Stainless steel is available in a number of finishes utilised in combination with post production cleaning and polishing processes. 

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STAINLESS STEEL MATERIAL FINISHES

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Material finishes utilised in the manufacture of products by Component Developments include: 

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2B     Cold rolled, heat treated, pickled and skin passed                    Dull finish.

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2R     Cold rolled and bright annealed                   Highly reflective, mirror finish. 

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2J     Polished and brushed finish                   Satin, grained finish.   

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POST PRODUCTION FINISHING PROCESSES

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PICKLE PASSIVATION

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Pickling is carried out by immersion in a mixture of Hydrofluoric and

Nitric Acids after the items have been thoroughly cleaned and degreased.

Following pickling the loosened contamination is removed by water

washing. Any carbon steel impregnation from fabrication methods such

as rolling, machining and pressing is then also removed. For items too

large to immerse, spray pickling is then employed and pastes are utilised

for localised application. 

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After pickling, a clean Stainless Steel surface is produced on which the

passive layer can reform in time. This can be accelerated by treatment

with an oxidising medium such as Nitric Acid, this procedure is known

as passivation. Following processing all the items are once again

thoroughly washed with clean water. 

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ELECTROPOLISHING

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Electropolishing is the electrochemical removal of a metal surface where

the part being treated is connected to the positive pole of a D.C. power

source, whilst being immersed in a suitable electrolyte. 

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Operating anodically it is basically the reverse of electropolishing. Metal

removal takes place preferentially at peaks of the surface profile resulting

in a smoothing and de-burring of the micro-profile whilst the macro shape

of the surface is not altered. This smoothing generally produces a bright

reflective finish. 

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Removing surface contaminants the process then micro-smoothes the

surface, producing an excellent passive surface and thereby enhancing the

corrosion resistance. Other advantages offered by electropolishing include

reduced total surface area, surface cleanliness, ease of cleaning, reduced

friction and de-burring. 

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