For chrome steel sculptures like this walleye, Steve Nielsen makes use of many alternative grits of abrasives earlier than lastly ending with a buffing wheel. Photographs: Steve Nielsen Artwork
Typically you take a look at artwork to search out one thing about your self. With a chrome steel artwork piece, you don’t should look that tough.
Stainless-steel is a finicky materials to work with. It has nice corrosion resistance, which is why you see it utilized in all kinds of food-related functions, but it surely conducts warmth poorly when welded, concentrating it within the joint space. The dearth of warmth distribution may cause uneven materials enlargement and contraction, which may result in weld distortion. As soon as welded, chrome steel is vulnerable to marring if the correct protections usually are not put in place. Attempting to take away a deep scratch, for example, requires some elbow grease and expert palms.
However when the fabric is polished to the purpose that it’s a mirror to the world round it, individuals discover. They actually see themselves within the work.
Steve Nielsen of Oroville, Calif., has developed a little bit of a popularity for his chrome steel fabrication work. And that helped to launch his metallic artist profession.
From Truck Components to Steel Artwork
For years, Nielsen ran his personal firm, designing, making, putting in, and transport totally adjustable air suspension system for vehicles. However the creative bug was at all times there, as he dabbled in airbrushing and customized portray of bikes and helmets and labored on some murals.
Then in 1998, he bought a high-definition plasma chopping desk to assist increase his air suspension enterprise. It ignited his inventive aspect as nicely. “I need to’ve made lots of of skeletal artwork items, like a 12-ft.-long crocodile and a 9-ft. lengthy dinosaur,” he mentioned.
By 2006, he labored arduous late at night time and on weekends to increase his creative endeavors. In the end, he made a few chrome steel salmon sculptures for a neighborhood on line casino. Phrase received round, supported by footage of the work on Nielsen’s MySpace web page, and he began getting extra requests for various sized salmon and trout sculptures. That was adopted by a job for metallic butterflies, which everybody appeared to like as nicely.
“About that point, Fb turned a factor, and everybody was on it,” Nielsen recalled. “I used to be working 24/7 to maintain up with all of my aspect artwork enterprise whereas nonetheless devoted to constructing and transport out air suspension kits.”
The Inventive Path
In January 2013, he determined to stroll away from the truck aftermarket elements enterprise and focus 100% on his artwork. He spent all of his time these first few months finishing a chrome steel eagle for the town of Oroville. He had been engaged on the sculpture, which had 4,000 feathers, for the reason that spring of 2009.
As a full-time metallic artist, Nielsen has spent many hours making his chrome steel work stand out. Right here’s his recommendation for individuals seeking to comply with in his footsteps:
This sculpture of a brown trout was formed from 18 gauge metal and detailed with airbrush paint.
“On chrome steel, if you’d like an ideal mirror end, it’s important to begin sanding with no matter grit will take away the deepest scratches or textures within the piece you’re engaged on—usually 60 to 120 grit to begin. As soon as these scratches are gone, I am going to sand in a single course earlier than going as much as the following greater, finer grit. In case you began with 40 grit, the following grit might be 60 grit. As soon as every grit removes the entire earlier grit scratches, keep in mind to cross-sand 90 diploma of the earlier grit. In case you missed any of the deeper scratches they’ll present. Be sure that all scratches are gone out of your earlier grit earlier than shifting on.
“As a rule of thumb, I don’t like skipping any of the next grits with stainless. Sanding rigorously with every grit is time-consuming, however arguably it’s rather a lot much less time than attempting to shine deep scratches with a buffer.”
In order the method goes, after sanding with 60 grit, Nielsen follows up with grits of 120, 240, 400, 600, 800, 1,200, and a couple of,000, making certain that the scratches from the earlier grit are utterly eliminated earlier than shifting to the following. He finishes sanding at a excessive grit, say 2,500 or greater relying on how excellent a mirror end is desired. On some polished stainless sculptures, he has completed with 3,000 grit earlier than shifting on to a buffer.
For buffing, Nielsen makes use of a black sprucing compound on a spiral sewn 8-in. buffing wheel, striving to shine in the identical course. As soon as he’s achieved the most effective end potential with the black compound, he strikes to a free, non-sewn, 8-in. buffing wheel and makes use of inexperienced or white compound to convey out that shiny, flawless mirror end.
Nielsen added that he likes working with Dynabrade air instruments and 3M and Norton abrasive discs. He additionally famous that when working with chrome steel, it is essential to make use of model new abrasives that haven’t been used on different varieties of metals or alloys to keep away from cross contamination. The identical goes for buffing wheels.
“When you excellent the method [of stainless finishing],” he mentioned, “it may be duplicated by anybody so long as they’re prepared to do the work.”
