The importance of top quality metal finish in manufacturing is obvious to anyone who has worked in the industry or seen the finished products. Whether it is a home building, a vessel, a car, or any other product that ends up out in the customer’s hands, you want only the best materials and a top-quality metal finish to create the finished piece.
A dull, ugly, low-quality metal finish will not get the same reaction from the human eye like a beautifully finished product with a perfect gleam. If you are a manufacturer or a retailer, it is especially important that your products have a professional and appealing finish.
There are many different types of metal finishes available for you to choose from. However, there are only two really important metal finishes to pay attention to: sandblasting and painless deburring. Blasting a metal can be done by either using machining or by a die-cutting process.
The metal is heated and an abrasive is used to quickly and effectively remove imperfections in the metal. When the material is cool, it is easily ground back into the original form and will retain that original luster. This type of finish is inexpensive and does not require too much manual labor or machinery.
The drawback is that it does take a good bit more time to do this finish correctly and may require more than one coat. It also leaves small ragged edges on the metal and could chip over time. For this reason, it is often used in low-volume production runs, but it may be worth it if you have the time and money to achieve a professional-recurring job.
The most expensive metal finish available is a hard coat metal finish. It is accomplished by painting a high-quality metal surface with a coating that is hard enough to withstand the wear but soft enough to still be smooth and nearly indestructible.
This type of finish is the pinnacle of deburring machines and can save companies a lot of money on costly lawsuits and replacement vehicles. However, this finish also takes the longest to apply and may not be worth the extra cost.
For areas where you are not using an abrasive, but still want a smooth and consistent surface, there are still options available. One option is to use a surface finisher. These products work much like varnish because they cover only the top of the metal and create a smooth and consistent surface.
These products can be used to seal components and are frequently used in conjunction with a primer and base coat. The most important reason to use a metal finish is to make sure that your product looks great when it arrives at your customer’s location.
This is especially important when shipping metal items, which can sometimes retain luster for several days or even weeks after they have been shipped. Another reason to use a finish is to give your customers confidence in your ability to deliver a high-quality product.
This will add to the positive feedback that they can give you and help assure them that your product is worth the money that they are paying you. You will find a variety of products available. Some of these include a hard-wearing synthetic varnish, epoxy, and others. Many will allow you to use multiple coats for a great effect.
If you want a high-quality product that is consistent, you may want to use a custom finish. These often offer anodized finishes that can be locked in after you sell the item to your customer.
In conclusion, the importance of top quality metal products is to create a product appearance consistent with other metals. If you sell products to people who are looking for a good metal product, it is imperative that you provide a product that looks great and feels good.
With a little effort, you can improve the product appearance consistent with other metals. Moreover, we encourage you to pop over to this MIL DTL 5541 blog post which will ultimately aid you in manufacturing next-level steel products.