Stainless steel FRP, and the stainless wall panel a wash-down room needs.
FRP is a fiberglass sheet. There is no steel in it. When a wash-down room needs a stainless wall, the answer is an insulated panel with a 304 stainless face. Don Ross shows one below.
Stainless insulated panels are installed by our crews or supplied material-only. FRP is supplied only; the contractor doing the work installs it.
The room, what it is washed with, the wall and ceiling square footage, and the framing. Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM.
Paint wears off. Stainless does not.
Caustic cleaners eat paint. Don Ross has watched painted panel faces wear down to the G90 galvanized sheet underneath. Over a caustic wash-down, he calls stainless the best wall surface there is.
The FRP we supply is fiberglass-reinforced plastic. It takes a hose and wipes clean. It is not steel.
So a search for stainless steel FRP wants one of two things: a wall that is steel, or a wall that looks like it. We supply both, and the room decides which.
Two ways to a stainless wall.
The steel: a 304 stainless panel
A 304 2B stainless skin in 26 or 24 gauge, with a shadow-line face, on an insulated panel. The joint closes to a reveal of less than a quarter inch.
KS42: no screw on the face
An offset joint made to fasten back to a steel frame. The fastener is concealed. The panel is married to that joint, so it goes where the horizontal or vertical framing is.
KS45: either face can be the finish
A stackable joint. Flip the panel and either side is a finished face, which is why Don likes it for partitions and plant ceilings. It is through-fastened: an interior partition over 30 feet needs an intermediate girt, and the screw shows on the face.
Sealing the joint
The exposed longitudinal joint takes urethane or silicone caulk. The concealed female joint is set in a bead of butyl caulk, hidden inside the joint. That bead is the vapor barrier.
The look: a stainless finish on architectural panels
Where the wall only needs to look like stainless, smooth or embossed K-Series exterior architectural insulated panels come in Premium PVDF “Silversmith” or “Bright Silver,” or one of 12 Premium Sherwin-Williams coil coatings.
The doors in the same room
Stainless cooler and freezer doors for the openings in a stainless wall.
Stainless steel freezer doors
Don Ross on stainless panels for wash-down rooms.
Why stainless in a wash-down room
The 304 stainless panel
Concealed or through-fastened
Sealing a stainless panel joint
The panel that holds up to washdown
Why emboss stainless steel
Send the room.
What the room holds, what it is washed with and how often, the temperature, the wall and ceiling square footage, and whether there is a steel frame. We will tell you which panel fits and quote it.
Questions buyers ask
Is there such a thing as stainless steel FRP?
FRP is fiberglass-reinforced plastic, so it has no steel in it. A stainless wall in a wash-down room is an insulated panel with a 304 stainless skin. If the wall only needs the look, smooth or embossed K-Series architectural panels come in Premium PVDF “Silversmith” or “Bright Silver.”
Why stainless instead of a painted panel?
Caustic wash-down chemicals break paint down over time. Don Ross has seen painted faces wear through to the galvanized steel underneath. Stainless holds up to it.
KS42 or KS45?
KS42 has an offset, concealed-fastened joint and fastens back to a steel frame, so no screw shows. KS45 has a stackable joint, either face can be the finish, and it is through-fastened. Don prefers KS45 for partitions and plant ceilings.
What gauge is the stainless?
304 2B stainless, 26 or 24 gauge, with a shadow-line face.
Are stainless panels food grade?
The inspector judges the finished room, not the panel: the joints, the corners and how it cleans. A stainless face is made for wash-down. The joints still have to be sealed right.
Do you install stainless wall panels?
Stainless insulated panels, either way: our crews install them, or we supply them material-only. FRP we supply; the contractor doing the work installs it.
What is the room washed with?
The room, the wash-down chemicals, the temperature, the square footage and the framing. Attach drawings below.
(216) 631-8080Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM. 3195 West 63rd Street, Cleveland, OH 44102.
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