven't done a whole lot in recent years and the muscle memory has gone). I stand by my original comments, no way, no chance, not a hope. all this carp about pulse welding it doesn't make a jot, it will burn, it will warp and it will not finish nicely, to get a weld it has to get hot full stop end off. it's so thin that it will not sit back, so you'll either be on a hiding to nothing trying to shrink it (remember that father ted episode with the dent in the car?) or you'll have a bulge. 

not mention finishing it. I'm not about to let someone start grinding and linishing in my fresh new kitchen.

but hey, good to see I was right on the last page, it's at a page and half more discussion after the OP has made his mind up and I'm sure it will continue a pace for the next few days. starting to see why folks fecked off.


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## Ttrees

I Take it the top can't be flipped over?


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## aebersold

Halo,
Sorry for your accident there. On the hot side of my kitchen I have done like you with 316 stainless. Of course, initially you’ll be gutted as I would, but a couple of years on and it will be covered in very light scratches and still look fine. If it were me, I would sand out the less deep scratches with a power sander keeping it as flat as possible finishing by hand with 240g (or what the factory has used) and live with the small deeper section. I use a tig welder and I would not go anywhere near that for fear of distortion and I’m guessing you’ve bonded with a contact adhesive to a combustible substrate which would be ruined also. Let the frustration settle then go at it fresh. Good luck, looks great !
Alex


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## julianf

novocaine said:


> I've already said all of that Julian and I'm in complete agreement with you. The OP has accepted it an come up with a solution, but as is often the way of this forum, it falls on deaf ears of others who have to show how high they can water or wave the tackle around.
> 
> I'm not a professional welder, in fact I never finished my grading, instead deciding to finish uni and make less money. I can use TIG to an acceptable level as I can with MIG, Arc and gas (or at least I could, haven't done a whole lot in recent years and the muscle memory has gone). I stand by my original comments, no way, no chance, not a hope. all this carp about pulse welding it doesn't make a jot, it will burn, it will warp and it will not finish nicely, to get a weld it has to get hot full stop end off. it's so thin that it will not sit back, so you'll either be on a hiding to nothing trying to shrink it (remember that father ted episode with the dent in the car?) or you'll have a bulge.
> 
> not mention finishing it. I'm not about to let someone start grinding and linishing in my fresh new kitchen.
> 
> but hey, good to see I was right on the last page, it's at a page and half more discussion after the OP has made his mind up and I'm sure it will continue a pace for the next few days. starting to see why folks fecked off.



What happens is, you start reading, then start skim reading, and miss that the original poster had settled on a solution.

This is then compounded by replies being recent (of which mine was also, so I'm not blaming anyone, just saying how it is)

Sure people, Inc myself, should read every post properly, but somtimes you just think "the chap is going to be wasting a load of his time doing all that I have read, I'd just like to warn him off doing so"


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## Halo Jones

As the OP I don't mind the banter going back and forth - as long as no one is offended if I stop replying.

Also I've done as Julian has said a few times. It is easily done once a thread gets over a certain length.


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## novocaine

It is a qwerk if this particular forum especially and often leads to bun fights. 

this wasn't a dig at any one individual, I simply find it decidedly annoying and view it as someone in the pub (remember those) stepping in half way through a conversation and suggesting something that was spoken about some time previous, the difference here is that the conversation from previous is available for your viewing pleasure. I'd find it equally irritating in the pub, especially when it involves the "you don't wanna do it like that, you wanna do it like this" type of person.


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## Spectric

novocaine said:


> There is no way you can repair that with weld. Not a chance. Zero possibility. Don't even bother.


A good TIG welder could fill the worst of those dings. When I used to weld sheet goods like 316 we only peeled the protective film back a couple of inches each side and the heat is so localised it does not melt the film. TIG is unlike any other type of welding and is often referred to as the Rolls Royce of welding techniques. So long as you do not penetrate right through the glue will melt and then reset.


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## Sean33

Halo Jones said:


> Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!
> 
> Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.
> 
> Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:
> 
> 
> Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .
> 
> Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........
> 
> (edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340
> View attachment 101341


Sorry to see this has happened to you. If its not repairable could you maybe make a butchers block or similar to cover that area, sorry doesn't solve the issue but just an idea


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## Cabinetman

I agree, this has been rehashed over and over ad nauseam. I agree it needs replacing, but I just wanted to mention that I have seen a fair few stainless steel welders/fabricators over the years and they use something that looks like a green kitchen pad, but it’s brown, to put a final patination on the stainless steel – a bit like grain on wood. Ian


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## cowtown_eric

With the plethora of stainless kitchen appliances, which often get damaged stainless surfaces, you could phone around to retail appliance shops to see if they recommend a "stainless repairman" and if that draws a blank, contact commercial kitchen fols and see if they can make a recommendation. 

I think the welding would cause a larger problem

Sometimes the cure is worse than the problem. True mark of a professional is how one recovers from mistakes.

Eric


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## Jonty

Difficult to advise without seeing it in full. Maybe post a pic showing it in full. But you could mask off an area (square, round or whatever) and using a fine grit remove the obvious mistake and leave a different but uniform finish?


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## MikeJhn

Or try to work out a stainless steel pan support/draining board over the damaged area that would look pleasing.


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