How Do You Choose the Correct Stainless Steel?

By Rob Ellis | 19th April, 2016 For those who have a need for such things, the choice of steel grades available is close to dizzying. You could spend years comparing and contrasting all of the different grades and compositions, but thankfully there are times when the final usage of the steel guides you away from unsuitable materials and closer to the right choice. Even when you’ve managed to narrow it down to a specific group of steels, such as stainless steel, there are still a great number of individual types that have different compositions and characteristics, tweaking each one to slightly different specifications. Knowing what you want your steel to do, however, can further cut down the array of stainless steel options. The overriding characteristic of all stainless steel is that it can resist levels of corrosion in conditions that would weaken or destroy other steels in a much shorter space of time. Whereas it’s possible to treat some metals to help them more resilient to oxidisation, such as galvanising the outer layer of metal with a less reactive coating of zinc, stainless steel has a much thicker and stronger protective layer within the metal itself.

For more information on How Do You Choose the Correct Stainless Steel? talk to West Yorkshire Steel Co Ltd