Galvanized carbon steel with stainless steel-like finish

Abstract

A “faux stainless steel” may be produced by processing galvanized carbon steel through a temper mill using textured rolls to develop a “polished” type surface. The galvanized coating is not removed by abrasion but is compressed thereby providing a more uniform substrate than conventional polishing or brushing. The resulting strip may then be coated with an organic film to provide additional appearance and corrosion benefits including anti-fingerprint resistance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process for making a textured carbon steel comprising the steps of:
 applying a galvanized coating to carbon steel;   compressing the galvanized coating, wherein the compression creates a texture on the galvanized coating.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , additionally comprising the step of coating an organic coating over the galvanized coating. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , additionally comprising the step of coating the textured carbon steel with an organic coating of a thickness between 0.1 mil to about 1.0 mil. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , additionally comprising the steps of: selecting an organic coating material selected from polyester, epoxy, acrylic, and polyurethane, and applying the organic coating material to the surface of the textured carbon steel. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 4 , wherein the organic coating material is selected such that the textured carbon steel with the organic coating has a pencil hardness range of F-5H. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 4 , wherein the organic coating material is selected such that the textured carbon steel with the organic coating has a pencil hardness range of H-3H. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , where compression is provided by a temper mill with a force of 500,000-1100,000 pounds. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , where compression is provided by a temper mill with a force of 600,000-900,000 pounds. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the galvanized coating is comprised of zinc, zinc-nickel, zinc-iron, aluminum, or zinc-aluminum. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the galvanized coating is electrogalvanized. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the galvanized coating has a weight of 20 to 90 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the galvanized coating has a weight of 30 to 60 g/m 2 .