Application Guide:

Finishing Balustrades and Handrails

Satin Finish and Mirror Polish

The three most common finishes used for stainless steel hand rails are:

  1. 240 grit / DP1 finish. In reality this finish varies enormously dependent on the

       tube supplier. Irrespective of that it is easily possible to bring all the varying

       tubes supplied to a common finish with the Finitube.

  2. 320 grit. This is a fine satin finish and will be achieved with a FE3 surface

       conditioning belt

  3. Mirror polish. The variations in mirror polish are even greater than in scratch / satin  

     finishes. Specifiers often only mean ‘shiny’ and great care is advised in understanding

      the exact finish required.

Assumptions:

 - Reasonable quality Tig welds

  - The welds need to be removed completely such that no welds are visible.

 - The correct machine speeds are employed for each stage of the process

We will break the process down into:

   1. External / Mitre corners of the hand rail

  2. Butt joint welds along the tube

  3. Internal corners on 900 and acute angles

  4. Weld discolouration on the glass ‘tabs’

  5. Final finish on the hand rail

  6. Footplate - Flat surface scale removal and graining

  7. Final protective coating

1. External / Mitre Corners of the Hand Rail

Machine required: Finipower or Finit-Easy variable speed grinders.

Product: RCD Combination Disc

Grade: Medium (Combination Flap Disc)

Size: 115 or 125 x 22mm

Speed: 3 – 4,000rpm

To get the best from the RCD you need to use it with the machine along the length of the tube and held at a shallow angle to the weld. This will allow you to remove the weld and put a 240 grit satin finish directly onto the metal. For many general hand rail jobs this finish is sufficient.

Note: Do not be concerned about flat spotting the tube. RCD has a natural tendency to follow the contour and will do an excellent job of recovering damaged tubes where an in-experienced operative has gone in too deep with a 60 grit flap disc.

2. Butt joint welds along the tube

Step 1: Using the Finipower grinder set on setting 4 or 5 carefully dress out the weld and any undercut. Being careful not to go too deep into the parent metal.

Machine required: Finipower or FinitEasy variable speed grinders.

Product X-Tend 80 grit flap disc

Size: 115 or 125 x 22mm

Speed: 5 – 6,000rpm

Note: Welding a butt jointed tube without getting some small amount of mis-match is very difficult. It is for this reason that we first recommend taking down the metal with the X-Tend flap discs which give the required flexibility. Running at half the speed of a standard grinder will keep the heat of the metal and give greater control (as well as making the abrasives last longer!)

Step 2: Go over the X-Tend sanding lines with the RCD ensuring that you orientate the sanding lines in the correct direction for the final finish required.

Machine required: Finipower or Finit-Easy variable speed grinders.

Product RCD Medium (Combination Flap Disc)

Size: 115 or 125 x 22mm

Speed: 3 –4,000rpm

To get the best from the RCD you need to use it with the machine along the length of the tube and held at a shallow angle to the weld. This will allow you to remove the weld and put a 240 grit satin finish directly onto the metal. For many general hand rail jobs this finish is sufficient.

Note: Do not be concerned about flat spotting the tube. RCD has a natural tendency to follow the contour and will do an excellent job of recovering damaged tubes where an in-experienced operative has gone in too deep with a 60 grit flap disc.

3. Remove of welds on internal corners

Machine required: Finit-Easy variable speed grinder

Product: SA7 disc followed by RCD (medium)

Grade: Medium (Combination Flap Disc)

Size: SA7 – probably 3mm wide + RCD 125 x 22mm

Speed setting: SA7 and RCD speed 3

With all new SA wheels first dress the wheel with the black abrasive Velcro strips on the dressing file to remove the sharp edges.

Use the SA7 wheel to remove the body of the weld and blend out the weld into the metal of the tube such that the weld cannot be seen. The quality of the finish is improved by continually moving the disc along the weld and also by leaning the disc from side to side such that the side of the disc is blending the edge of the weld into the body of the tube.

High pressure is not required.

Do not use the SA7 to remove any weld discolouration.

Once the weld shape is correct use the RCD medium disc to restore the grain finish as close as possible to the original tube and to remove any weld discolouration.

4. Weld discolouration on the glass ‘tabs’

Machine required: Finit-Easy variable speed grinder

Product: SA5 disc

Grade: 5

Size: 150 x 6mm

Speed setting: slow speed, 1 or 2

Run the SA5 gently along the weld to remove the colour. Regrain the final surface if required with a medium S scotchbrite pad or with a 60 grit rubbing block (included in the Finitube kit).

5. Final finish on the hand rail

Machine required: Finitube

Product: JF4top + Surface Conditioning Belt

Grade: 150 grit + Medium scm

Size: 675 x 40mm

Speed setting: medium speed, 3

Note – to blend the final finish with the original tube varying the belt speed will make a significant difference:

· Slower speed Coarser finish

· Higher speed Finer finish

With a little practice you will be able to go directly to the surface conditioning belt after the RCD however if you use the JF4top 150 grit belt before the medium scm belt you will achieve a deeper / richer final finish.

6. Footplate - Flat surface scale removal and graining

Machine required: Finimaster

Product: HG49T ceramic belt + 337DC Trizact™ Belt + FMTM wheel

Grade: 36 grit(red) + 337DC A300 (green belt) + 80 grit tex

Speed setting: HG49top speed 4, 337 DC speed 2 / 3, FMTM/80 speed 1/2

Descale the plates initially with a coarse sanding disc being careful not to create an uneven surface. Use the HG49top belt on the inflatable tyre to create a consistent grain and remove and sanding lines. Change the belt to the 337DC and repeat the process until you have a high quality sating finish.

When the finish is complete change to the FMTM/80 tex wheel and lightly go over the surface to give a final blend and remove and burrs to leave a soft touch finish.

7. Final protective coating