# Sanding 304 Stainless



## erikmannie (Oct 28, 2022)

I am working on this project where the customer wants the stainless to be sanded to 600 grit. The material is 304 stainless.

When I bought the material, I didn’t think to buy stainless that was already polished. I just asked the steelyard for stainless, & it would appear that they provided structural SS.

It came with a mill scale on it. Here are 2 pictures of that.


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## erikmannie (Oct 28, 2022)

I have some 42 grit poly strip discs, & to my horror this is what I saw after I stripped off the scale:




The first thing that I tried was a 40 grit *flap disc* on a 4-1/2” angle grinder, but that left deep scratches. I went to Harbor Freight and got some clearance 120 grit flap discs. *I was happy with that result*, but that leaves me with the problem of getting rid of the 120 grit scratches.

I tried using an orbital sander with 60 grit, 5” 8 hole sanding discs, but that didn’t do too much. One gets the impression that the stainless is *too hard to be sanded by an orbital sander*.

Adding to this, we are reminded that the stainless is being work hardened with the elevated temperatures resulting from the sanding work.


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## rabler (Oct 28, 2022)

I suggest trying a woodworking belt sander, starting with 80 grit.


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## erikmannie (Oct 28, 2022)

It needs to be pointed out that the 120 grit flap disk work does not produce a perfectly flat surface. I succeed in removing all of the pits and uneven surfaces on the material, but I am a human, not a surface grinder!

Since the orbital sander was practically useless, I went back to the 42 grit poly strip disc. Here is  a picture of one of those after it has been loaded up with SS dust:




After using the poly strip disc (being very careful to keep it flat), I almost bring the material back to flat. Here is a picture of that result:




My only ideas at this point are to either:

(1) use 40 grit, 5” sanding discs on the orbital sander, or

(2) use 60 grit (purple) poly strip discs, but when they get loaded up with dust they become counterproductive.

Here is my weak sauce orbital sander. It is no match for the hard SS.




Any ideas? I will be offline for the next 12 hours because I have to go to work.


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## erikmannie (Oct 28, 2022)

rabler said:


> I suggest trying a woodworking belt sander, starting with 80 grit.



That is a great idea. My Dad has one of those that I can use, but at the moment I’m too broke to buy belts for it.


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## Aukai (Oct 28, 2022)

Can you get it chucked up, and solid no overhang, or supported well on the mill, and face mill it? Take a minimum DOC for the inserts to work well, and ask about RPM, and feed.


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## erikmannie (Oct 28, 2022)

Aukai said:


> Can you get it chucked up, and solid no overhang, or supported well on the mill, and face mill it? Take a minimum DOC for the inserts to work well, and ask about RPM, and feed.



I was thinking about that. The pieces, however, are almost 5 feet long.


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## Lo-Fi (Oct 28, 2022)

Belt sander gets my vote. It'll make short work of that.


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## Flyinfool (Oct 28, 2022)

I was thinking a hand held belt sander to get close.

The other thing that may work well is a flap drum sander.


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## Liljoebrshooter (Oct 28, 2022)

Your using woodworking tools on metal.
Joe


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## rwm (Oct 28, 2022)

I have been here! Be careful with the belt sander. I tried it an ended up with scalloping in the work. 
The most satisfactory finish I have found for this is from a pneumatic scaler +/- sandblasting. Sandblast first. That is obviously not a 600 grit finish but I found it very pleasing. Could you sell it to your customer?


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## C-Bag (Oct 28, 2022)

Brushed finish SS we used a drum w/emory/scotchbrite lo speed. They have them at HF. Just can’t find it on their site but I know they have the drum and sander there.


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## erikmannie (Oct 28, 2022)

rwm said:


> I have been here! Be careful with the belt sander. I tried it an ended up with scalloping in the work.
> The most satisfactory finish I have found for this is from a pneumatic scaler +/- sandblasting. Sandblast first. That is obviously not a 600 grit finish but I found it very pleasing. Could you sell it to your customer?



