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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Swirl Finish on Stainless Steel and Aluminum
Q. Hey guys, I work for Cal State Long Beach metal dept. and we are having a problem with graffiti in the elevators (stainless sheeting). The students are engraving or scratching the semi-brushed surface and I am researching ways to cover it. I have seen "swirl" finished stainless in restaurant kitchens and such and I am looking for tips, supplies, or links/websites with more info. on how to achieve that same finish or if anybody has any other suggestions. Much thanks, Jay.
JASON FORALMetal Shop Supervisor - Long Beach, California, USA
2007
A. There is not a lot you can do. Nothing is idiot-proof when it comes to the human factor. First maybe post a sign about a surveillance camera and notice of fines. If you want to try to rework the problem afterwards, try using non-woven wheels to remove and blend in.
AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
2007
A. The swirl pattern that you refer to can be done with a dual action sander with an appropriate grit. It will hide the graffiti, but will do nothing to deter morons.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2007
Q. How do you get the first buffed/ground swirl looking finish on sheet metal (not the second layered rough-grind finish) but the "base" smooth looking almost looks "machined". Working on a project and lack that ability to create that first smooth layer, and I knew the place to get the answer. Thanks!)
Thanks again for you help.
Student - Asheville, North Carolina
2004
A. Commonly that fine finish is done with a wire cup brush or an orbital sander after the piece is taken up to a moderate finish. After adding the swirls I suggest doing a final finish with steel wool or light grit sandpaper (600 or more).
For further information I suggest that you look up Penland school of Crafts, they will be able to help and they are relatively close to you. Another resource would be Oak Hill Iron Works.
Good luck.
- Elizabeth City, North Carolina
2004
Q. Hi,
I'm looking for the term used to describe a particular finish that is found primarily on industrial & mil grade electronic enclosures (sheet aluminum). The look is something like a very small, maybe 1/16" to 1/8" swirl in a fairly random pattern. The panels and enclosures I've seen done this way are usually finished in a clear anodizing or light golden Alodine finish. It makes for a very professional look. It is not a "brushed" finish, though this looks good as well. Any ideas on what this type of finish is called? Is it done after bending/machining or before (like brushed)?
What is the name of such aluminum and where can I get such thing?
Thanks for any help!
Steven Lai- Los Angeles, California, USA
Hi Steven. We appended your inquiry to a thread which may answer it for you, but if you would e-mail a photo of the finish you are seeking to mooney@finishing.com, we'll post it here and it will better clarify your question. Thanks!
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 2012
Q. I'm trying to add a swirl effect to 300 Series stainless with a #4 satin brush finish.
I'm using a Chicago Pneumatic CP7200S Mini Random Dual Action Air Sander Kit 15000 RPM, 10.5 CFM. Mini Random Dual action orbital sander kit with regulator.
What grit/style/manufacturer paper would you recommend?
- Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
January 6, 2009
2002
Q. Hello,
I have a multiple part question that I would very much appreciate someone answering. I am currently living in an apartment building that is 60-70 years old, and while the building is "classically" styled, it has some art deco fixtures in it. Perhaps they were added later but at latest, the 1950's (when the iceboxes were taken out as I understand it). One such fixture is a large (5 ft x 3 ft) radiator grille (it's mostly continuous metal, there are slats only along the upper 8) that covers the steam heat line. It was painted white (and a variety of other colors it seems) and I stripped all the paint with a chemical stripper and now I have the bare metal.
Now my question deals with what exactly I can do with this. I want to leave it steel (and simply spray clear enamel on it) but I'm not quite sure what my finish options are. I would like to put swirl finish on it, however I am not sure how to generate one. My local Home Depot was of no help; typical of their tyranny, they had no quick prepackaged, add swirl finish to steel kit, so they basically left it up to me. I bought a wire wheel (a brush type of thing), a circular abrasive wheel, and three types of sandpaper for my drill. None of the three produce a good swirl; the abrasive wheel seems to work the best though. However, all lack the ability to generate a complete swirl, as they all have the middle bit missing (that is, the center contains part of the shank for the drill, etc). Thus, the only option was to use the sandpaper (36, 80 and 220 grit), and nothing really useful happened there either, the swirls are not contrasty enough (the radiator is not in direct sunlight). Thus, instead of a beautiful curving embodiment of the machine age and man's unquenchable desire for progress; I have the embodiment of a computer science major with a Black and Decker drill and some sandpaper. I realize that whatever option I take, I will probably have to buy (or rent / borrow) some sort of right angle sander / polisher.
