Brushed stainless steel

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cncfabricators
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Brushed stainless steel

Post by cncfabricators »

Hello everyone, This is my first post on here. Im making a two piece stainless steel sign/logo for a local Technical school. I couldnt find any brushed 10 gage stainless in 4'x8' sheets so I purchased smooth finish and Im wanting to make it look brushed. Has anyone used a belt sander or anything else to achieve the desired effect?
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by pete4477 »

Use a belt sander with a red scotch brite belt. I have done it many times. Make sure you don't have any scratches and it will be a breeze.
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Marty
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by Marty »

see this link

http://plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f ... abo#p35523

I also use a Metabo SE 12-115. not cheap but being able to offer customers a brushed finish option has won some orders

The consumables are long lasting too. I wish Metabo made flap disks for angle grinders!

i use it on steel, aluminum, brass, everything

Very high quality machine, and variable speed control.
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by 1fine79 »

I'm probably late to the party, but I thought I would post anyway for someone else's benefit. I've done a lot of brushed stainless signs (one is pictured) I use a belt sander and then polish out with a handheld sanding pad similar to a hand drywall sander. The trick is to make full strokes each pass. if you work half the piece and the move down to the other end, you will not get that smooth looking finish you were hoping for. (been there, done that....took 3 times as long to work out the change of direction swirls). With a 16' long piece....get you running shoes on! LOL!
Also, if you are doing a 3D piece like the one I've shown, you can sand the pieces in opposite directions and get a nice noticeable contrast in the look of you finished piece. Hope this helps someone. Thanks for sharing....MAN I LOVE THIS FORUM!!!!

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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by Marty »

Clear Eyes, An Open Heart, and a Steady Hand...bravo, good job.....sometimes it is like herding cats to do long straight parallel brushing up and down the material...look exlnt!

Marty
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by steelfx »

That SS Sign is one beautiful piece of work! Kudos!

bw

p.s. how did you mount the drops from the "O" & "R" ??
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by 1fine79 »

They are actually stenciled but I painted the tabs with some flat black so they don't show too bad.
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by steelfx »

1fine79 wrote:They are actually stenciled but I painted the tabs with some flat black so they don't show too bad.
Great Idea! Good tip, too!

thanks!

Bill
:D
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by yeomansjon »

pete4477 wrote:Use a belt sander with a red scotch brite belt. I have done it many times. Make sure you don't have any scratches and it will be a breeze.
When you used a belt sander, did you do it by hand or did you setup a guide to make the grain perfectly straight? Also, did you get different 'waves' or 'impressions' (not sure how to describe) where you may have had uneven pressure?

I tried brushing 1/4" aluminum last night with 4" wide rolls. I did the first pass across the piece with a guide to make the lines straight but ended up with a lot of lines and streaks. It looked much better when I did it free hand slowly wafting side to side as i moved up and down length wise with the sander. But then i found if i didn't apply even pressure the light would reflect off those areas and make a noticeable difference. The learning curve seems pretty steep, but with me that's not saying much... :lol:
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by Marty »

I use a Metabo?.when I am sanding with it, I strap the thing to my fore arm with a wide Velcro strap to keep it under control??it has a TON of torque, but does have adjustable speed control dial?it takes some practice to get the effect right?.the tricky thing is that the metal you are sanding wants to fly away?.at high speed I normally use a clamp to hold metal to my grind bench, but the clamp gets in the way of the Metabo?. the goal is to get the directional lines parallel and consistent?..practice, curse, practice, more cursing, and it will get right after a while?.I have described using the Metabo as being ?like herding cats??..it has a mind of its own and you just gotta man handle it?.ever ridden a bull? Me neither but just to give you an idea?.and make it do what YOU want?.you have to just muscle it....a fun toy to be sure. But I love what it does?you can make steel look like brushed aluminum or brushed stainless?.keep in mind, if you coat the metal with anything EXCEPT transparent dye (see Steel FX link http://steelfxpatinas.com/?gclid=CLiogY ... fgodd28ArQ ), you will cover over the sand lines you worked so hard to make
Recommend Kevlar Gloves?.here is a link http://bit.ly/1gkhB1e to use when grinding or sanding, and it keeps skin oil off the metal?and abrasive disksoff your skin

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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by kkroger »

This was done on Mild Steel with a standard run of the mill hand held belt sander.... it is 5' in length...

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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by motoguy »

kkroger wrote:This was done on Mild Steel with a standard run of the mill hand held belt sander.... it is 5' in length...
You have any issues with cleared mild steel rusting, in indoor environments?
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Re: Brushed stainless steel

Post by kkroger »

Not in INDOOR environments, but some Exterior when finished with "Paint" yes. I have several Mild Steel pieces in some bars around town that like to be a bit "Open Air" and their indoor stuff has rust creeping but almost all of it was scaly plate and Re-Bar and cleared with Automotive Urethane Clear. Most of what I do gets powder coated completely, all of the colors and clears etc....
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