In the architectural decoration and metal customization industries, the aesthetics and functionality of stainless steel are increasingly valued. Surface treatment not only determines the appearance style of stainless steel products, but also directly affects its corrosion resistance, wear resistance and service life.

So, what are the treatment methods for stainless steel finish? This article will introduce you to the current mainstream 11 types of stainless steel surface treatment technologies, and take you to systematically understand their characteristics, advantages and typical applications.

1.PVD Color Coating

PVD color coating is a surface treatment process based on physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology, which can form a rich variety of color effects on the surface of stainless steel. It can be used in combination with a variety of surface treatment processes (such as mirror polishing, brushing, embossing, stamping, etching, etc.) to further enhance the decorativeness and functionality of the product.

This technology deposits an extremely thin layer of color coating on the stainless steel substrate, while maintaining the original strength, corrosion resistance and durability of stainless steel, giving it a better visual expression. PVD color coating not only enhances the beauty of stainless steel, but also provides additional wear resistance, scratch resistance and other properties, making it widely used in high-end decoration, construction, home and industrial fields.

Advantages of PVD Color Coated Stainless Steel

Strong bonding: The bonding strength between the film layer and the stainless steel surface is extremely strong, and it can be bent more than 90 degrees without cracking or peeling.

High hardness: 3-5 times more wear-resistant than traditional electroplating layers, and can effectively resist scratches and wear.

Strong corrosion resistance: In conventional environments, including indoors and outdoors, it is resistant to oxidation, does not fade, does not lose its luster, and is not easy to rust.

Rich colors: It can be plated in a variety of colors such as deep golden yellow, light golden yellow, coffee brown, bronze, gray, black, gray-black, and colorful colors.

Environmentally friendly and pollution-free: The entire process does not use chemical liquids, such as dyeing solutions or electrolytes, and no toxic substances are released, which meets environmental protection requirements.

Application Of PVD Color Coated Stainless Steel

Decoration: Widely used in door and window hardware, kitchen and bathroom hardware, lamps, jewelry, crafts, etc., which can enhance the appearance texture and decorativeness of the product.

Tools and Industry: Used in knives, molds, mechanical parts, etc., which can improve their surface hardness, wear resistance and service life, and reduce the friction coefficient.

2.Mirror Finish

Mirror finish,is to polish the stainless steel plate through polishing equipment, so that the plate surface is flat and the brightness is as clear as a mirror.

Finish Grade

6k : The surface has a certain brightness, but it cannot be called mirror stainless steel, it is just an ordinary polishing effect.

8k : Generally achieves the polishing effect of an ordinary mirror, which is a more common mirror grade.

10k : It belongs to fine grinding effect, and the mirror effect is better.

12k : Super fine grinding effect, super clear surface, no grinding head flower, no scratches, it can be said to be 0 defect mirror stainless steel, the grinding cost is high, and the price is relatively high.

Advantages of Mirror Stainless Steel

High reflectivity: The surface has a very high reflectivity, which can clearly reflect the surrounding scenery and light, and can mirror the elements in the space.

High gloss: It presents a beautiful and smooth mirror effect. The gloss of different grades of mirror stainless steel varies. For example, the surface of 12k mirror stainless steel is super clear, scratch-free, and has a very high gloss.

Easy to clean: The surface is smooth and flat, and it can be cleaned with clean water at ordinary times.

Environmental protection: The stainless steel mirror panel is mainly composed of metal elements such as iron, chromium, and nickel, which is harmless to human health and the ecological environment. It can also be recycled and reused.

Application Of Mirror Stainless Steel

Wall decoration

Suspended ceiling

Stair handrails

Furniture decoration

Industrial equipment shell

Art decoration

3.Water Ripple

The pattern roller or stamping die is used to press out a water ripple-like texture on the stainless steel plate. Such textures have shallow water waves, large water waves, medium water waves, small water waves and other specifications, forming a shimmering reflective effect.

Advantages of Water Ripple Stainless Steel

Unique visual dynamics and layering, the surface texture is similar to rippling water, which is very decorative.

It is safe and environmentally friendly, does not contain harmful substances, and is an A1-level fireproof material, which meets the environmental protection requirements of modern architecture and decoration.

It has strong corrosion resistance and can be used in humid or corrosive environments such as facade curtain walls, toilets, and water curtain landscaping areas.