The customer is my brother. I think 600 grit is about as coarse he wants to go. He values aesthetics a lot.

The thing that sucks about this right now is I have no money on hand & none coming. I am probably going to have to make do with what I have. I did manage to buy 150 quantity 40 grit 5”, 8 hole sanding discs before the money ran out.


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## mmcmdl (Oct 28, 2022)

How to Passivate Stainless Steel Parts | Carpenter Technology
					

Passivation remains a critical step in maximizing the essential corrosion resistance of parts and components machined from stainless steels.




					www.carpentertechnology.com
				




Ever consider this ?


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## tq60 (Oct 29, 2022)

Table saw?

They make sanding disks for table saw.

You could make fixture to allow sliding material through that work hold against disk.

Place whatever paper to disk needed.

Option 2
Drill press
Drum sander in drill press, make fixture (wood works) to guide material through and have at it.

Option 3
Better orbital, we collect delta or porter cable 300 orbitals.

10000 rpm balanced designed for commercial use without cramping hands.

Cheap paper lasts seconds.

Get good aggressive paper, best is visit industrial supply and get belt of what you want and use it.

Last, pneumatic orbital outside.

Use good quality wet dry paper and apply water S you go with pressure.

The water keeps it cool but also clears out the mess.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

I spent much of the day yesterday with a friend (Fritz H.) who has 50+ years experience as a metalworker. He was kind enough to give me a free lesson on O/A torch cutting with a little plasma cutting at the end. I took a sample of the stainless angle, & he sanded on it in different grits to show me what finish I could get with a quality belt sander.

Fritz had a job exactly like this back in the day, & he “ended up with a whole wheelbarrow full of used sandpaper and abrasives because the stainless was so hard”, he said.

He said that my job here almost certainly calls for *delegating it* to a metal finishing shop for “graining” service which would involve me driving it there & back, & would cost my brother about $1,000. Finally, who knows how long that would take?!

Since my brother already bought $170 in abrasives, I decided to double down on doing this finishing myself & buy another $76 in abrasives. I have 50 quantity 120 & 180 flap discs, 30 quantity 42 & 60 grit poly strip discs, & 400 quantity 5” sanding discs. Most of the 5” sanding discs are 40 & 60 grit, & all of the abrasives are low import quality.


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

The only way that I will be able to make this work with what I have is to manipulate the 4-1/2” angle grinder well enough to get the surface within one thou or so of perfectly flat. This might sound impossible, but I do have 20 quantity 180 grit flap discs. Any failure to make it flat would necessitate blending.

I don’t see that the poly strip discs or even the 40 grit import quality sanding discs could ever remove a thou, not to mention more than a thou.

In any case, I will probably buy Scotch Brite wheels in various grits for the angle grinder near the end, and see how they perform.


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

I took a long look at buying one of these, as per the recommendation from @C-Bag 









						9 Amp Surface Conditioning Tool
					

Amazing deals on this 9A Surface Conditioning Tool  at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.




					www.harborfreight.com
				




Had I not already bought such a large amount of flap discs & 5” sanding discs, I would have gone that route. The machine linked above is 9A, while my orbital sander is a mere 2.8A.

Harbor Freight sells a 3A orbital sander. If I had $66, I would buy that just for the 7.1% boost in power.

I looked at other, more powerful DA sanders, but they take 6” discs. I’m sort of kicking myself for buying so many 5” discs before doing the research. 

Having zero money is not helping. I took a huge pay cut at work by switching jobs from one that gets 20 hours per week OT to a job that gets no overtime. 

I would still rather be broke & get an extra 20 hours per week in the shop. With the swing shift job that I do now, I am effectively *retired* (!) until 3 PM.


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## C-Bag (Oct 30, 2022)

erikmannie said:


> I took a long look at buying one of these, as per the recommendation from @C-Bag
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I learned the hard way there is no way to get a consistent finish on SS with anything but a drum. The reason it works where sandpaper doesn’t is the intermittent emory cloth and scotchbrite doesn’t clog and mess the finish. You can buy similar that have a 1/4” shank and can be used in a hand held drill motor for pretty cheap. I got a whole assortment of eBay. The trick is not staying in one place and keep your technique straight. It’s an art.


