There are many finishing techniques that can be applied to stainless steel - mill, brushed, patterned, bead blasted, electropolished, coloured and decorative.
Surface finish is an important factor and for those applications where appearance is important, finish is a design element and must be specified.
However, the scratch resistance, appearance, and colour stability of these processes varies considerably and should be taken into consideration during selection. Some of these processes improve corrosion resistance, but this should not be considered a substitute for selecting an appropriate grade of stainless steel for the environment
Standard Finishes are produced on an on-going basis. They are generally available off the self or can be obtained with a short lead-time. They are the finishes that are used for most stainless steel applications.Standard finishes are categorised as either "Mill" or "Polished"
Mill Finishes are the least expensive finish option. There are both hot-and cold-rolled mill finishes, and, as this description implies, their appearance is produced at least in part by passing the stainless steel through special rolls or dies. The reflectivity of these finishes varies from dull to mirror-like.
Polished Finishes are produced by mechanically abrading the surface with a series of gradual finer abrasives or a special rolling procedure that stimulates the appearance of mechanical abrasion. The smoothest polished finishes are buffed after mechanical polishing to produce a mirror-like appearance.
Special Finishes include finishes that are generally used when aesthetic appearance is important. This category includes non-directional scratch patterns, swirls, ground circles, embossed and coined textures, and various colouring and coating methods.
Contact a finishes specialist for your particular requirement.
Stainless Steel strip, sheet and plate
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Code for Mill Finish
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Description | Remarks |
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HRA
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Hot Rolled & annealed | Industrial heat-resisting and material handling applications, scale impairs corrosion resistance |
|
No 1
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Hot rolled, annealed and descaled | Generally used when smoothness and uniformity of finish are not important |
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2D
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Cold rolled, annealed, and descaled | A uniform, matt finish |
|
2B
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Cold rolled, annealed, descaled and skin passed | A smooth finish for general applications |
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BA
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Bright cold rolled finish. Retained by final annealing in a controlled atmosphere furnace | Mirror Finish |
Mechanically polished finishes
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Code for Mill Finish
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Description | Remarks |
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No 4
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Cold rolled, annealed, descaled, polished to 100grit | Polished satin finish. Widely used for restaurant equipment, elevators, etc. |
For more information please contact us at General Enquiries