I have put this topic about stripping the grey lid's on the 3500 & 8500 to show the polished s/steel on the old forum a couple of times , I know there are other members that have done it successfully . Firstly I must STRESS these are MY experiences and I cannot guarantee what results you will get and cannot accept any responsibility for unexpected results if you do this .
The method I found successful is , remove the lids , you have to do a bit of dissemble on the 8500 and 3500 master but the 3500 tape and cd lids just slide off the dovetailed hinges after prising up the end retaining lug. Then use Nitomors Varnish & Lacquer remover ( the paint version doesn't work ) , give it several coats and be patient don't be tempted to start scraping it , the grey will virtually fall off after a short time showing the polish beneath .Don't get any Nitromors on the plastic backplate as it will eat it .
I believe the same polished lids were used for both the 3500 & 4500 but painted grey on 3500 version but I CANNOT GUARANTEE this . I have successfully done a few of these but the s/steel was badly marked on one so decided to re-spray gloss black and also looks far better than grey . Richard