Easy to clean and maintain, the surface is smooth, not easy to be stained with dust and stains, if there are stains, just wipe it with a rag, no excessive maintenance is required, no fingerprints are left, and it is convenient for daily cleaning and maintenance

Application Of Water Ripple Stainless Steel

Architectural wall and cladding

Interior decoration

Art decoration

Furniture panels

4.Embossed Finish

Embossed finish, forming a repetitive pattern or texture on the stainless steel surface, such as diamonds, dots, twill, etc. By increasing the concave and convex feeling, the decorativeness and anti-slip properties are enhanced. This processing method is a local force, and the pattern depth and three-dimensional sense are relatively strong.

Advantages of Embossed Stainless Steel

Anti-slip, the uneven texture on the surface increases friction and improves anti-slip properties.

Strong decorative effect, the embossed board surface can form various patterns and textures, such as wood grain, stone grain, geometric patterns, etc.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use

Anti-corrosion and rust-proof, strong and durable

Safe and environmentally friendly

Application Of Embossed Stainless Steel

Architectural decoration: elevator doors, walls, ceilings, column coverings

Interior design: background walls, cabinet panels, furniture facings, screen partitions

Industrial field: equipment housings, non-slip floors, kitchen countertops, ship decorations

5.Stamped Finish

Embossed and Stamped are very similar, but there are also differences. They also use concave and convex molds to roll the entire stainless steel coil under a certain pressure to form a customized pattern. Compared with embossed, the Stamped pattern is more delicate and the concave and convex feeling is not so obvious.

Embossed vs Stamped

Embossed stainless steel: Both the front and back sides have a strong feel, and the pattern has a strong three-dimensional sense. From different angles, the light and shadow effects of the pattern change significantly, which can bring a strong visual impact.

Stamped stainless steel: The front side feels good to the touch, but there are usually no obvious marks on the back side, only slight marks of the front pattern are left, the overall appearance is relatively flat, and the three-dimensional sense of the pattern is not as good as embossed stainless steel.

6.Brushed Finish

Brushed stainless steel plate,It uses mechanical friction and other methods to produce various textures such as straight lines, wavy lines, spiral lines, etc. on the surface of stainless steel, thus presenting a unique metal texture and decorative effect.

What Are The Finishes On The Surface?

Hairline: The surface state is a straight grain, which can be divided into long grain and short grain. Grains of different thicknesses can be obtained by changing the diameter of the steel brush.

Vibration： The surface sand grain is composed of circles of sand grains from a distance, and irregular random grains are formed by the irregular swing of the grinding head up and down and left and right. The surface is matte.

Wave grain: The production process uses the axial movement of the upper group of grinding rollers on the rubbing machine to obtain wavy grains on the stainless steel surface after grinding and brushing.

Spiral grain: This grain can limit the thread speed and obtain thread grains of the same width on the surface of the stainless steel plate.

Advantages of Brushed Stainless Steel？

Rich texture, multiple surface textures to choose from, strong decorative sense

Matt texture, simple, low-key modern style.

Scratch resistance: The surface texture can effectively hide minor scratches, and it remains beautiful after long-term use

Anti-fingerprint: It is less likely to leave fingerprints than mirror stainless steel, reducing the frequency of cleaning and maintenance

Corrosion resistance: Suitable for humid/acidic and alkaline environments, such as 304/316 materials

Flexible processing methods: It can be used in combination with sandblasting, etching, PVD plating and other processes

Application Of Brushed Stainless Steel

Building decoration: elevator cars, shopping mall handrails

Home furnishing: kitchen and bathroom appliances, furniture finishes

Industrial equipment: control panels, instrument housings

Electronics: mobile phone/notebook metal housings

7.Bead Blasted Finish

Sandblasting, the surface presents fine sand-like particles, with a strong touch, and the granularity is between matte and brushed.

Advantages of Bead Blasted Stainless Steel？

Matte effect, fine frosted texture, non-reflective, can be combined with mirror stainless steel plate to avoid excessive shiny effect

Fine texture, can control surface roughness, meet diverse design needs

Anti-slip and wear-resistant: The rough surface increases friction, making it have good anti-slip performance, very suitable for stair treads, handrails and other places that need anti-slip.

Anti-fingerprint: It can well hide fingerprints, oil stains, scale and other stains.

Environmental protection and health: It meets environmental protection requirements and is a green decorative material.

Application Of Bead Blasted Stainless Steel

Building decoration: elevator decoration, stair handrails

Household goods: kitchen and bathroom appliances, furniture finishes

Industrial equipment: control panels, instrument housings

Consumer electronics: mobile phone/notebook metal housings

8.Etched Finish

Etched stainless steel sheet with the based plate of 8K mirror stainless steel sheet, drawing sheet and sandblasting stainless steel plate are utilized to chemically etch variety of patterns onto the surface of stainless steel sheet.

