How to Satin Finish Stainless Steel Tube Fillet Welds

How to brush finish inner tube joints and box sections

The intricate process of achieving a satin finish on stainless steel tube fillet weld joints and box sections requires precision and patience.

Save time by following Cibo’s simplified process;

Time Saving Kit 02 provides perfectly sized products to sand narrow inner corners, allowing you to achieve a high quality brush finish in just minutes.

Sound good? Read our detailed guide below.

What are Time Saving Kits?

A Cibo Time Saving Kit contains all the products and information you need to complete your desired process. There are 3 kits for satin finishing and 3 for mirror polishing. See all kits here.

Process Overview

Sand down the welded joints using Cibo’s unitised discs.

Manually smooth a section of the Tex belt over your workpiece. (Inner tube joints only.)

Use the rubber bonded sanding block to obtain a smooth blend. (Inner box sections only.)

Clean up using Inoxiclean spray.

Continue reading for extra tips and in-depth information regarding the TSK02 process…

Step 1: Preparation

Firstly, attach the MA/8/T30 unitised disc to your Finit-Easy machine and set to 3000 RPM.

Dress the new unitised sanding disc against an abrasive file with attached grip strip before first use. This allows the three dimensional abrasive structure to be used at it’s optimum ability.

Abrasive tip: To avoid the Finit Easy protective guard from preventing you reaching the inner corner of your workpiece, use a click and slide movement to lock it into a suitable position.

Step 2: Sanding The Welds

Using the MA/8/T30 disc, sand down the welded joint in the direction of the final finish. Continue until the stainless steel is smooth and the joint is no longer visible.

Abrasive tip: When working on inner tube joints, sand around the curve up to the area where the outer corner begins.

Replace your current unitised disc with SA/5/T31. By moving this disc along the weld, you can blend the sanding pattern left by the MA/8 disc.

To remove the weld discolouration, move the SA/5 disc away from the inner corner and back again. The flexibility of the disc reduces the risk of undercutting during this step.

Once satisfied with this result, repeat the process on the opposite side of the inner joint.

Step 3: Restoring The Brushed Finish (Inner Tube Joints Only)

This step is only necessary when brush finishing inner tube corners. If you are working on an inner box section, skip to the next part of our guide.

Cut a 10cm section from the open FMGRT/AF/60040 tex belt and manually smooth it over the outer to inner corner transition to achieve a nice cutting line.

Next, wrap the belt over the tube and move it back and forth towards the corner in the direction of the existing structure.

Abrasive tip: You can make the finish more coarse or fine by repeating the previous step with a higher or lower grit belt.

Step 3: Restoring The Brushed Finish (Inner Box Sections Only)

This step is only necessary when brush finishing inner box sections . If you are working on an inner tube joints, skip to the next part of our guide.

Currently, the sanding pattern left by the unitised disc will still be visible. To correct this, use the FORU/60 rubber bonded sanding block, applying gentle pressure in long, parallel lines up to the corner.

Move the block far enough beyond your immediate work area to obtain the smoothest possible blend with the rest of your workpiece.

Repeat this process on the opposite side of the joint.

Abrasive tip: You can make the finish more coarse or fine by repeating the previous step with a higher or lower grit rubber sanding block.

Step 4: Cleaning Up

How to Mirror Polish Stainless Steel Mitre Corners — How to brush finish inner tube joints and box sections

Use Cibo’s Inoxiclean spray in collaboration with a soft, microfibre cloth to clean your workpiece and protect it against grease and fingermarks.

What is Included in Time Saving Kit 02?

All of the essential products you need for the brush finish process are inside the box;

MA/8/T30 (x2 Discs) Unitised discs in grade 8 measuring 150mm x 3mm x25.4mm to sand down the welded joint.
SA/5/T31 (x2 Discs) Unitised discs in grade 5 measuring 150mm x 6mm x 25.4mm to blend the finish left by the previous abrasive disc.
FORU/60 (x1 Block) Rubber bonded sanding block in 60 grit to blend the grain and refine the finish of an inner box section.
FMGRT/AF/60040 (x2 Belts) Fine grade Tex/ Scotchbrite belts for a final satin finish on inner tube joints.
The following extras are not in the kit, but we do recommend them in order to take the quality of the finish a step further;
SV/19030 Velcro-faced hand dressing file with grip fixing for abrasive strips.
706GR/24/V006 (Available in packs of 25) Silicone Carbide 24 grit grip strips for use with the abrasive file.
SPIC Inoxiclean Stainless steel spray to protect your workpiece from fingermarks.
SMFEMA Finiteasy Cibo’s hand-held fillet weld grinding machine, essential for completing this process.