Decorative finish

Decorative finishes can be found in many different ordinary items like refrigerators, car interior objects, household items etc. Creating a decorative finish is a completely different process than deburring. Graining creates a decorative satin or hairline finish. When we speak of graining, the surface of the material is removed or restructured. This does not necessarily mean that any burrs are removed.

The following factors play an important part in getting a certain finish:

• The type of abrasives
• Type of operation (wet or dry);
• Type of coolant;
• Type of material;
• The quality of the initial finish and the end finish

Deburring and decorative finishing can be done on the same machine. The machine should then consist multiple heads. The amount of heads depends on the initial and the end finish.
In order to get to a hairline finish the following type of heads are recommended:

• R-Head – Abrasive belt
• B-Head – Barrel brush

These heads can be equipped with various abrasives like:

• Silicium carbire
• Scotch brite®
• Trizact®
• Cut&polish®

Another important factor is the coolant. This does not always work as just a rust inhibitor but it can also have a lubricating effect. Lubrication helps smoothening the surface, which dramatically changes the appearance of the surface. The type of coolant has an important impact in the entire process.
At Steelmaster we recommend:

• Castrol – Syntilo 9918 (click here for spec sheet)
• Jokish - W2 OP (click here for spec sheet)
• Avia Metacool Synth S121 (click here for spec sheet)