Summary for chemical etching stainless steel Discussion
Chemical etching of stainless steel is raised as an alternative to bead blasting for producing a matte finish on very thin parts. The questioner explains that bead blasting normally works, but the parts are so thin that blasting causes warping. The thread excerpt shown here contains only the question from eBay or Jeffrey Holmes, CEF, and does not include any replies or a confirmed chemical process. As a result, the page mainly establishes the need for a non-mechanical way to roughen stainless steel without distorting it, but it does not provide a documented answer in the excerpt provided.
Q. We have a project that requires us to apply a matte finish on stainless steel. Normally, we would bead blast the parts. However, the parts are very thin, so bead blasting is difficult and results in warping the parts. Is there a chemical process that can roughen the surface?
Jim Treglio
– San Diego, California, USA
September 11, 2012
