Bring The Shine Back To Your Stainless Steel Countertops With This Easy Solution

Stainless steel countertops, normally seen in commercial kitchens, are becoming increasingly popular in residential kitchens too. Stainless steel looks great, especially in kitchens that have a sleek or industrial-looking aesthetic, and this trendy countertop material is incredibly durable and will last a long time. Stainless steel is also quite hygienic and resistant to stains. However, this finish has a tendency to become dull over time. It is also hard to keep clean and prone to fingerprints and smudges.

So, how do you keep this sophisticated material looking great? The easy way to restore the shine of your stainless steel countertops is to buff them using an oil. You can use either mineral oil or olive oil for this task — whichever one you already have on hand. Either oil will bring the shine back to your countertops. Both oils will also remove any fingerprints and help make the finish fingerprint-resistant.

Before getting started with the oil treatment, you'll want to first wash your stainless steel countertops with mild dish soap and water. You can also use a commercial stainless steel cleaner. After you are done washing with soap, scrub the counters with baking soda and vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda on the counters. Spray with white vinegar. Then, gently scrub the countertops until they are clean. Dry counters thoroughly with a microfiber cloth.

After the countertop is dry, you are ready to shine it with the oil. This should be done only occasionally. First, take a small amount of mineral or olive oil and apply it to the countertop using a soft cloth. You can also use paraffin oil if you have it. Let the oil sit on the counter for at least 10 minutes. Then, buff the countertop in the direction of the grain with a dry cloth. Your countertop should now be shiny!

Stainless steel countertops are prone to unsightly scratches from things like having pots and pans dragged across them. Unfortunately, neither olive nor mineral oil will remove scratches from stainless steel. To fix scratches on stainless steel countertops, you can use sandpaper and then follow up with the oil treatment to restore its shine. You can also use a Stainless Steel Scratch Eraser kit made especially for removing scratches. This kit is sold by Home Depot for just over $12.

If you have sandpaper lying around in the garage, you might want to use that instead of a commercial product in order to save some money. To buff out the scratch using sandpaper, simply wet down a piece of fine-grit sandpaper and sand in the direction of the grain. Never sand against the grain. When you have removed the scratch, buff the surface with either olive oil or mineral oil to bring back the shine.