Therefore I would like to know two things:
1. Can such a swirl finish be generated easily? That is, is there a certain grit of sandpaper / sander that I can purchase and swirl away. Or does it require that the surface be polished down to a near mirror sheen then swirled with some special swirling rig?
2.Can any sort of shiny finish be achieved? That is, is it even possible with such an item, although it seems that I can generate a shiny finish by abrading the surface, I'm wondering if this can be preserved with the enamel, and if there is a limit to the luster that can be achieved.
If anyone can help me I would very much appreciate it. I hope I've provided enough pertinent information about the piece and what I wish to do with it.
Rahul Mohapatra- Cleveland, Ohio, USA
A. Hi Rahul.
We appended your question to a thread which hopefully will somewhat answer it for you.
Although it is a popular idea to clearcoat plain steel these days, please remember that steel is extremely anxious to rust, and a simple layer of clearcoating without galvanizing or phosphating and a primer layer is not very strong ammunition against it; but if there is no exposure to moisture and condensation it may be okay.
Two things account for shininess: the smoothness (polish), and what material it's made of. Steel can be polished to reasonable brightness, but will never have the shine of nickel or chrome plating. Best of luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 23, 2012
January 15, 2013
A. I'd like to offer the following in response to those asking how to make a swirl finish on stainless steel or aluminum. I used to work with used food processing equipment and we'd often do that to refurbish old equipment and hide scratches and dents, or to simply make something look nice.
1. If possible, lay the sheet to be finished on an even, flat surface. If it's already installed, such as the elevator doors mentioned, that's still okay, you just need to be able to access the entire surface.
2. Use Scotchbrite pads, or a similar nonwoven abrasive pad that will work on a high-speed right-angle or straight die grinder [adv: die grinders on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] or air-tool.
3. Take a pencil or a marker and straight-edge and LIGHTLY lay out a grid on the surface to be finished. This will help you to keep the finish uniform. Start at one corner and grind/brush a complete circle. Move 1/2 the diameter over and make another. Keep repeating this process until the first row is complete.
4. Move to the next row below and, again, this should overlap the lower 1/2 of the circle above it. What you're actually doing is quartering the circles. complete the next row and continue this until your done!
It takes some practice and a steady hand; practice on a piece of scrap or something that won't be seen until you feel comfortable with it.
Do NOT use a wire brush on SS unless it's a SS bristle brush! Using a carbon-steel (mild steel) wire brush on stainless steel will permanently damage it because it impregnates the surface with carbon which will then cause it to rust later!
I don't know about the wisdom of using sandpaper to try this finish. One may run into the carbon-impregnation problem mentioned above. Another problem is that sandpaper is very flat and, unless the surface you're finishing is perfectly flat-you're going to miss areas and have gaps in your finish.
Lastly- depending on how much damage you're trying to cover, how flat the surface is, and simply how well you want it to look- doing this the *proper* way entails starting with a coarse-grade pad, then a medium, then a fine. This can be expensive and time consuming. I've accomplished a satisfactory (for my purposes) finish using one grade of pad and one pass. Again, a little experimentation here goes a long way.
Hope this helps! -Don
- Leeds, Alabama, USA
Very helpful Don. Thanks!
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Producing a swirl pattern on commercial steel doors
Q. I am renovating an apartment above my garage and seeking a sleek industrial look. I've seen steel doors in commercial applications that appear to be buffed/brushed in interesting patters -- sometimes straight and sometimes with swirls. I think I know how to do this with a hand grinder but am open to suggestions from the experts.
My main question tho is what type of steel doors should I buy? Stainless is out of my budget (I need 8 doors). It seems the two options are galvanized and cold rolled.
1: If I brush/swirl finish a galvanized door, am I effectively removing the zinc layer? If so, this seems like I am paying extra for galvanized only to ungalvanize.
2: All cold rolled doors that I can source come with a grey primer applied. I'll need to grind/brush this off to get to bare metal. Any leads on getting cold rolled completely unfinished? Or am I being very naive and should just just apply swirls over the grey primer and then clear coat?
tinkerer - Hoboken, New Jersey USA
September 7, 2014
A. All of the texture patterns I've seen are on stainless steel and that is done for a reason. If you were to duplicate that finish on most other metals without significant rust protection or coatings you will lose the pattern to oxidation.
AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
September 25, 2014
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