Arawfish
Green Thumb
high heat can change the color of stainless steel. The color change is caused by the oxidation of the chromium in the steel. As the steel is heated, the chromium atoms react with oxygen in the air to form a thin layer of chromium oxide. This layer of oxide is what gives stainless steel its characteristic color.
The color of the oxide layer will vary depending on the temperature at which the steel is heated. For example, heating stainless steel to a temperature of 550 degrees Fahrenheit will result in a pale yellow color, while heating it to a temperature of 1100 degrees Fahrenheit will result in a dark blue color.
The heat coloring process can be used to create a variety of different colors on stainless steel. It is a popular technique for customizing stainless steel products, such as knives, jewelry, and home décor items.
Here is a table of the different colors that can be achieved by heat coloring stainless steel:
Temperature (°F) Color 550 Pale yellow 650 Light orange 750 Dark orange 850 Brown 950 Purple 1050 Blue 1150 Dark blue
It is important to note that the heat coloring process can also weaken the stainless steel. Therefore, it is important to use caution when heat coloring stainless steel, and to avoid heating it to temperatures that are too high.
Yeah, see, I knew all that. Which is why I thought an hour at 950 would do the trick to get it sorta where I like things to be.