Stainless Steel Discussion
I ordered some stainless steel from Chris Industries last week - 20 gauge and 26 gauge.
They only sell 304 - 2B stainless steel which is great for outdoors.
The Magnabender will bend 20 gauge. It won't bend 16 gauge. I haven't tested 18 gauge yet.
This stuff has a mill finish - it actually looks like galvanized. They charged me $3.50/lb which works out to $213.50 for a 48 x 120 sheet of 20 gauge (63 lbs) and $108.50 for a 48 x 120 sheet of 26 gauge (31 lbs). It looks like galvanized sheet metal. Some of it was dinged up - scratched by their fork lift. My wife drove into Joliet and bought it. I would have requested better sheets. Hopefully I will be able to work around the bad parts.
The SS I had purchased from them before was covered with white pvc film which had to be carefully removed under running water (hard to peel without the water). It had a finish like a kitchen appliance - probably more expensive.
A serious problem with the mill finish SS - you can't grind it and get a nice consistent finish. Somehow the carbon on the surface clogs up the 3M pad. You can't get the carbon off with acetone. Bar Keepers Friend (oxalic acid) doesn't work either.
Paints are not sticking well to the mill finish SS. A Rustoleum hammered finish tends to chip off. Primer helps a bit.
Mill finish would be fine for roofs, where no one can inspect the finish up close.
The whole point of using SS is to show the beauty of the metal. Painting it defeats that purpose.
Personally I prefer Aluminum - it takes texture patterns much more easily, it remains bright and shiny, much brighter than SS, its lighter, you can drill aluminum (can't drill SS).
But many customers like those words - Stainless Steel. They equate stainless steel with quality and longevity. Many people are unfamiliar with aluminum, or they think of aluminum cookware, which is usually priced less than stainless steel.
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