Scale - layers of iron oxide which build up on steel at high temperatures - is normally unwanted, so it is removed through pickling.

SCS brushing removes scale too, but with an important difference: SCS brushing removes nearly all the scale, but leaves a microns-thin layer bonded to the base steel.

As this scale-to-steel bond is polished through SCS brushing, it develops attractive properties, the most important being it actually inhibits rust ! SCS samples over four years old, with no surface treatment, show no signs of rust. Brushing also leaves the surface clean and smooth - a cold-rolled surface - ready for fabricating or painting with little or no pre-treatment.