Surface treatments applied to stainless steel can take many forms. The main finishes are described below.
| Description | ASTM | EN 10088-2 | Notes |
| Hot rolled | 1 | 1E/1D | A comparatively rough, dull surface produced by hot rolling to the specified thickness, followed by annealing and descaling. |
| Cold rolled | 2D | 2D | A dull, cold rolled finish produced by cold rolling to the specified thickness, followed by annealing and descaling. May also be achieved by a final light pass on dull rolls. |
| Cold rolled | 2B | 2B | A bright, cold rolled finish commonly produced in the same way as No. 2D finish, except that the annealed ans descaled sheet receives a final cold roll pass on polished rolls. This is a general-purpose cold rolled finish and is more readily polished than No. 1 or No. 2D |
| Bright annealed | BA | 2R | BA finish produced by performing bright annealing in an inert atmosphere after cold rolling. Smoother and brighter than No. 2B. |
| Brushed or polished | No. 4 | 1J/2J | A general-purpose bright polished finish obtained by finishing with a 120-150 mesh abrasive, following initial grinding with coarser abrasives. |
| Satin polished (matt) | No. 6 | 1K/2K | A soft satin finish having lower reflectivity than brushed finish. It is produced by using a medium abrasive. |
| Bright polished (mirror) | No. 8 | 1P/2P | The most reflective finish commonly produced. It is obtained by polishing with successively fined abrasives then buffing with a very fine buffing compound. |
| Electropolished | - | - | This surface is produced by electrolysis in an electrolytic solution. This electrochemical process improves the surface finish. |