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## aliva (Oct 30, 2022)

Have you considered using a belt sander with varying grit belts?


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## Cadillac (Oct 30, 2022)

All you need is a belt sander a pack of 60grit belts and acouple hours. Come back with a coarse DA sander it will give you a uniform finish instead of flap discs. When using the belt sander keep it flat and drag it slowly keep the rpm’s to a minimum. 
 I have one of those wide conditioning sanders from Eastwood company. They work good but wheels are pricey and wear quickly.


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

aliva said:


> Have you considered using a belt sander with varying grit belts?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I have used those. I found them to be a little overly powerful (at least on wood). My Dad has a pretty big one that I can borrow but there are no funds to buy belts.


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

Cadillac said:


> All you need is a belt sander a pack of 60grit belts and acouple hours. Come back with a coarse DA sander it will give you a uniform finish instead of flap discs. When using the belt sander keep it flat and drag it slowly keep the rpm’s to a minimum.
> I have one of those wide conditioning sanders from Eastwood company. They work good but wheels are pricey and wear quickly.



Since my brother already invested over $200 in abrasives for (1) a 4-1/2” angle grinder and (2) a 5” orbital sander, I am going to have to flap disk/sand with those 2 power tools until the supply of abrasives on hand dwindles & I see the result. *If* I try as hard as I can and fail, he will authorize a purchase of belts.

I made a huge mistake by not making this thread a week earlier! 

Fortunately, there is no risk of removing too much material. He only needed about .090” thickness, & we used .125” for slight overkill.

I worked on it today, and *I probably will have a flatness issue* from the flap discs.

I am not sure how much confidence I have in a belt sander for that inside angle. The material is 1-1/2”X1-1/2” angle, and I have to finish the inside. The flap disc is doing great in that inside corner!


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## matthewsx (Oct 30, 2022)

#1. Don't ever do paying work for family....

#2. Invite your brother over to help.

#3 How much would it cost to start over with the right material?

John


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

matthewsx said:


> #1. Don't ever do paying work for family....
> 
> #2. Invite your brother over to help.
> 
> ...



It is the correct material. This is hot rolled stainless. My understanding is that they don’t make cold rolled stainless angle. The proper way to do this is to send the angle off to be professionally grained, this after the machining.

My brother will definitely take care of me in terms of payment.

So far he is $700 in material and $1,000 in labor into the project. I would not have the time to do all the side milling and drilling again, as I need to move on to my welding practice fun.

My brother works every bit of 70++ hours a week, so he barely has time to delegate these tasks to the workers.

If it comes to me failing to make the surfaces flat with the 2 power tools listed above, it is not a problem for him to buy belts for a belt sander, & I would make time to use that to make the surfaces flat.

What I did not mention is that *I absolutely have use for all of the abrasives that he bought*. Had I not recently changed jobs at UPS for a job that pays a whopping 46% less than I have been making, I would have had no problem using my own money to buy all of the sanding belts needed to do it right (and then use the abrasives he paid for for my own fun projects).

You would think that I could come up with about $250 somehow, but I can’t think of a way. When I took this lower paying job, I made a commitment to my wife to buy *no new tools* & the *absolute minimum in consumables* for my metalworking fun.

Having said that, I can go in on any and all Saturdays which pays OT all day, & use that money for whatever I want. I just don’t want to work on Saturdays!


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## matthewsx (Oct 30, 2022)

erikmannie said:


> My brother will definitely take care of me in terms of payment.
> 
> So far he is $700 in material and $1,000 in labor into the project. I would not have the time to do all the side milling and drilling again, as I need to move on to my welding practice fun.
> 
> ...


