Stainless steel surface is really important that you should remind yourself before buying it. If the surface is too rough, then an ability of corrosion resistance will become less, especially for low grade stainless steel. There is a bunch of surface type such as matte polished, smooth polished, patterned, colorful, and more. Stainless steel surface/texture can be differed based on EN10088 standard as below:

1D: Produced by using hot rolling and heat treatment process. It has a rough surface, not polished, so it is not suitable for decoration or any work that requires aesthetics.

2D: Matte appearance and rarely reflects light, produced by cold rolling process follow by heat treatment, then using acid to remove oxide. Mostly it is used in industrial works or areas that do not require aesthetics.

2B: It has a smooth and polished surface, well light reflection. It is produced by cold rolling method and then heated it, after that remove oxide stains out. Finally, it is rolled by polished roller again, it can be used as a gutter.

BA: It has an annealed surface seems like a mirror from using an exfoliating roller, surface grinding can be done according to which grades. It can be used for architectural works, kitchenware, equipment for food process.

No.4: Hairline which the surface looks like a thin line. It is produced by sanding with sandpaper No. 120-200 Mesh, usually used for restaurant, elevator, kitchenware, and more.

No.8: Polished surface, can be reflects light much more than BA type. Required more sanding process by using such as wooled cloth, 1000 grit sandpaper, and more. It is generally manufactured as a stainless steel sheets, usually used for architectural decoration and work that requires aesthetics.