Brush and Satin Finish on Stainless Steel or Aluminum

While at first glance deburring and finishing stainless steel and aluminum may seem somewhat a niche market it should be noted that with the correct Dynabrade tools and Abrasives, grinding wheels, sanding discs, sanding belts, surface conditioning discs, buffing wheels and compounds almost any weld shop can take on this type of work. It is hard to put a number on how many steel fabricators, welding shops, artists, garages, etc. I have been called into because a nervous owner, foreman or project manager took on railing jobs that were above their expertise. Most thought they were going to lose their shirt once they got to the metal finishing stages on somewhat temperamental stainless metals or aluminum.

The best advice I can give anyone who wants to Brush Finish Stainless Steel or Satin Finish Aluminum in a professional manner is set up your shop and your polisher with the necessary Dynabrade tools and Abrasives. If you are willing to allocate some of your time and hard earned money as an investment in yourself and your company the quality stainless or aluminum projects you fabricate will come back to you financially many times over. The most common abrasives questions I get asked for these metal finishes are some of the easiest to answer. That's not to say I haven't seen some interesting challenges over the years. I have visited many metal fabricators and woodshops that work on all types of metals and woods.

A consistent finish on stainless or aluminum steel fabricators most commonly want to achieve is a brush finish, satin finish or #3 finish or #4 finish. Most steel fabricators order the stainless steel or aluminum pre-finished to this specification and only need to bring the areas they have welded back to a nice clean satin finish to match.

Dynabrade 14000

I like to see anyone who is serious about working with or polishing metals such as stainless or aluminum own at least two Dynabrade tools for their shop. The first is a Dynabrade 14000 Dynafile, which is also available in a dynafile kit version, Dynabrade 14010,  which includes the many Dynabrade contact arms and sanding belts.  There are many variations of the Dynafile manufactured by Dynabrade. They are as follows: The Original Dynafile, the Dynabrade 40320 Dynafile II which also comes in a kit Dynabrade 40321, and the Dynabrade 40610 Electric Dynafile II or the kit version Dynabrade 40611. Either one of these Dynafiles will do the job. I prefer the Dynafile II series air or electric. They seem to be the most versatile. You can position the rotating sanding belt head in many different positions depending on the angle of your work piece. The Dynabrade 40610 Electric Dynafile II and the Air Dynafile II 40320 accepts over 20 interchangeable contact arms which will hold sanding belts and surface conditioning belts ⅛" to ¾" in width. Dynabrade 14000 Dynafile standard contact arm 11218 takes a ½”x24” sanding belt and or surface conditioning belt. The Dynabrade 14000 Dynafile accepts over 20 interchangeable contact arms for sanding belts and or surface conditioning belts ranging in from ⅛” to ¾” in width. Dynabrade’s Dynafile's primary function is to grind and polish hard to reach areas on a metal work piece. Some examples of this are the corners or where the welds join together two or more parts. 

The second tool I find to be a necessity from Dynabrade is from the Dynastraight Family. These tools include: The Dynastraight Dynabrade 13204-.7 hp 3,400 RPM or the kit version Dynabrade 13220-.7 hp 3,400 RPM or the Dynastraight Dynabrade 13505 1 hp or the kit version Dynabrade 13525-1 hp 3,400 RPM.

I like these models because they are rated at the proper RPM and have male 5/8-11 threaded wheel arbors which are standard and allow for many different abrasives to be mounted on them.  There still will be a bit of hand sanding or blending that will need to be done but the Dynabrade tools will greatly reduce this amount.