You will be just fine. He'll understand when you explain it to him and the extra $250 should be nothing for this type of project, he probably just want's to make it look good and it's very likely he's less than half the money his neighbor paid into the project so far.

When you establish yourself as an artistic metal worker in your community you'll be able to leave your current job with a smile on your face.

For inspiration: www.huntermetal.com

John


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## erikmannie (Oct 30, 2022)

Since I will be working some Saturdays sooner or later, I will just tell the boss that I will work next Saturday so that I will be in a position to use the right tool for the job here. I will have the belt sander belts all queued up ready to buy.

I have found it to be very constructive to admit when you’re wrong and not be stubborn about correcting it. I bought the wrong abrasives for this job. I am going to borrow my Dad’s belt sander and use that in order to get a flat surface on the work.


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## erikmannie (Oct 31, 2022)

I borrowed this belt sander. It is 3/4 HP. It is 115V, so it is probably about 4.9A. The orbital sander that I have is 2.9A. I think 4.9A is a good power level for this job.

I will use this to achieve flatness. It looks like the 3”X18” belts cost about $3-5 each.


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## erikmannie (Oct 31, 2022)

Hey, hey, hey! The belt sander above is perfect for this job.

I experimented with the used 80 grit belt. It performed exactly as I wanted, but then the belt broke. I am off to go buy some 60-80 grit belts so I can knock this job out.


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## erikmannie (Oct 31, 2022)

I am very, very pleased with the results that I’m getting with this 3/4 HP belt sander. I appreciate the recommendations.

This is what I am getting with 80 grit new belts. The work goes pretty quickly, but the belts don’t last but about 3-4 minutes.


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## Firstram (Oct 31, 2022)

This will change your life! Just grind the open end to apply, belts cut faster, finish finer and last longer. Used on flap discs they don’t clog when grinding aluminum and give an amazing finish. Whatever your grinding stays cooler too.






						LPS 43200 Tapmatic Edge Lube Cutting Fluid, 13oz: Power Tool Lubricants: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement
					

LPS 43200 Tapmatic Edge Lube Cutting Fluid, 13oz: Power Tool Lubricants: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement



					www.amazon.com


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## rwm (Nov 1, 2022)

That finish looks beautiful. Glad you got it figured out!


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

I was pretty good about working on this project during my work week. Now it is the weekend & I will be able to spend at least 8 hours/day sanding stainless.

My brother paid for all of these. A lot of the abrasives that he bought are not shown, but it has gone above $300. There will be leftover abrasives (only flap discs & poly strip discs); I will be able to make use of the leftovers for my fun projects.




I will post pictures of the (hopefully) interesting steps.

Although I am being paid for this job, I would much rather be (practice) stick welding on plate or pipe.

With the $1000 I got paid for drilling the holes, I spent $675 on Aloris tool holders, inserts & a parting insert holder, & $325 to pay down debt.

I might make about $600 (hopefully more) for all of this sanding, and I look forward to buying an extra acetylene cylinder (I only have one!), as well as a third oxygen cylinder, and an affordable dual cylinder cart. I do all of my mild steel cutting with an O/A torch because I have no money or space for a bandsaw, plasma cutter or cold saw.


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

I put some rags down to protect the stainless from being contaminated/impregnated with any iron or iron oxide from the welding table. I didn’t have any wood to use.


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

Here are pictures of the material wiped down with a dry cloth:


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

The material gets very hot after I work on it, so I need 2 work stations.

Here is the poly strip and flap disc workstation.




I start with the 40 (32?) grit blue poly-strip disc, & remove all that this abrasive is able to remove.

The 180 grit flap disc is the real hero of this story, as it gets rid of what I call the moonscape. Using the flap disc, I really need to try to keep the material as flat as possible. 

The next step is a 50 grit belt on a 3/4 HP belt sander, & anywhere that is not flat is quickly seen. Any lack of flatness is problematic.

If you are thinking that I should use the belt sander to remove the moonscape, I tried and that definitely ain’t happenin’!


