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FAQs - Stainless Steel
Properties of stainless steel include corrosion and stain resistance, high tensile strength, good formability, and aesthetic appeal. Because it's one of the most hygienic metals, two popular uses for stainless steel are devices and surfaces for the medical industry and food and beverage manufacturing. Online Metals makes buying stainless steel easy with online pricing and ordering and convenient delivery.
Some Stainless Steel alloys are magnetic while others are not. 300 series Stainless Steel is not magnetic or has very little magnetic properties, however, 400 series stainless steel along with 17-4 and 15-5 will be magnetic. (430 stainless sheet is the most commonly used magnetic stainless alloy)
Does Stainless Steel rust?
Stainless Steel is very corrosion resistant because it is alloyed with Chromium which reacts to oxygen and creates a rust resistant barrier. This is not to say that stainless will never rust, in certain conditions it may still corrode. For example, 304 stainless is the most common stainless alloy, but in marine environments it will eventually rust. 316 stainless alloy was created with more nickel to be more corrosion resistant in those Marine environments. Other stainless alloys are specialized to be more corrosion resistant in a number of different situations, i.e. 310 alloy is corrosion resistant in high heat environments.
Is your 304 and 316 stainless-steel Rectangle bar True-bar or is it cut from plate and Edge conditioned?
Chiefly, our stainless rectangle that is thinner than .5” will be Edge conditioned or Gauered bar, while anything .5” thick or greater will be true bar. This is not always true however, so if you require true-bar, please contact us via email or chat to determine if your specific size will be true bar.
Do you stock Precipitation Hardened Stainless Steel Alloys (17-4, 15-5) in different Heat-treated conditions?
All of our PH stainless stock will be Condition A. This means it is annealed and ready to be heat treated to the various heat treat conditions such as H900, H1025, H1100, H1150 etc. The Material test reports for many of these PH alloys will show mechanical properties “as shipped” but will also include the mechanical properties as heat treated to H900 which is the most common heat treatment.
What Stainless Sheet is best for a kitchen applications like backsplash or coverings in a commercial kitchen?
Stainless 304 #4 finish sheet is the best material to use in commercial kitchens because the brushed finish will limit the appearance of fingerprints on the sheets. The most used thickness for backsplash and kitchen coverings is .024” thick.