Jon Silberg has been in abrasives products industry for many years. For more information on how to obtain a brush or satin finish on Stainless Steel or Aluminum, please visit the website: http://www.aaabrasives.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Silberg

The Evolution of Abrasives and Sandpaper in Manufacturing

Man’s use of abrasives for metal and wood finishing is well documented.  The first archaeological evidence of natural abrasives dates to about 20,000 BC, when various peoples used sand and stone to shape weapons and tools. Ancient Egyptians and Romans used emery, a fine-grained mineral, to polish gems, marble, and metals. The 13^th century Chinese used crushed shells, seeds, and sand, with natural gums to fix the bits to parchment to create an abrasive product. (Unknown, Abrasive)

The industrial revolution saw huge strides in the technology of abrasive products and the use of abrasives in the manufacturing process. Prior to this time, primitive sandpaper and emery cloth was produced using a backing coated with glue, sprinkled with abrasives and hung up to dry. In 1833 sandpaper, then known as glass paper, was being manufactured in London. Then in 1834 Isaac Fisher, Jr. patented the first process for mass manufacturing of sandpaper in the United States. In 1891 Edward G. Acheson invented the first synthetic abrasive. He mixed clay and carbon then heated the mixture.  The result was silicon-carbide crystals, which were harder than all other substances except diamond. (Unknown, Abrasive) This discovery led to the development of silicon carbide waterproof sandpaper in the abrasives industry.

In 1921 a printer from Philadelphia patented wetodry waterproof sandpaper.  This paper that could be used with water or oil to reduce dust produced while sanding thus reducing inhalation of poisonous lead dust. 3M was able to purchase the rights to the Wetodry paper revolutionizing the sandpaper industry. (Hill)

Founded in 1885, Norton Abrasives manufactured the first grinding wheel that could be precision made and mass-produced. Norton Abrasives was able to meet the growing need of the rapidly growing U.S. manufacturing industry, for an ever-increasing supply of grinding wheels to build and maintain machinery.

Norton Abrasives products provide abrasive solutions for the industrial marketplace. Norton is on the cutting edge of the newest emerging Industrial abrasive technologies: polishing wind turbines, aerospace alloys, medical prosthesis, metal fabrication and more.

Having merged with Saint-Gobain Abrasives, the world’s largest abrasives manufacturer, the company has re-engineered Norton SG BLAZE PLUS  ceramic abrasive belts, flap discs and discs to have 30% longer life than original BLAZE products. The new Norton SG BLAZE PLUS ceramic grains have more elongated shape with extreme point endurance in addition to improved grain microfracturing properties continually exposing new, sharp cutting edges. (unknown, Nortonabrasives)

AA Abrasives takes sandpaper delivery from BlueComet.

The abrasives industry is an ever evolving collaboration between science and manufacturing.  Modern abrasives are mass-produced to exacting standards. Higher grinding-wheel speeds, more powerful finishing tools, and improved abrasives have steadily enlarged the role abrasives play in the manufacturing industry.

For additional technical information, visit our website at aaabrasives.com or call

800-888-1802 to speak to an abrasives specialist at AA Abrasives.

Works Cited

Hill, Charles W. L., Gareth R. Jones. Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Cengage Learning, 2007, 2007.

unknown. "Abrasive." 2000. http://autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/MachinesAndTools/Abrasive.html. Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 . 2012 <http://encarta.msn.com>.

—. Nortonabrasives. 2012 <http://www.nortonabrasives.com>.

—. "Sandpaper." August 2010. Wikipedia. 2012 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandpaper>.

Abrasives Sandpaper Blog Introduction

Welcome to the AA Abrasives - Abrasives Sandpaper Blog! 
Who are we?

AA Abrasives Inc. Industrial Abrasives Supplier.

AA Abrasives Inc. is a third generation family owned business. We have been providing the highest quality of abrasives, sandpaper and related abrasives products to the industrial market place for more than 50 years. Our customers consider us to be the foremost abrasives expert in the country. Our knowledge of abrasives is extensive. We have a dedicated special applications department to assist you in attaining finishes on difficult materials. Abrasives are used for grinding, sanding, polishing, buffing, honing, cutting, sharpening and deburring a wide variety of materials such as metals, woods and composites. In order to provide our customers and the community with the most up to date and cutting edge technologies for abrasive applications, we have launched our Blog, Abrasives Sandpaper Blog!

For technical questions, please visit our website at aaabrasives.com or call 800-888-1802 to speak to an abrasives specialist.