Prepping Transmission Steel plates?

Years ago when I did trannys at a Chrysler dealership I used to sand the steels to put a cross hatch in them. Just curious to see what others are doing to the steel plates. Do you install them as is , sand blast, sand or anything else? Thanks in advance for the opinions.

 

It appears that the most popular is either nothing or red scotchbrite pad from all the forms I looked at. I contacted Raybestos and they say,

Kevin, Thank you for your inquiry.
It is best to replace the steel reaction plates with new.
Steel reaction plates can be reused under these conditions:
The reaction surface is like new, with no hotspots.
The surface finish meets OE specifications.
The plates are not bent, warped, or discolored.
It is not recommended to manually refinish or resurface the reaction surface.

I think I am going to leave the new plates alone and use the scotchbrite on the pressure plates because they are not available for some of the clutch packs.

 

I never did much prep work to the plates them self if new, if used but not burnt basic a light deglazing, some steel wool, scrotch brite as mentioned, you don't want to leave any big grooves in the surface. But pay attention to how flat the the final thick retainting part is. Every clutch pack has a different design here. But if the surface that touched the clutches isn't flat and true it will cause an uneven apply or slipping in the assembly. A larger flat file will show quickly how true or not it is.......if you need to have true up do so or buy a new......taking too much off will give the pack extra clearance that will need to adjusted for if it gets our side of specs.....you want the final finish in this to be similar to the steels as well in the end

 

For heavy duty street use, I assumed new plates were supposed to be delivered
ready to use. I wonder how long any steel wool treatment will remain effective
in the life of the trans?

I agree with SS/GNs info on when to replace plates. My experience with TH400
plates (steels) it they usually are like new, and I reuse them. I especially want to
reuse the wavy plate that NEVER is included with replacements, and will have
some effect on shift quality.

With salvaged 400 steels being in such good condition, I accumulated quite a
collection of them. They are sorted by thickness (can vary in the 70-93 mil
range), to be selected in setting up clearance for rebuilds. Bruce Roe

 

In the book ck has on the 2004r, it is noted that the used steels get a cross hatch to retain the fluid during the break in period. The instructions in the trans go shift kit for the 2004r mentions a cross hatch pattern on the drum .


I guess they sell more steels if they tell you to replace em. I ruffed em up in my 2004r and it seemed to work well.