The finish decides how a sphere behaves in daylight, how it ages outdoors, and whether it shows fingerprints in a showroom. It also decides the maximum diameter, because the colouring processes have different equipment limits.
All finishing happens after forming, welding, cutting and grinding, never before. On a pattern ball or a cut sphere, the surface is finished once the cutting is done.
Step By Step
Mirror polishing
The strongest reflection. Standard on stainless, brass and copper spheres.
Brushed and mill finish
More texture, hides water marks and fingerprints. Common on fountain spheres.
Sandblasting and etching
Matt surface, and the route for map lines, patterns and lettering.
Vacuum metalizing (PVD)
Brilliant mirror or matt transparent candy colour to ∅500mm, fingerprint free.
Titanium electroplating
Metallic colour to ∅2200mm — gold, black, copper, bronze, rainbow — fingerprint free.
Powder coating and spray painting
Car painting method to ∅3500mm, impact resistant, widest colour choice.
What This Covers
- Mirror polish, mill finish, brushed, electroplating, powder coating, sandblasting, etching and silk printing
- Fingerprint free options for retail and display
- Finish applied after cutting so pattern edges stay clean
- Rust patina left intentionally on carbon steel fire pit balls
Product Categories Involved
Stainless Steel Gazing Balls
Candy and metallic coloured mirror spheres finished by vacuum metalizing titanium electroplating or spray painting.
13 products
Garden Steel Pattern Balls
Cut pattern spheres that read as a mirror sculpture by day and a light pattern by night.
2 products
Large Steel Balls
Mirror polished hollow spheres from ∅200mm to ∅3500mm for public art landscape and architecture.
12 products
Hollow Steel Balls
Stamped water pressured or spun hollow spheres from ∅6mm to ∅3500mm with drilling tapping and threaded holes.
13 productsCases Using This Solution
3.6 Meter Large Steel Balls For Santa Fe Opera Theater
The sphere reached site in a standard 40ft container and was assembled from quarter sections.
Santa Fe, United States
Large Stainless Steel Gazing Globes Installed In Singapore
The installation's audio recordings feature familiar everyday sounds, from suburban traffic and MRT trains to chatter in wet markets and coffee shops.
Singapore
Suspended Hollow Stainless Steel Spheres For Publicis Russia
The Sun Lion reads across the workplace as a single suspended image assembled from thousands of mirror spheres.
Moscow, RussiaExplore Further
Related guides
Industry applications
Surface Finishing FAQ
Which finish is best outdoors?
Which finish avoids fingerprints?
Can you polish out a weld seam completely?
Can you sandblast our logo onto the sphere?
Start With a Conversation
The cheapest change to a sphere project is the one made before production starts.