Stainless Steel

There are currently over 200 different grades of stainless steel alloy available. Although of these less than 50 types are in regular commercial production. The most common grade of stainless steel is 304 which is widely used for cutlery and splash-backs, other common alloys are: 301, 303, 316.

Stainless steel is the name used for a range of corrosion and heat resisting steels containing a minimum of 11% chromium although the majority of stainless steels contain 18% chromium in order to achieve better corrosion resistance.

Stainless Steel is mainly used for architectural, engineering, pharmaceutical, food manufacturing applications.

Stainless Steel Finishes

Stainless Steel Finishes
Mill Finishes
Hot Rolled, Softened & Descaled (HRS & D) Hot Rolled, Annealed and Pickled (HRA&P). No.1 (1D)	Dull finish characteristic of steel after hot rolling, annealing and pickling. Generally used when smoothness and uniformity of finish are not important. It is permissible for grinding marks to be present. NOT SUITABLE FOR POLISHING WITHOUT SOME RISK.
2D	A uniform, cold rolled, softened and descaled matt finish.
2B	Cold rolled, softened, descaled and lightly rolled on polished rollers to produce a smooth but dull silky surface finish. FINISH MOST COMMONLY USED FOR POLISHING.
Bright Annealed (B/A) 2A (2R)	Cold rolled, reflective finish achieved through annealing. SUITABLE FOR POLISHING WHERE A BRIGHT FINISH IS REQUIRED.
Mechanically Polished Surfaces
3A (1G/2G)	A uniform coarse ground finish obtained by polishing with 80 to 100 grit abraisives.
3B (180 Grit) (2J)	A uniform coarse ground finish obtained by polishing with 180 to 220 grit abrasives. THIS FINISH IS GENERALLY DESCRIBED AS DULL BRUSHED.
No.4 (240 Grit) (1J/2J)	A general satin polish produced by using successively finer abrasives between 180 a d 240 grit. This achieves a fine grain non-reflective finish. There are trade named variations of this finish produced by some specialist polishers which are available.
N0.5 (320 Grit) (1K/2K)	A satin polish simiar to 240 grit, but with cleaner cut surface finish and a lesser RA of surface roughness.
No.7 (2P)	A bright buffed polish most suitably applied to 2B or B/A finishes: achieved by using a fibre and/or cloth mop with a suitable polishing compound.
No.8 (1P/2P)	A bright reflective finish with a high degree of image clarity. Produced by polishing with successively finer grits followed by buffing with very fine polishing compounds. THIS FINISH IS DESCRIBED AS BRIGHT OR MIRROR POLISHED.