imported post
After all this talk about Cape Cod I figure I'd experiment, here's what I came up with.
First, crystals...I went over mineral, FF and Sapphire liberally with no ill effects whatsoever.
I tested the Cape Cod Cloth (from here forward CCC) on various SS surfaces.
On brushed SS with a grain it did shine it up a bit but in no way created a mirror finish. Polishing brushed SS will expose the grain and make it obvious so in most cases the grain must be worn down. I do not think the CCC is capable of this.
On very grainy surfaces I skip the endless hours of buffing and go straight to wet sanding.
On beaded SS it definitely polishes it up but again not to a mirror finish. I suppose if you worked at it for hours on end and many many cloths it would be possible.
On pre-polished SS, wow....does a great job cleaning it up and fixing light scratches and swirls. Leaves a terrific mirror finish.
On SS with plated polished gold it again worked very well. Clean high gloss finish but understand that plating can be wore down. I have purposely wore down some plated gold on an Invicta bracelet with a buffer and it was not that difficult. On the other hand trying to buff off blk or gold plating on the case was a different story....can be done, just takes more time.
On dull gold plating it cleans it up and will create a little more "shine" but no where near a mirror finish....you will wear off the pating before you achieve this. Ususally it's the dull finish underneath the plating that creates the dull plated appearance.
I tried to work in one direction to prevent swirls and it seemed to work pretty well. Understand that the actual cloth of the CCC is a fiberglass like material and is abravise hense the ability to polish and remove minor scratches. No polish job is perfect, under the right light and magnification you can always see the "grain".
My final thoughts are that the CCC is an exceptional product and works well with most SS. It will take the dull off of brushed and beaded and will enhance pre polished SS. It appears to be safe for all the standard crystal so taping off does not appear necessary (but if concerned tape up).
Hope this hleps, if you want me to try it on something other than I mentioned please let me know (and no George I will not try it on my private parts LOL).
CJ