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## Firstram (Nov 5, 2022)

Order the Edge Lube I posted, you don’t know what you’re missing! Longer abrasive life and cooler parts.


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

Here is the belt sander & orbital sander work station.

The best thing to do is use a 50 grit belt to get the whole thing flat after the “flap disc/moonscape removal” step. I do this for the inside of the angle.

However, I do not have enough 50 grit belts on hand, so I have to use the (weak sauce!) orbital sander with 40 grit on the outside of the angle.




Unfortunately, the hydraulic press is a little in the way, so I have to move the material down when I use the belt over there.


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

Firstram said:


> Order the Edge Lube I posted, you don’t know what you’re missing! Longer abrasive life and cooler parts.



I ordered it! The reason that I didn’t order it before is because at some point my brother is going to get irritated with me for spending so much money on this project.


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

This is what it looks like after the poly-strip disc:




Here I am using a flap disc:







*The bottom* is what it looks like after the flap disc. It is sprinkling outside, so there are some water droplets on there.


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

So one thing that did *not* work was using the 40 grit on the orbital sander to flatten the material. I was doing this because I am running low on 50 grit belts, but I will just buy more 50 grit sanding belts because the belt sander does a great job of getting the material flat! When it is doing this, it sort of skates over the material (on the high spots).

Here is a picture of the belt sander exposing the parts that are not flat.







Once the material is completely flat, the belt sander is a beast. It is the perfect power level for this job.

Here is a picture of the material down to 50 grit from the belt sander. Here we are very happy that it is flat.







I’ve only seen that they sell the 3” X 18” sanding belts in 50, 80 and 120 grits, so I am sure that I will use the belt sander to get everything down to 120 grit since it does such a fantastic job.

*I sure am lucky that you guys recommended the belt sander*, and that my dad had one for me to borrow.


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## francist (Nov 5, 2022)

I can only imagine the depth of knowledge you are acquiring with this job!  Once again though, I am struck by your tenacity and honest approach to make it right. Bravo.

-frank


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## erikmannie (Nov 5, 2022)

francist said:


> I can only imagine the depth of knowledge you are acquiring with this job!  Once again though, I am struck by your tenacity and honest approach to make it right. Bravo.
> 
> -frank



Next time I would definitely take something like this to a professional metal finisher, either for bead blasting and/or graining.

He seems to want this delivered ASAP, and I didn’t want to delay the delivery date. Also, the nearest metal finisher from where I am is at least an hour drive each way. Taking it there to drop it off, & picking it up when it is ready would have been a minimum of 5 hours of driving.


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## erikmannie (Nov 6, 2022)

I texted my brother & gave him a progress update & asked him to reimburse me $200 for sanding belts. There is a big time difference because he is in Berlin on business. 

Were I to do this all over again, I would buy quality (e.g. Walter) abrasives. I thought I would save money by buying import abrasives, but they sure don’t last long.

I also watched some YouTube videos on sanding metal, and I saw that they were using different equipment. E.g. DA sanders, larger belt sanders, & a sander that had a 10-20mm thick foam pad between the sanding disc & the power tool. These are power tools that I would like to own, but I probably never will due to financial and space limitations.


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## francist (Nov 6, 2022)

Do you still have some left to do? Given that you had such a large, contiguous batch I would be interested to see if you noticed any difference with the “edge lube” product but I see that you probably haven’t received it yet based on the estimated delivery. I use a similar (Formax) wax-type stick lube on my abrasive belts and it does improve performance and longevity. In my uses, anyway. The type of abrasive is important too — I use only the blue belts for metals. Any of the buff-coloured or brown I’ll use for wood but they have way too short a lifespan on metal. Again, my experiences.

-frank


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## erikmannie (Nov 6, 2022)

francist said:


> Do you still have some left to do? Given that you had such a large, contiguous batch I would be interested to see if you noticed any difference with the “edge lube” product but I see that you probably haven’t received it yet based on the estimated delivery. I use a similar (Formax) wax-type stick lube on my abrasive belts and it does improve performance and longevity. In my uses, anyway.
> 
> -frank



I still have a good 40 hours of standing ahead of me, but I don’t expect the aforementioned lubricant to arrive for another 4-9 days. I should have ordered it sooner!

