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Finishing stainless steel? With such a wide range of options which are the best Scotchbrite brushes for drills when finishing stainless steel? Read our recommendations for the four most effective and popular brushes we supply for stainless fabrication work.
Polishing Box Section & Sheet Stainless with Spindle Brushes
Most equipment in kitchens and food processing areas use box section stainless steel for the structural elements. In these areas being able to work with a hand held drill or straight grinder is often the most efficient way to work. But which brushes will get you to a finish most quickly? The three most common brushes are combi brushes (for example our CS/60/80506. Scotchbrite or Tex brushes such as the Cibo code TS/M/80506. Or the new unitised brushes in the Cibo FA3 and FA4 range.
When To Use Scotchbrite Brushes on a Drill
The simple rule is: If you have to do lots of edge work or are dressing welds then the Combi brushes are best. When working on flat surfaces or along lengths of box section then the Tex brushes are the most popular option.
We want to recommend 3 Tex / Scotchbrite brushes for drills which will do 80% of the work for satin finishing box section stainless steel.
Option 1: For Deburring and Dressing the top of Spot Welds
Using a combination brush is essential here.
A few years ago we developed the CSC/60 combination brush. Using a powerful drill or straight grinder the CSC/60 really comes into it’s own. The CSC/60 (or Ginger Ninja!) has the aggression to remove burrs and high spots from welds.
Work at high pressure to remove material. Sand at a low pressure to put a satin / grain finish on the metal.
In the picture the CSC/60 remove the weld colour and deburred the area around the weld to leave a burr free, smooth surface on an outdoor slide.
Option 2: For Brush Finishing Satin Finished Box Section
By far our most popular Scotchbrite / Tex brushes are the 80 x 50mm wheels.
When working along the length of box section then the Tex Medium grade brushes will grain the surface to leave a visible satin finish whilst having the aggression to hide any light marks and scratches.
In the picture the TS Medium brush has removed the weld discolouration and put a bright satin finish onto mill finished tube.
The Tex brushes will not remove metal or burrs like the combination brushes do.
Option 3: Removing Weld Discolouration on Sheet Metal
On sheet metal fabrication the only real option for graining has been the traditional Tex / Scotchbrite nonwoven wheels. They work well on smooth surfaces but the struggle close to edges. Likewise Combi wheels work well where there is a more aggressive action required but tend to polish after some use. The new FAUS unitised wheels provide the soft finishing action that comes with a traditional Tex wheel with the durability of the unitised form.
The FAUS unitised wheels come in a range of densities.
The FAUS grade 3 wheel is the most popular addition to the Cibo family. Again it is available in wheel size 80 x 50 for a 6mm spindle which works well with most drills and straight grinders.
The FAUS wheels are proving to be a very versatile addition to the Cibo range.
The most popular use for the FAUS density 3 is for blending sheet metal fabrications after welding. The lightest touch will remove the weld discolouration and allow you to blend with the original grain finish.
Got a Bigger Machine?
Cibo also manufacture a wide range of wheels for the Finimaster keyway, the Finimaster Pro machines and also a range of wheels to fit the Cibo Finipower Plus variable speed grinders. Select the links below to go to these products:
- Finishing wheels for the Finimaster Keyway (wheel size 100 x 100 x 19mm)
- Finishing wheels for the Cibo Finimaster Pro (wheel size 120 x 110 x M14)
- Finishing wheels for the Cibo Finipower Plus and variable speed grinders (wheel size 120 x 50 x M14)
