Stainless steel is a great material for the kitchen. We have been slowly replacing the major appliances with items we find on Craigslist (microwave, stove, sink, etc...). Buying things on Craigslist saved us a LOT of money and doing it ourselves gave us a chance to have some hands-on fun. However, not all of the appliances in the RainyDayKitchen needed to be replaced. Sometimes all that is needed is a facelift. We had considered refinishing some of the surfaces with stainless steel paint, but before we use the paint on a project such as a large appliance, we would want to see how it looked on something smaller. Someone then suggested we consider using stainless steel film.
Many of the films and foils are faux finishes which only mimic the look of stainless steel. They are quite thin, and it is unlikely that those materials will stand up to the daily wear and tear of an active kitchen. After a bit of research, the interns decided that the Brushed Stainless FXSheeting from Alsa Corporation was what we needed. The FXSheeting appeared to be heads above anything else that is on the market. There is nothing "faux" about them. FXSheeting is made using real stainless steel. The difference is the sheets are easy to cut and the adhesive backing makes them simple to mount. Alsa has a large collection of FXSheeting in a variety of finishes (aluminium, copper, etc...). The possibilities are endless.
The sheets were shipped rolled up in a heavy cardboard tube. Keeping them unrolled was a challenge as they were a bit unwieldy (because they were large). We didn't want to accidentally scratch or dent the sheets. We tried working on the floor, but found instead that clamping a sheet down on a large work surface (our conference table) as shown was the best way to flatten it out. With the sheets clamped down, we were able to measure, mark, and cut them without fear of marring them.
The FXSheets were thin enough to cut wiyh a razor blade/scissors/knife. We could have used a blade, but took the opportunity to try out our new ZipSnip cutter. The ZipSnip had no problem cutting through the material and made short work of the task. Due to the shadow cast by the body of the cutter, we had a little bit of trouble seeing precisely where the line was. Still, we were pretty happy with the results. The cut was clean and burr-free. One advantage of using the ZipSnip as opposed to a blade was we didn't have to put down any protection on top of the table.
Readers may have noticed that we have not mentioned how we used these Alsa Stainless Steel FXSheets. Come back tomorrow and find out. We think you will be amazed! [Permalink] -Alsa Stainless FXSheeting
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