Stainless Steel - not shiney?

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Today I bought a little bit of scrap stainless and some aluminum. I also got some schedule 40 pipe and some thicker pieces of carbon steel for a stand I want to build for my bench grinder......Anyway..... the stainless appears to have a patina on it. I thought stainless was shiny. Is this normal for stainless to have a coating of dull finish on it?The stainless is the piece on top of the other stuff in the pics. I got it to practice running TIG lines on. The piece of Aluminum is for the same purpose....... Attached ImagesPrecision TIG 185 and MP 210Bobcat 225NTCutmaster 42O/A tanks.... 2 Argon tanks...... 2 C25 TanksFacebook...... F2 Metal WorksETSY....... https://www.etsy.com/shop/F2MetalWorksF2MetalWorks.com....... http://www.f2metalworks.com/
Reply:"stainless steel" is just that, stainLESS steel.Not steel that will never ever rust or corrode or discolor no matter what you do to it.And the 'shine' on a piece of steel (or anything else for that matter) depends on how polished the substance is.Sandblast a piece of glass and it can look all milky-murky.Unpolished piece of steel (plain or stainless) can be dull-looking or brushed or shiny (if polished).  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:That's a normal color. If you want it to be "shiny" you can take like a 120 grit sand disk to it then hit it with a Medium level Scotch bright disk. that will shine it up, but not for ever.
Reply:Ah, ok that makes sense. ThanksPrecision TIG 185 and MP 210Bobcat 225NTCutmaster 42O/A tanks.... 2 Argon tanks...... 2 C25 TanksFacebook...... F2 Metal WorksETSY....... https://www.etsy.com/shop/F2MetalWorksF2MetalWorks.com....... http://www.f2metalworks.com/
Reply:Different alloys appear different. 304 is a dull finish it will shine up a little bit, 316 has more shine to it.
Reply:I agree with above posts. I'll add one bit, the dull finish is called a 'mill' finish.
Reply:looks normal to me :]
Reply:Originally Posted by leightrepairsDifferent alloys appear different. 304 is a dull finish it will shine up a little bit, 316 has more shine to it.
Reply:All metals can be shiny...It just has to do with the surface.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:the dull "mill" finish is usually referred to as "2B"Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Originally Posted by fdcmiamiyou might spend a little time on an SS site;  you would benefit from it.
Reply:Originally Posted by Dualiethe dull "mill" finish is usually referred to as "2B"
Reply:Originally Posted by that'll_buff_outAny suggestions for a newbie like me? I have zero ss experience.Do you have a few sites to suggest?
Reply:Over time, stainless steel will "oxidise" in the atmosphere. Thats where you get the dull looking finnish to it. As anyone who has wleded stainless pipe knows, a wire wheel on a grinder should be used to remove the oxide layer off the pipe before welding. That brings back the bright finnish and removes the oxide contaminents from the weld area.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720