WeldingMetal

Polishing stainless is an art in itself.  It is very difficult to do if you don’t have the right tools. 

The grain polish can be acheived in 3 or 4 steps.  Let’s say that you have just laid a nice bead on a corner joint. 

The first step is to shape the weld bead by using a flap disc.  A 60 or 80 grit is what I usually start off with.  I start in the middle of the weld being careful not to touch any of the base metal.  I take the ripples out and any high spots of the weld first.  My main focus is to go back and forth evenly so that I am not digging into any one spot. 

The second step I usually do is to take a die grinder with a medium scotch brite pad and smooth over the weld.  Once again starting in the middle of the weld bead with a smooth steady motion being careful not to touch anything else but the weld.  You don’t want to vary your angle too much because if you touch the sides than that is just more work you have to do.  The die grinder spins in a circle so it is not putting a grain back in the weld.  This is more of a polish. 

The third step I do is to switch to a finer scotch brite pad and repeat the same process in step two.  This is good for the corner joints and you will notice that the stainless is actually a higher shine than the rest of the metal.  I usually will leave it at that unless the customer wants everything to match.

You can go back with a scotch brite pad on a pneumatic drum wheel and this will put a grain back in the weld.  Once again you just want to go back and forth on the weld only.

The last thing I do is blend it by hand using a fine scotch brite pad going back and forth. 

You have to remember that if this is a sink or something that is going to be used, the stainless will scratch and wear over time so take that into consideration when you are spending a lot of time polishing something to perfection.

The art of welding metal takes time and patience. The more time you devote to learning and practicing, the better you will become.

A lot of people will go out and buy a cheap welder and attempt to weld things without knowing the fundamentals and the principles behind welding.

The concept of welding is that you are melting metal and then adding a filler metal that will join two pieces together. Now this is a very basic explanation of welding, it goes much more in depth than this.

However, the amount of things that can be done through welding are endless. There will always be a need for welders in this day and age.

For those of you who are just starting out, you should really take the time to understand the basics of welding before you strike your first arc. A basic understanding of electricity wouldn’t hurt either.

There are a lot of books out there on welding, but it is important to crawl before you walk. Like I said before, there is a lot of depth to welding and the more you learn about it the more you realize how many different types of welding exist today and the advantages and disadvantages of each.