How to ensure the perfect final polish

Anyone stepping up to the challenge of polishing stainless steel to a mirror finish needs to use very specific tools. Manufacturers of abrasives like RHODIUS have the right products on offer here. These tools are always used where a high-gloss finish or a very low surface roughness needs to be achieved – or restored, as part of a servicing assignment. One example is plant construction for the food or pharmaceuticals industry. The stainless steel installed here needs to be continually polished to a mirror finish. Only a truly smooth finish is capable of meeting the most stringent hygienic requirements, since dirt and deposits cannot accumulate on the highly polished surfaces. At the same time, the high-gloss finish extends the lifetime of the material – and therefore of the whole plant. As a rule, the workpiece to be processed must no longer exhibit any deep scratches or inclusions. To ensure an optimum end result, the stainless steel surface should first be prepared with grinding tools having a grit of 60 or higher. For the steps that follow, we recommend using an adjustable-speed angle polisher – this is the only way to be assured of optimum working results.

1 – Preparation of the workpiece

First, use a non-woven flap disc to remove the last few deep scratches on the workpiece. The flexible non-woven abrasive adapts easily to the surface. This, in turn, creates a homogeneous surface. The open arrangement of the flaps also reduces disc clogging. If you use a disc from the VISION series, this can help to prevent undesirable discolouration on the workpiece. At the same time, you always have a clear view of the workpiece and can stay in full control of your preparatory work.

Remove the last scratches from the surface

Stainless steel polishing with the RHODIUS VSK VISION
  • Use a felt flap disc, such as the RHODIUS VSK VISION
  • The optimum speed here is 3000 to 3500 rpm

2 – Follow up with pre-polishing and finishing

In the second step, you use a unitised disc to achieve a superb surface treatment quality that is virtually a mirror finish. The unitised disc can be profiled and adapts optimally to the contours of the workpiece.

Create an optimal surface treatment quality

Stainless steel polishing with the RHODIUS VKS GS
  • Use a unitised disc, such as the VKS KN or VKSG
  • The optimum speed here is 3600 to 4000 rpm

3 – Finally, polish to a gloss finish

Work with the felt flap disc completes the polishing process. This creates the perfect mirror finish. A wide variety of materials such as stainless steel and non-ferrous metals can then be processed optimally by using various grinding pastes. The disc’s highly flexible flaps made from wool felt adapt to the contours of the workpiece. The special structure of the felt flap disc also ensures a cool polish during processing here and avoids undesirable discolouration of the workpiece.

Please always ensure that you use separate felt discs for the various types of paste.

Polish your workpieces to a perfect mirror finish

Stainless steel polishing – with the RHODIUS FLS
  • Use a felt flap disc
  • The optimum speed here is 1600 rpm
  • Use the blue polishing paste here

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