Advantages of Etched Stainless Steel

Etching can achieve very fine patterns and texts to meet high-demand processing.

Unique, clear and delicate patterns

Corrosion and rust resistance

Exquisite and rich finishes, with obvious concave and convex effects

Safe and environmentally friendly

Application Of Etched Stainless Steel

Elevator panel

Indoor and outdoor walls

Furniture design

Sculpture art

Signage

9.Copper Finish

Brass Stainless Steel,Chemical reduction and deposition of copper film on stainless steel plates make the surface appear copper-like or retro copper. It can be combined with brushed, sandblasted, etched and other textures to achieve a retro decorative effect.

Advantages of Copper Stainless Steel

Rich colors, including red copper, brass, bronze, red bronze, yellow bronze, green bronze and other colors.

Based on the copper finish, it presents texture effects such as brushing, etching, embossing, and random patterns.

High hardness, with good resistance to impact, pressure and scratching.

The conductivity of copper is better than that of stainless steel.

Environmentally friendly, compared with pure copper plates, it saves copper resources and reduces costs.

Application Of Copper Stainless Steel

Background wall & column cladding

Ceiling & suspended ceiling

Metal door

Furniture finish

Bar decoration

Elevator car

Hardware accessories

10.Antique Copper

Antique copper stainless steel,By manually mixing multiple processes, the stainless steel surface presents rust, bronze, bronze or mottled aging effects, which are very artistic. The aging process is difficult and time-consuming, and is mainly used in high-end customization and artworks.

Advantages of Antique Copper Stainless Steel

Unique beauty, with texture that cannot be replicated. Even on the same antique SS sheet it is usually impossible to find the same pattern, texture, and color on different parts.

Unique aging style, the surface presents mottled rust and retro color effects,

Diverse styles, more than 100 retro stainless steel plate designs

Corrosion-resistant and durable, after artistic aging treatment, the oxide layer on its surface can further enhance its corrosion resistance, enabling it to adapt to various complex environments.

Application Of Antique Copper Stainless Steel

Cabinets & niches & tabletops

Internal and external walls & column cladding

Ceilings & ceilings

Door frames & window frames

Screens & partitions

Signs, logos

Fireplace cladding, TV wall cladding

Lamps & sculptures

Wood Grain

stainless steel wood grain transfer sheets,Use heat transfer or water transfer technology to transfer wood grain patterns to stainless steel surfaces.

Advantages of Wood Grain Stainless Steel

Realistic imitation wood texture, rich colors

Corrosion-resistant, rust-proof, high-strength, wear-resistant, impact-resistant

UV-resistant, high and low temperature-resistant, no fading, no deformation

Green and environmentally friendly without pollution

Application Of Wood Grain Stainless Steel

Architectural design & interior design

Wall decoration

Furniture design

Ceiling design

Kitchen design

Outdoor facilities decoration

Transportation design

Comparison Of Cost, Difficulty And Durability

The cost of different surface treatments varies greatly:

High-tech processes such as PVD color require expensive vacuum coating equipment, with huge investment per unit, but can achieve high uniformity and wear-resistant coatings with medium production efficiency;

Copper plating has medium cost, and its actual cost is about one-third of pure copper plate, with high durability. Mechanical processing (drawing, stamping patterns, sandblasting) equipment has moderate investment, high production efficiency, and is industrial production-friendly; its durability is determined by the stainless steel body, and the general processing surface has good anti-corrosion performance after surface passivation treatment.

etching requires professional chemicals and clean processes, with medium to high cost and difficulty, but can achieve fine patterns.

polishing has the highest requirements for labor and equipment, takes a long time, and has a low yield; high gloss but easy to show scratches, requiring subsequent AFP (anti-fingerprint) coating protection.

Wood grain transfer requires printing and thermal transfer equipment, and the process cost is higher than ordinary drawing but lower than PVD; durability is better than film, suitable for mid-to-high-end mass production.

Antique copper has a strong human factor, the process is complex and batch consistency is difficult, the cost is the highest, and the durability depends on whether a protective coating is added. It is mostly used for small-batch customization.

In summary, methods such as wire drawing, stamping and sandblasting are suitable for large-scale industrial production; processes such as mirror, artistic aging, and wood grain transfer tend to be high-end customization and manual processing.

Conclusion

The above are 11 common stainless steel surface treatments. Stainless steel surface treatment technologies are diverse and have their own advantages. They should be selected according to application scenarios, budgets, and maintenance requirements. When purchasing, taking into account both aesthetics and practicality is the key to achieving cost-effectiveness and durability.