Of course, I am always using abrasives so I will post on the forum somewhere the results of using this lubricant.


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## rwm (Nov 6, 2022)

I have been buying all Zirconia abrasives from Red Label Abrasives. The green Zirconia belts and discs seem to do much better on metals.


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## jwmelvin (Nov 6, 2022)

rwm said:


> I have been buying all Zirconia abrasives from Red Label Abrasives. The green Zirconia belts and discs seem to do much better on metals.



I agree. Zirconia and ceramic abrasives are a big step up from aluminum oxide.


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## Weldingrod1 (Nov 6, 2022)

You might try using a candle as lube... almost certainly better than nothing!

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk


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## erikmannie (Nov 8, 2022)

There were a lot of developments yesterday on this project, one of which is that all of the moonscape (as I call it) has been flap-disced off. This material sure had an awful surface finish, but that is in the past now. Here are the other bullet points.

1. I saw that I can use 80- and then 120-grit sanding belts with the belt sander to get all of the surfaces flat and down to 120 grit. Note: I use 50 grit to begin with, & I ran out of 50 grit yesterday; I have an order for more at the local hardware store that comes in in 2 days time.

2. Once the surfaces are flat, the cheap, import 5” sanding discs work nicely, although they only last about 60 seconds. I will go through 120 grit (needed to sand the inside radius of the angle as well as the outside edge (which is also a radius)), 150-, 220-, 240- and 320-grits. This gets the entire work piece sanded down to 320 grit.

3. I was pleased to hear from my auto body contact (John’s Auto Body in Santa Rosa, CA) that he will accept this clearcoat job, and only have a 7 day turnaround. He said that I could sand it down as fine as 400 grit, but when I bought sandpaper they were out of 400 grit. 320 grit will have to be good enough here.

4. I had bought too many coarse sanding discs, & not enough fine sanding discs. I bought back the coarse ones from my brother, & I paid for 50 quantity sanding discs in each of 120, 150, 220, 240 and 320 grits. 250 sanding discs only cost about $90 delivered.


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## erikmannie (Nov 8, 2022)

On all sanding grits finer than 50 grit, I work on only one side until it is done. 

Previously, I had a production line set up, but one can easily lose track of what grit has been completed on each side with a production line.


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## erikmannie (Nov 8, 2022)

I see that I am paying about 36 cents for each 5” sanding disc (for use on the 2.9A orbital sander).

My brother was surprised how much we were spending on abrasives, so I only have 3 sanding discs in each grit for each side. By the way, one side is 5’ long X 1-1/2” wide.

I will probably be earning about $15 an hour for my sanding labor. I am happy to do it for the love of the game & an opportunity to produce quality work. For his part, my brother is getting a screaming deal.

My $40, 4-1/2” angle grinder died yesterday while removing that “moonscape”. I believe that I got my money’s worth out of it in 2-3 years.


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## erikmannie (Nov 9, 2022)

Here is my setup today. I am waiting on 2 separate orders of sandpaper, so all I can do today is take everything down to 120 grit.

I’m also doing the edges (i.e. the .125” wide side).

I put some 1“ x 1“ square aluminum stock under it to protect it.

The Sharpie is very important to mark what I have done so I don’t get lost.


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## erikmannie (Nov 10, 2022)

All of the remaining sandpaper has come in. This project is going to be done in 4 days, at which point it goes to the paint guy for clearcoat.

One of the useful things that I learned from this project is that cold rolled stainless has a nice surface finish, but hot rolled stainless does not. In fact, the surface finish of the hot rolled stainless that I bought for this project was very poor. What is more, I believe that you can only purchase .125” angle stainless in hot rolled.

