Brushed look on stainless steel

[FM117]

I find the scotchbrite ( brown hand pads) will take the
edges down that the sander has left. To me this will dull
the shine somewhat. And yes, as I mentioned earlier
the sanding belts don't last very long. Some brands
seem to hold up better than others, but at present
I can't remember what brand.....maybe Norton.
If I end up with another project like this I want
to try mounting a stainless steel wire wheel on
my big hand grinder and give it a try. The belt
sander works ok....just not real fast!
Dave P.

[burninbriar]

The people I know who wor in stainless buy it already finnished and papered. They just peel the paper back a little ways and weld . Then they just blend the weld its self and leave the project papered untill the install is done.

[CadyRidah]

I called a metal finishing shop and they said to get the finish I'm looking for I have to put it through a machine before I weld it up. What does this machine actually do and is it possible to do what this machine does by hand? He said it will cost almost a 100 bucks for all the pieces that I have. I have 2 pieces 1 1/2"x1 1/2"x48, 2 pieces 1 1/2"x1 1/2"x39, 2 pieces 1"x2", and 7 3/8"x45" solid round bar. I figure it might be worth it cause it will same me a lot of time. Should I do this?

[FM117]

The round bar will be a pain in the butt to do by hand.
The flat stock would be pretty easy with the belt sander.
You will still need to grind and blend the weld areas
when you get done.
It's your $100.......
Dave P.

[CadyRidah]

I caculated the cost for belt sand paper and to finish the job the paper alone will cost me $60.

[Portable Welder]

I'm doing stainless rails today in fact, I always buy my stuff pre brushed so that all I have to do is match my joints.

[arcdawg]

you grind the welds the way you want and use scotchbrite to make the grain once again...... I used a *shaker* at my last shop.....you see them a lot in body shops and hood companies....they go back and forth instead of around
making the *grain*

B

[CadyRidah]

you grind the welds the way you want and use scotchbrite to make the grain once again...... I used a *shaker* at my last shop.....you see them a lot in body shops and hood companies....they go back and forth instead of around
making the *grain*

B

Doesn't a belt sander give the same effect? If not why? Whats the best grit to use to get a #4 satin finish?

[Madam-XY]

I second what the "Dawg" said, Red scotchbrite on a jitterbug will probably give you the results you want.

[CadyRidah]

I think I was having a hard time because I also had to remove the mill finish. I've tried using the red scotch brite pad by hand and on a roloc style pad. I also went over it with a belt sander with 50 grit then over again with the scotch brite pad and it was still too shiny. It looked pretty good but not the finish I needed. I already took it to a metal finishing shop to get it done. It will cost 49 an hour and will take 2 hours to do all 13 pieces. I probably would have paid more than half the cost of that on sandpaper anyway. Plus I save on the time it would have took me. I spent 15 minutes just doing 1 side. I have 6 tubes and 7 solid round bar. That's 24 sides at 15 minutes a side just for the tube. I asked the guy at the shop if a satin finish is possible to get with a belt sander and scotch brite pads and he said it's very hard. It's easier to have it go through a big machine to get the true finish. I need a really dull finish like the picture I posted in the first post. This isn't for me, I'm doing it for my brother. It's not coming out of my pocket. He wants what he wants so he has to pay for it.

[CadyRidah]

I got the pieces back and it came out really good. Well worth the 100 bucks. It was a 100 even to do all 13 pieces. Now what's the best way to match it after welding. Do I grind it down, hand sand with 40-60, and then scotch brite? Also, what's the best way to clean up the welds inside of the 90 degree angles. Here's some pics.

http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate5.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate7.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate8.jpg

[eal4x4]

stainless finishes

Go to [URL="http://www.feinus.com"] and check out their stainless finishing system. It is a multi-purpose system that will provide a #4 rotary or linear (straight grain) finish out of the box. Accessory sets are available to achieve other finishes up to a #8 polished finishe as well. They also have a pipe finishing system too.

Fein has been manufacturing electric power tools since 1895, are high end and will out last any other power tool you have used.

Remember, you get what you pay for; when it comes to finishing stainless your reputation as a competent finisher is on the line every time your client looks at the finished product.

[CadyRidah]

Go to [URL="http://www.feinus.com"] and check out their stainless finishing system. It is a multi-purpose system that will provide a #4 rotary or linear (straight grain) finish out of the box. Accessory sets are available to achieve other finishes up to a #8 polished finishe as well. They also have a pipe finishing system too.

Fein has been manufacturing electric power tools since 1895, are high end and will out last any other power tool you have used.

Remember, you get what you pay for; when it comes to finishing stainless your reputation as a competent finisher is on the line every time your client looks at the finished product.

That machine is a $1000. Looks like a cool tool though. I don't do this for a living so it will be no use to me. I'm only doing this as a one time thing for my brother because he asked me to. Anyone know how to do this by hand?

[CadyRidah]

Here's some pics of the gate I was making. It's almost finished. Just a couple more things and it's done. Thanks for all the help guys.

http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate9.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate10.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate11.jpg

[KB Fabrications]

Here's some pics of the gate I was making. It's almost finished. Just a couple more things and it's done. Thanks for all the help guys.

http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate9.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate10.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cadyridah5/gate11.jpg

That's a **** fine job! You should be very proud.