Never had a problem sanding through paint.

I haven't ever seen primer and paint over a smooth patch look like orange peel though.

UPDATE: I had an electrician come by and now he’s confused too. He confirmed the outlet wasn’t working, opened it up to take a look at the wiring, and then it started working again. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah bro let me just sand down a painted wall

That was terrible advise. If the patches are sticking up you sand them down to even with the wall. Then you texture those spots. They sell cans of spray texture at the box stores, get a piece of cardboard and do some practice to get a texture that matches your wall. A couple you tube videos for technique would also probably help. It is an art to get it close to matching. Then you prime and paint the wall.

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Yes it’s before painting. Thank you! I will try that.

The main problem is how do I connect the grille to the vent? It's difficult to have an elbow inside the 3" ceiling space and if I have it on the wall I might as well just use a larger CFM wall-mount

There are different types. I've seen some with plugs and some without. Even if it has a wired plug, you can still remove the plug and wire it directly, or install an outlet and plug it in. I installed one in a duct that went from a bathroom through an attic and out through the roof, and rather than have the fan in the ceiling, I installed it in the attic (super quiet in the bathroom!), plugged into an outlet in the attic that was controlled by a switch in the bathroom. I also installed one in a bathroom ceiling and direct-wired it to the existing wire that was already controlled by a switch.

If you want the entire wall smooth, skim coat it with drywall compound. If you just want to have the patches match the rest of the wall, go buy a can of spray texture and do you best to match it. Search “orange peel texture in a can”

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This old House has the best methods, 100% use these guys!

Is this before painting?

If the humps are minor, feather out with drywall compound and a 12 inch trowel. If significant, you might need to scrape

Any texture differences well disappear after priming and painting

So sorry this happened. You could try Comet and Revere Stainless Steel and Copper Cleaner to buff the stove to help get the scratches off. Something else you could try is sanding with wet sandpaper which is recommended for deeper scratches.

There are a few other tips here: https://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-remove-scratches-from-stainless-steel-appliances.htm

I hope one of these works!

I been working with electrics/electronics for 2 and a half decades, I will try most things around the home due to the experience. However if in any doubt, I do my research or call in a pro.

Just a DIY'er, but I've had some good training and experience - Not U-Tube U.

This guys an electrician and sick of dealing with peoples mistakes after attempting DIY.

the bathroom is below another floor. I am not too confident to cut through the sheathing, fearing that it is the heating vent or something else important.

Put new metal stove on top of old metal stove with scratches. The new metal stove will get 100% of the attention. The lamest question you will get is "why is that 2nd stove there?" Bc the other is scratched. How did the other stove get scratched? Installation of the 2nd stove. Could not be avoided.

This is a #4 finish (or close to it). It can be redone, but it will take some tooling (belt sanders, etc), or some careful hand work.

is the electric same as an exhaust fan, with its own switch and everything?
EDIT: I am seeing a lot with a plug

Polish it out

It may be a defective part out of the box. I still would check the wires with a multi and then check the part

it's ground floor, but thanks

Dashboards and interior work has gashed me far worse than anything under the hood or the outside.

Fabricator here. You are right- red scotchbrite pad on a linear (pneumatic stroke) sander or handheld pad or scotchbrite belt on a belt sander. Use a length of wood as a fence to keep your strokes parallel. This garbage cladding is super thin so you are right to warn of burning it so if using a flap wheel, keep it moving. These Scratches are about as shallow as this #4 brushed finish and there’s no need to knock it down with 60 grit (which is far too coarse unless starting with a casting)