For over 30 years, CMC has been top and bottom polishing 50” wide Stainless Steel coils for the Appliance, Architectural, and Truck Trailer Markets. Wet or Dry, #3, #4, or custom finishes are available from 0.012” (30 Ga.) to 0.120” (12 Ga.).
Materials Offered:
Stainless Steel Slit Coil
Once stainless steel was manufactured and offered in products, the time came for another process: stainless steel polishing. Stainless steel polishing enhances the overall surface finish of any stainless steel product. It also increases the sanitary benefits of the material as well.
What does the process of stainless steel polishing look like? And what are some of its enhancements?
When stainless steel is polished, this consists of smoothing the surface’s finishes using abrasives. The result should be a high-quality surface finish. Yet, not all stainless steel is polished in the same way and not all effects are the same.
Polished Stainless Steel Coil
Various size coils are processed using coil-to-coil technology. There are different polished finishes that result from this application. This technology allows for various size coils to be processed. There are different polished finishes, such as No. 3, No. 4, No. 4 Fine and No. 6 finishes. There are also ways to custom match finishes for polished stainless steel coil.
Polished stainless steel provides highly sanitary surfaces, perfect for many industries, such as the food industry. Kitchen equipment in commercial kitchens will often be made with polished stainless steel. You see it on sinks, refrigerators, plate-washing equipment, prep tables, ventilation systems, and more.
You will also find polished stainless steel used a lot in the pharmaceutical industry, where it is used for storage tanks, lab carts, tables, and processing equipment.
Stainless steel coils are made from different grades of stainless steel. This is done to meet the needs of whoever is requesting the coils. Coils are manufactured in multiple finishes and dimensions, providing high performance and premium quality.
Polished Stainless Steel Strip
Stainless steel strips are tailor-made for every use. There are many areas of use for polished stainless steel strips, some of which are automotive, petrochemical, electronic and pharmaceutical, building suppliers, and general engineering.
Hot-rolled stainless steel strip is a semi-finished product. It is obtained from the hot-rolling of slabs or billets, and is produced for conversion by cold rolling.
Cold-rolled stainless steel strip is manufactured from hot-rolled, annealed, and pickled strip. This is done by cold rolling on polished rolls. The process depends on the thickness that is desired. The passing of strips through the mill may take place many times or just a few times.
Stainless steel strips usually end up with only three rolled unpolished finishes and one polished finish.
Mill-Buffed Polished Stainless Steel
Mill-buffed polished stainless steel is for strip finishes. This finish is highly reflective, obtained by subjecting a bright coiled strip to a continuous buffing pass.
To have strips that are uniform in color and reflectivity, mill buffing is required. Any surface that needs to be receptive to chromium plating requires mill buffing.
This type of finishing is commonly found in automotive and household trim, tableware, utensils, fire extinguishers, and plumbing fixtures.
Applications for Polished Stainless Steel Today
Architecture:
Some of the most famous buildings in the world are housed in polished stainless steel. The Chrysler Building in New York City which was built in 1929 used Type 302 stainless steel (which is similar to the Type 304 of today) for the roof and upper structures.
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur used Type 316 for the outside of the towers. Many tall, super-structures around the world are also housed in polished stainless steel. Commonly, you see it used on gutters, roofing, light poles, elevators, public seating, and signage.
Food and beverage industry:
Stainless steel applications of Type 304 and 316 are widely used in food and beverage manufacturing. Aside from commercial kitchens, polished stainless steel can be found in beer vats, milk silos, fruit juice tanks, piping, beer and wine fermenters, cheese vats, serving tables and countertops, and display cabinets. As it is super-easy to clean, polished stainless steel is often a first choice for these applications.
Transportation:
Polished stainless steel has found its way into cars and other vehicles we drive. Automotive exhaust systems, wiper arms, wheel covers, milk tankers, coal wagons, bus frames, and seagoing chemical tankers.
Petrochemical, chemical, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and power generation all utilize polished stainless steel. This is a wide and varied market for all types of applications used in these industries. Everything from valves, pumps, mixers, furnace equipment, heat exchangers, pipe, fittings, as well as components for nuclear reactors, and gas and water turbines.
When systems using stainless steel have come to the end of their useful life, sometimes the stainless steel is reused. If not, it should be recycled. Often, the Nickel-containing grade has a high scrap value. So, much of today’s stainless steel is manufactured using high amounts of scrap stainless steel. There is no sacrifice of quality, but there is a necessary move towards sustainability and protection of the environment.
For high-quality stainless steel, polished and processed to your specifications, without compromise, get in touch with our professionals today by calling 800-323-0758.
