How to care for your kick plates once fitted?

Caring for your kick plates is essential to ensure that they remain in excellent condition for as long as possible. Once you have had your kick plate fitted is necessary that you are regularly clean and shine them to avoid them becoming rusty or worn. Our door protection plates come in lots of different materials, and despite having excellent corrosion resistance, strength, and durability, many metals such as stainless steel, despite the name, are not entirely rustproof. However, regular maintenance will help to make sure your kick plates remain pristine.

Caring for you kick plates:

Step 1: Wipe off any excess dry dirt using a dry cloth, wiping over any large pieces of dirt or debris that have built up on the kick plates. This process is to avoid wetting the ground mud and resulting in more mess.

Step 2: Routinely wash using warm soapy water once the initial dirt has vanished. Try to avoid using an abrasive sponge, as this may result in scratching the kick plate or damaging the surface.

Step 3: Once washed, wipe over with good domestic glass cleaner.
Take a soft cloth and wipe over to give the kick plates a polish and help them look new again.

Step 4: Removing stains or discoloration
If you notice that there are stains or discoloration that you weren't able to remove with the cloth, use a metal polish such as Brasso to restore the finish. If your kick plates are budget grades of stainless steel and there is considerable rusting, a specialist stainless steel cleaning solution should be applied. You can find a stainless steel cleaning solution at most good hardware stores. If you kick plate material is plastic, then an in all one cleaning solution or white vinegar solution will work to help remove any stains.

Step 5: Tougher stains
If the stains are still visible, some scraping may be required. Take care while doing so, to be sure you don't damage or scratch the kick plate.

Key things to remember while caring for your kick plates

The best way to care for your kick plates is to follow the steps above and stay on top of them with regular cleaning. These are the top tips to remember while following the steps above.

1. Don't use coarse abrasives like sandpaper or steel wool. These may scratch and cause damage to your footplate.
2. Try not to clean with mineral acids or salt solutions, as this may cause corrosion.
3. If your kicking plates are stainless steel, try to restrict them from coming in to contact with other metals, as this will cause contamination leading to rust or corrosion.

4. Avoid using chloride-based cleansing liquids, such as bleach. Using these types of cleansers can permanently stain and corrode the stainless surface.
5. Do not use hard abrasive scouring powders (e.g., VIM) as this will leave scratch marks.
6. If your kick plate requires scrapping, make sure you use stainless steel pads instead of wire wool pads made of "ordinary" steel (e.g., Brillo pads). The use of wire wool pads is not suitable for stainless steel as they will impair the self-healing capability of the stainless-steel surfaces.