The majority of uses for stainless steel coil tape require that the original appearance of the building be maintained over time. In determining the type of stainless steel coil tape to be selected, the main considerations are the aesthetic standards required, the corrosiveness of the atmosphere where it is located and the cleaning regime to be used. Other applications are increasingly just seeking structural integrity or impermeability.
Examples include roofs and sidewalls of industrial buildings. In these applications, the cost of construction to the owner may be more important than aesthetics, and surfaces that are not very clean are fine. The use of 304 stainless steel works quite well in dry indoor environments.
However, to maintain its appearance outdoors in rural and urban areas, it needs to be cleaned frequently. In heavily polluted industrial and coastal areas, the surface can be very dirty and even rusty. But to get the aesthetic effect in outdoor environment, it is necessary to use nickel-containing stainless steel coil tape. Therefore, 304 stainless steel is widely used for curtain walls, sidewalls, roofs and other architectural uses, but 316 stainless steel is used in highly aggressive industrial or marine atmospheres. There are several design guidelines that include both 304 and 316 stainless steel.
