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Stainless steel

I had 4 panels of stainless polished. It looks great(mirror finish)however when the sunlight hits it at the right angle or you shine a light on them you can see the buffing scratches in the finish a lot of scratches,Is this normal or just a poor job of polishing.My second ? is wether or not chrome would be a good alt. I want the panels for show and they are on the exterior of truck. thanks

Dennis Gray
sunrise - Salem, Oregon, USA
2006

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Hi Dennis,

Could be a poor polishing job, but you are almost always going to have some lines to one extent or another. Did you wax them? That can do it. Are the lines mostly running the same direction or are they circular and/or random? If you aren't happy take them back to your polisher and ask what he thinks. Might be they just slipped through quality control or you are just incredibly picky (no offense).

On plating stainless, yes it can be done and no you shouldn't see any lines at all if it is done right (polish, nickel strike, acid copper, polished again then nickel chromed). Make sure your plater knows they are stainless as it takes a little more to plate it than steel.

Good Luck

Trent Kaufman
electroplater - Galva, Illinois
2006

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Hi Dennis,
A true mirror finish may create glare from reflected sunlight and headlights. The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles had mirror finish SS walls which engendered complaints of glare and heat. It was sanded in 2005 at a cost of $180,000.

The Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) has photos of several mirror-like yet slightly diffuse finishes: http://www.ssina.com/finishes/sheetsamples.html#image

Ken Vlach [deceased]
- Goleta, California
Finishing.com honored Ken for his countless carefully researched responses. He passed away May 14, 2015.
Rest in peace, Ken. Thank you for your hard work which the finishing world, and we at finishing.com, continue to benefit from.
2006

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2007

Ken,

Great link and reference as to the stainless steel finishes.
I bookmarked it.

$180K to sandblast the walls? Only in America! ;-)

A True #8 mirror finish on stainless contains no polishing lines, no fine "angel hairs". It is a mirror finish as good as a glass mirror.

What you described is a #7 mirror finish by ASTM and SSINA definitions.

Michael Liu Taylor
specialty stainless steel distributor - Dallas, Texas