Never again would I flap disc + sand this much hot rolled stainless myself. Rather, I would take it to a metal finisher/grainer even though this means driving a long distance to the professional, waiting for who knows how long, & then paying their bill. I hope I never find out how much a metal finisher would charge to do this, but I’ll bet that it would be over $1,000 for 8 quantity 5’ lengths of 1-1/2” SS angle.

My customer paid $900 in sanding labor + over $400 in 40 (32?) grit (blue) poly-strip discs, 180 grit flap discs, 50-120 grit sanding belts, & 40 to 320 grit 5” sanding discs.

It is going to turn out *really nice*, but who wants to spend at least 60 hours using a flap disc, belt sander & orbital sander on angle stainless? I would rather spend my time on a machine tool or welder.


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## erikmannie (Nov 10, 2022)

One huge mistake that I hope I never make again is advancing to an 80 grit sanding belt before it has been made perfectly flat with the 50 grit sanding belt. You can get it done with the 80 grit sanding belt, but it uses a lot of belts & is a waste of time.

This is so important that I will probably go over it with another 50 grit sanding belt even after it appears to me to be flat.


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## erikmannie (Nov 11, 2022)

These arrived tonight. I guess that I will be using all this (and more not shown!) within the next 72 hours because I told my brother that this project will be done in 3 days.

250 sanding discs for an orbital sander:


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## erikmannie (Nov 13, 2022)

I finally graduated from the belt sander. That took such a long time! Everything is 100% flat & has seen one 120 grit sanding disc. I also did all of the (5’ long X .125” wide) edges down to 120 grit.

Now I only have the 3.0 Amp random orbit sander and 296 sanding discs. Here is today’s setup:


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## erikmannie (Nov 13, 2022)

So I have finally finished one side. This is sanded to 320 grit, & is hopefully good enough. It is getting a professional clearcoat.

I am actually not happy with it because there are scratches left behind from coarser grits. The customer specification for surface finish  is that “it looks good from 6’ away”.

I wear 2.25X glasses while I work, so it is magnified for me.


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## Firstram (Nov 13, 2022)

UsIng a block of wood and red scotchbrite, wet sand in the long direction. Compare that to what you have now, you might be happy with the finish. Have you considered skipping the clear coat and just passivating the stainless? That will keep the rust at bay.


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## erikmannie (Nov 13, 2022)

My brother definitely wants the clear coat. *The surface finish that I am going to post below will have to be good enough* because I need to move on to other projects. I only made about $10-$15 an hour for my sanding work, & such work is not my favorite. If I were to do this again, I would absolutely send it off to a professional metal finisher.

One of the sides seen below does not matter because it goes up against a 4” X 4”.
















This piece looks really nice in person. The pictures posted above are zoomed & (insert other desperate excuses here).


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## erikmannie (Nov 13, 2022)

I was hoping to get 7 of these done today, but I was only able to finish 4. I’ve been working on these (includes side milling & a lot of drilling) for over 5 weeks. I will be done with this project in 2 days.







Even after all of my sanding, I can see that the autobody guy is going to need to even out the surface finish.


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## erikmannie (Nov 13, 2022)

Firstram said:


> UsIng a block of wood and red scotchbrite, wet sand in the long direction…



This is just what the doctor ordered. This is what the autobody guy will do while I am starting a different project.


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## rwm (Nov 13, 2022)

Those are lookin' very fine.


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## erikmannie (Nov 15, 2022)

Holy cr@p, I am glad to be done with this *exceeding time consuming* project!

Here is the picture that I took when I dropped it off at the autobody shop today for clear cost. The quote for clear coat was $640.




I think that is it for me doing work for other people. I only did this because it is for my brother. It is much better for me to go to my day job & earn about 3 times as much as I do trying to make money from metalworking.


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## pontiac428 (Nov 15, 2022)

Six hunnerd and forty bucks?!

Dude...

That buys a paint gun, a can of 2k clear poly, sawhorses, and a drop cloth... and leaves you with about $500 in change to cover beer, dinner, gas, a change of clothes, and heck, you still get $300 for your trouble after that's done.

