Having seen friends' SS cooktops looking spotted, yellow heat-tarnished around the burners and scuffed from wiping against the grain pattern, and hearing their regrets for choosing those surfaces, I decided that my new one would have a black porcelain surface below the grates. That being said, I am a careful person and I do prefer my surfaces to stay looking new vs. "lived in". So, the range I now have has the black porcelain top surface and I'm pleased to say it is easy to keep looking good. The main front is SS so it still goes well with all the other appliances.

Nalcar,
Thanks for the reply.
Oh dear, I am quite uncertain what to do! I LOVE the look of the SS cooktop, and (unlike you), I have never seen one in daily use. But what you described scares me! I can't be a slave to my cooktop.
It seems like they are getting quite popular... there must be a LOT of folks out there who love them, no? Anyone else?!!!
Thanks again.

I have only been using my DCS AG range for about 7 months but so far I have found the SS to be very easy to maintain. Usually all that is necessary is to lift one end of continuous grate and wipe. If I have been really messy I take them off and wipe it down completely. No stains, or discoloration. The cast iron grates look used.

I have what sounds like the same GE stove top that you are considering for over seven years and it is spotless. The key is not to let spill overs, grease, etc. to accumulate. I do not clean the cook top after every meal, if it's particulary messy I'll give it a wipe. However, once a week I do make sure that I give it the attention it needs. Your cleaner of choice plus a green scrubber does the trick. If something is particulary baked on I drop very hot water on the surface to loosen it up. (Just be careful not to get the burners wet. I finish up with a good spritz of SS cleaner and it's good to go. If you want it perfectly clean all the time then I would suggest a wipe down at the end of the day...no more than with any other type of surface. Let me know if you need more info, and BTW it's an excellent stove top.

Thank you for the additional replies, I appreciate it.

See what a spectrum of opinions there are! I have found that people are either in the "Love 'em!" or "Hate 'em!" camp with this, very little middle ground!

I have actually brought this up (again!) to my KD, and I am hoping he suggests a different plan using a regular, free-standing (or even slide-in) range!!!

I suggest a cleaner that is not abrasive. Ditto to not letting anything burn on.

I think so much of it is personal preference and habit. We have a stainless top and love it and find it so much easier to clean than our previous porcelain. With that said, we're heavy cooks but also the type who wipe down the cooktop after every meal so nothing ever builds up. Hot soapy water and then a wipe with a dry cloth. That's it.

My mom has a black porcelain top and she too wipes down every night. She HATES it because it streaks and she has a hard time getting it to look clean.

I guess what I'm saying is, if you're OCD like us and wipe down every night stainless might be the way to go. I suspect if you only scrub occasionally and then do so with abrasives against the grain, your stainless probably will look well worn. (Which isn't necessarily a bad thing in a working kitchen!)

I have a Wolf SS cooktop and I don't have any yellowing or any such thing of the stainless. I don't wipe up every spill immediately it happens - can't ... hot grates - but I do wipe up any major marks before the next time I use it so that things don't cook on. SS is quite easy to keep clean although spills show when wet. It is however much easier to clean up than a white porcelain cooktop I used to have.

That said ... it has oft been repeated here that as hard as a SS surface (fridges, DW, cooktops etc. ) is to keep looking clean, it is second only to black surfaces which show spots, and streaks from the cleaning process etc just as berf suggested.

I use oven cleaner

I had a 15 year old stainless cooktop that looked great. Yes, it had patina, just like the stainless sink in that kitchen. And I imagine that the first scratch probably broke the first homeowner's heart. But, a well used stainless appliance like a cooktop or sink doesn't show fresh scratches unless you use something REALLY abrasive or goudge it. And it's a breeze to keep clean. A green scrubbie meant for teflon used in the direction of the grain will loosen most anything on it without damaging the finish. I never used stainless cleaner or anything other than soap and water or maybe Windex if I wanted to shine it a bit before company came. Like I said, if you're OK with a stainless sink and the patina it will acquire and the cleaning routine it needs, you'll probably do fine with a stainless cooktop or range.

Thank you, everyone, for your valuable input. I appreciate each and every post and opinion.

I am vacillating between a cooktop w/ oven directly underneath (no room for a wall oven) --OR-- a slide-in range. Either one would be located in a peninsula/bar area with a 6" step up facing the dining room. But that's another thread! ;o)

I am also considering a slide in range w/ a SS top. Was recommended a cleaner called Bar Keepers Friend and a pad to wipe it. Don't know if this helps, but was told the glass tops can crake if something falls on it.

I clean my ss 8 burner range with a dobie sponge and soap and water. Then I dry it a bit with paper towels. Then I use a microfiber cloth I bought that is meant to be used for Stainless Steel only. I use it dry to buff a nice shine back to the SS surfaces throughout my house and it works WAY better than any SS cleaner I have used (and which requires a LOT more elbow grease than my SS microfiber clot!)

Not sure where I bought it, but I'm sure it is not hard to find something similar.

On the other hand, my removable grates look well-used and I just can't get them back to new looking. But, they are "clean" and don't smell and I'm learning to just live with it, since I am a frequent cook and it is now a fact of my life! (Capital 8 burner Precision Rangetop - my only real complaint re: this rangetop is that the simmer is WAY too hot on all burners, although I have a feeling this can be adjusted.)

We clean ours with baking soda. You use it as if it were scouring powder but it doesn't scratch. Works like a charm.

Rosefolly