I had a new refrigerator delivered in the morning, and by evening it had scratches all over it! Yikes! This was from magnets. I was sick to my stomach all night long! Rule #1: Never put anything on the face of a stainless steel appliance! Stainless steel is a rather soft metal alloy (compared to some other metals). The magnets themselves didn't scratch it, but the micro-particles of dirt did. Anything held tightly to the metal will scratch it. Even if you put some tape or cloth between the magnet and the metal… The scratches were at eye level, so whatever solution I embarked on to remove the scratches demanded much care. Several posts talked about solutions to stoves and sinks, which are, by their nature, *expected* to get scratched up a million times over. Removing scratches from a refrigerator is a whole different animal! I began by checking out this forum and several others and even watching a couple of videos. None of them worked as prescribed and I'm about to tell you why. Every stainless steel appliance is different. Some faces are harder than others. Some have a heavy brushed look. Other don't or to a noticeably lesser extent. So the optimal solution for my refrigerator will be different than the optimal solution for my dishwasher, etc. So what I learned through this process is that it is just that -- a process. You will have to experiment. There is no silver bullet for an answer. I tried an abrasive hand cleaner, chrome polish, polishing compound, and steel wool and Scotch-Brite with WD-40. I will talk about each of these shortly, but first, I can't stress enough HOW IMPORTANT IT IS to rub in the SAME direction as the existing grain buffed into the finish at the factory. It is easy and perhaps habitual to hand rub in an arc, oval, or circular motion -- no matter what product you use. You must discipline yourself to rub in straight lines only -- the same direction as the grain. I also found it wise to use a wood block (or other rigid object) for evenness in the rubbing rather than the uneven pressure of my fingers. So in every case, I used a cloth with some product applied to it and wrapped it around a small wood block which I held in my hand. The abrasive hand cleaner improved the scratches, but didn't remove them completely -- even after about 5 applications, wiping it off and using Stainless Steel cleaner and polish after each. I needed something more abrasive. Next, I used Turtle Wax Chrome Polish. This is a micro-abrasive paste. It was more effective in removing the scratches and the rag turned black from the fine particles of steel rubbing off onto my rag, but it had an unfortunate side effect. It’s grain was too fine for my refrigerator, and it was obvious where I rubbed and buffed with the chrome polish. It appeared darker in that area. That region was now more polished and lost some of the brushed look of the rest of the finish, and so it was obvious that I tried to fix the problem. Now, I not only had to remove the scratches, but I had to add back the brushed look of the stainless steel. I will never use chrome polish again, except perhaps... on chrome! Next, I tried Turtle Wax Polishing Compound which is a little rougher-grit paste than chrome polish. This wasn’t as effective at removing the scratches -- although by now, they were only half as deep. What I liked about the polishing compound, though, is that it brightened the dark region somewhat and restored the brushed look that was removed with the chrome polish. I still felt like I needed something with a little more abrasiveness, though. Next I tried steel wool soaked in WD-40. This was totally ineffective. So was the Scotch-Brite. It needed more bite. Perhaps trying steel wool without the lubricant (WD-40) would be better, but I didn’t try it. But I’m converging on a solution. I want to go out and buy rubbing compound, which is a step more coarse of a grit than polishing compound. But I haven’t and I won’t, and here’s why… My refrigerator developed two other unrelated mechanical problems and the manufacturer will be replacing my refrigerator tomorrow. With this in mind, I didn’t want to work on the scratches any further in the event I messed it up and didn’t have time to rectify it. So, I’m sorry to leave the readers hanging, but I feel very optimistic that rubbing compound is going to be the most effective -- for may particular refrigerator -- in both getting out the scratches, and leaving a finish that is very similar to the factory’s brush look. But keep in mind that experimentation is key. Rubbing compound may not be the best product for, say, my dishwasher, which was made by a different manufacturer. I hope this helps!

The other option is to just get over it. :) A kitchen is a workroom. Most people prefer to choose best in class from many different manufacturers to ensure their work room works efficiently. No manufacture makes best in class in each category, so if you choose the best functioning DW, you will probably end up with a different brand range and a different brand fridge anyway. As long as everything IS stainless, it's fine. And, there are plenty of people who even mix stainless and non stainless successfully. Anyone who comes in your home and turns their nose up at coordinating stainless appliances that do not necessarily match needs to be thrown out of your home.

(1)Trying to do the super-exact measuring and cutting with something more than a pair of scissors or a box cutter (this stuff is likely thicker than the Contact Paper version of stainless, which I put on a folding TV tray, and my Exacto blade wasn't really great on it), plus dealing with that tricky oven window ... and the possibility of you not liking it and having to remove whatever residue is left on the appliances. vs. (2) the eclectic look! Black and stainless go nicely, IMO. Can't really get a good visual of the glazed chocolate island, yet, but with the additional stainless hood, it will probably make everything fit together just fine! Take advantage of AnnCaroline's offer -- the small practice piece will give you some big answers, I'm sure.

You GO, @Kathy Linn! I resolved early-on in our kitchen design to adopt a "no-stainless" policy (more for the looks than the upkeep), and so set out to find an antique, enameled stove (for cleanability in addition to looks) and even went with copper sinks to avoid SS. My first kitchen was all-white when we bought the house, and not really in a good way - laminate countertops and mdf cabinets in addition to white appliances. It was more work keeping the countertops white than the fridge (although the door handle did yellow with time) but I was done with white by the time we moved. For our build I settled on a 1929 Glenwood, restored at a shop outside Boston. It was a splurge but like yours (which is also very handsome) one we'll never need to replace. I'd like to think if consumers start throwing the SS junk back in appliance companies' (and designers') faces and going with restored antiques or otherwise reliable, easy-to-clean appliances with actual color options that we don't have to replace after 5-10 years, maybe they'll stop telling us what we should want and start producing quality again.