Edit:  And it's still stainless.


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## erikmannie (Nov 15, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Six hunnerd and forty bucks?!
> 
> Dude...
> 
> ...



This is his quote:


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## erikmannie (Nov 16, 2022)

My brother was very kind in that he tipped me enough money to buy a dedicated O/A cutting torch & an acetylene regulator.

I volunteered to work an extra 8 hour shift this Saturday to buy an oxygen regulator & a 25’ T-rated BB twin hose. 

I have a combination torch (welding & cutting), but I’ve always wanted a dedicated cutting torch.


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## stupoty (Nov 17, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Six hunnerd and forty bucks?!
> 
> Dude...
> 
> ...


2k is a bit dodge for home spraying isn't it ?

Stu


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## pontiac428 (Nov 17, 2022)

stupoty said:


> 2k is a bit dodge for home spraying isn't it ?
> 
> Stu


Nah, the formulations these days are good for a wide range of conditions.  Health wise, not too much of a problem for small, infrequent jobs in open air.  The hazardous isocyanate analogues are being largely phased out in favor of partially polymerized versions that are generally safer.


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## stupoty (Nov 17, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Nah, the formulations these days are good for a wide range of conditions.  Health wise, not too much of a problem for small, infrequent jobs in open air.  The hazardous isocyanate analogues are being largely phased out in favor of partially polymerized versions that are generally safer.



Good to know , as the isocyanate's can give you industrial asthma. 

Stu


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## erikmannie (Dec 3, 2022)

I picked these up from the autobody shop that applied the clearcoat this morning. They all look great. He charged my brother $700 for putting clearcoat on the eight quantity 5’ long brackets.


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## rwm (Dec 3, 2022)

Expensive project! Did you say this was for a fence?


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## WobblyHand (Dec 3, 2022)

rwm said:


> Expensive project! Did you say this was for a fence?


Yes, it's for a fence, as I recall.  Seems like a lot of money for something that is going to sit outside.

My wife and I paint our fence when it needs it.  Fences really do get beaten up by the weather.


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## aliva (Dec 3, 2022)

Can't understand the need for clearcoat on SS. You can buy clearcoat in a can for $10.00


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## erikmannie (Dec 3, 2022)

The San Francisco Bay is less than 2 miles from this fence, & the Pacific Ocean is about 12 miles from it, the point being that there is appreciable chloride ion in the air. It is also somewhat windy in this area.

My brother is copying the design of the neighbor’s fence in his neighborhood. It is a good thing that he is not building a longer fence!

This autobody claims to pay $900 for 2 gallons of his 2 part clearcoat system. I myself have not had rattle can paint jobs hold up very well, & I live about 35 miles from the ocean.

My brother’s specifications were that he would not have to address any corrosion issues for a minimum of 15 years.


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## erikmannie (Dec 4, 2022)

Yesterday when I posted pictures of the finish, I was in a terrible hurry rushing off to work. Today I had time to wipe them off with a clean, dry cloth, & get some better pictures of the hard won results.

I wrapped them up in a USMC wool blanket made in 1945. Next Sunday my Dad & I are driving down to deliver these to my brother. The three of us are going to have lunch together.

I hope that anybody who reads this thread & finds himself in a similar situation decides to take their stainless to a professional metal finisher.










Here they are wrapped in the blankets for the 60 mile journey:


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## stupoty (Dec 5, 2022)

erikmannie said:


> Yesterday when I posted pictures of the finish, I was in a terrible hurry rushing off to work. Today I had time to wipe them off with a clean, dry cloth, & get some better pictures of the hard won results.
> 
> I wrapped them up in a USMC wool blanket made in 1945. Next Sunday my Dad & I are driving down to deliver these to my brother. The three of us are going to have lunch together.
> 
> I hope that anybody who reads this thread & finds himself in a similar situation decides to take their stainless to a professional metal finisher.



Looks very shiny , should be a good looking fence for quite a while.  

Stu


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