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Obtaining satin finish on stainless railing  

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Hi. I have two pieces of stainless handrail that I am trying to obtain a satin finish on. Can anyone offer any suggestions or ideas on how to achieve this? I have tried sandblasting and handsanding. I am getting desperate!

Brandi Hurd
hobbyist - Cartersville, GA, USA

Unfortunately, people have differing visions of what a satin finish is. But most "brushed" finishes (if that's what you want) are actually obtained from scratching with sandpaper rather than with a brush. If you have a belt sander, try a quick scritch with a coarse paper.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

Hi Brandi, sounds like an interesting project. Ted is right. What is the 'satin finish you seek? A brushed grain finish requires abrassive process in long stroke pattern. A sandblasted finish will provide a randon, non pattern stain look. You can use a belt sander or inline sander to obtain line pattern yet the more important issue here is the chromium cap which developes on the surface of Ss to protect from rusting and corrosion. Your will want to wax this new finish to protect it and allow chromium to form seal. We have these products if interested.

Barry Feinman Restore It Yourself, Inc Carlsbad, California