Stainless Steel Strip Surface Finishes 2B BA and 2H Explained

2B the Standard Cold Rolled Finish

2B is cold rolled, annealed, descaled and given a light final pass. It is smooth and uniform with a slightly dull reflection. This is the default finish and it is the right one for anything that will be painted, coated, hidden or used where appearance is not a requirement.

BA Bright Annealed

BA is annealed in a controlled atmosphere so no scale forms and no descaling is needed. The surface stays highly reflective, close to mirror like. Specify BA when the finished surface is visible and uncoated. Ordering 2B for a visible part is one of the most common and most expensive specification mistakes.

2H Hard Rolled

2H is the surface that comes with hard rolled tempers. It is produced by cold rolling to strength rather than by a finishing operation, so it accompanies the harder tempers rather than being chosen independently of them.

Finish Interacts With Forming

A bright finish shows every defect that a dull one hides. Draw marks, die pickup and handling scratches that would pass unnoticed on 2B will reject a BA part. If you move a part from 2B to BA, expect to revisit die polishing, lubrication and handling at the same time.