Premium grade metals and high quality finishes

Specify your tubes from our wide selection of materials and finishes

Below is an outline of the different metals available for tube fabrication, as well as the various finishes that we provide for our stainless steel tubing, brass tubing and aluminium tubing. If you have any questions on materials and finishes, our technical advisors can help guide you through the options available for your application.

Mirror polished aluminium oval tubing, mirror polished brass radiused rectangle tubing, satin finished stainless steel oval tubing

Stainless Steel

Most of our tubing is fabricated from stainless steel because it is versatile, durable and sustainable. It is easy to clean, which makes it a hygienic choice for public buildings and healthcare applications.

Stainless steels are iron alloys with a minimum of 10.5% chromium. Other alloying elements such as nickel, molybdenum and titanium are added to enhance structure, formability and strength, as well as non-metals such as carbon and nitrogen. Stainless steel covers a wide range of steel types and grades for corrosion / oxidation-resistant applications; to qualify for each type or grade, it must meet the corrosion-resistance requirements.

We do not form our tubes from mild steel, or use any mild steel tooling, not only because it lacks the quality of stainless steel, but because it contaminates the stainless steel that we form from. The lack of alloying elements in mild steel means that it is prone to oxidisation (rust) if it’s not properly coated. By contrast, stainless steel boasts impressive anti-corrosive properties.

Find out more about why we believe stainless steel is superior to mild steel for the applications we making tubing for.

Mirror polished stainless steel oval tubing

Stainless Steel Grades

Our Stainless Steel Finishes

Our specialist in-house polishing department provides a comprehensive choice of finishes for your metal tubing or components. 

The team of talented polishers carefully hand polish metalwork using premium-grade mops and polishing compounds to ensure that you receive high quality results. We have a fastidious quality control procedure to make sure that all polishing work adheres to our Timeless standards. 

A technical advisor will happily talk you through our Timeless polishing classification system, and what might be most suitable for your application. While the images below can be used as a guide, there is no substitute for having a physical sample of tubing or metalwork with your desired finish to allow you to make an informed choice.

Stainless Steel

Reflective Finishes

These finishes are achieved using handheld oscillating machines, mops and compounds. There is no discernible grain to these finishes. This means that contaminants cannot reside in the grain, making these finishes a sensible choice for corrosive environments.

Stainless Steel

Grained Finishes

These finishes are achieved using abrasive media.
Non-reflective and easy to maintain, these popular finishes can effectively disguise blemishes and fingerprints. 

Stainless Steel

Other Finishes

Aluminium

Aluminium is an important material because it is light, durable and functional. It is one of the lightest metals but it’s also strong and flexible. Its surface is covered in an extremely thin yet strong layer of oxide film, which makes It highly corrosion-resistant. It also resists heat damage and is a great electricity conductor. It doesn’t magnetise, and it forms alloys with most other metals.

We have formed and fabricated tubing for several applications using aluminium - from bimini sun shades on yachts to retail hanging rails.

Mill finish aluminium oval tubing

Aluminium Grades

Aluminium Finishes

Our polishing team boast years’ of experience polishing aluminium. They will be happy to advise on the finishes available for your application. After your chosen finish it is advised that the metalwork is anodised to strengthen the metal and prevent it from oxidising.

When anodising and sandblasting is required we work with trusted suppliers to achieve these specialist finishes.

Brass CZ108 H/H

Brass is an alloy consisting of copper and zinc, which is stronger than pure copper and provides a lighter, gold-like finish. Brass is the most common of the copper-based alloys. It has a good corrosion resistance. We typically use ‘basis brass’ for tube fabrication as it has excellent cold forming attributes, and can be readily soldered.

Mill finish brass radiused rectangle

Brass Finishes

Our polishing team boast years’ of experience polishing aluminium. They will be happy to advise on the finishes available for your application. After your chosen finish it is advised that the metalwork is anodised to strengthen the metal and prevent it from oxidising.

When anodising and sandblasting is required we work with trusted suppliers to achieve these specialist finishes.

Cupronickel 90/10 CU90NI10

Also known as copper-nickel, cupronickel is a group of alloys containing copper and nickel. We use cupronickel 90/10, which contains 90% copper and 10% nickel, with small quantities of iron and manganese for strength and corrosion-resistance. Cupronickel 90/10 has a warm colour that is similar to bronze, which makes it an extremely cost-effective alternative to bronze.

Cupronickel has high electrical resistivity.

cupronickel in a mill finish

Other Metals

We can also fabricate tubing from other metals such as titanium, copper and bronze — contact us for more information on using alternative materials.

Please note we do not use or polish mild steel in our workshops to prevent contamination issues.

titanium in a mill finish
Titanium

Request a Sample

Our team will happily chat to you to help guide you through the options available for your application, and our Timeless polishing classification system.

While our images can be used as a guide, there is no substitute for having a physical sample of tubing or metalwork with your desired finish to allow you to make an informed choice. Please contact us to request samples.

brass, copper and cupronickel shaped tubing