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Dupree		 How can I tell the difference between aluminum and stainless steel just by looking at or touching it? View All


16 years ago - 5 months left to answer. - 5 responses - Report Abuse
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Lurch
 You can try an acid test. Go to the site for more info...http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/identification-stainless-steel-d_383.html

16 years ago

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rahul gopinath
 aluminium basically has a dull look but stainless steel has a very shiny look and appearance

16 years ago

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Vic
 Short Answer - Depends.... Longer Answer - There are many different grades of aluminum and steel... Some are closer in material properties than others... Steel is more dense than aluminum, as a general note.... If you had an equal amount of both, the steel would be the heavier one.... Also, aluminum is not necessarily dull, and steel, is not necessarily shiny. Again, depending on the grade of each and finishing processes used, (i.e. electropolish, bead blasting, anodizing, etc.) aluminum can be very shiny and steel can be very dull. On the surface, comparing weights of equal volumes is your best bet, other than that, mechanical testing is probably necessary. Hope this answers your questions somewhat....

16 years ago

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Charles
 Hmmmm. Looking at is tough and as stated you can have a finish that makes both look identica as stated abovel. If you have both metals together the hardness of the aluminum will be softer so rub or scratch the metal on each other and see which has left a deeper or more of a mark. I know this is a "low tech" approach but should do in a pinch. This will NOT work if you have a very high grade aluminum alloy with a very high Brinell hardness. Hope this helps.

16 years ago

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Evilon
 simple, take 1 piece of aluminium and 1 piece of stainless steel and hold it in ur hand they musy be the same size, you can feel the weight different, aluminium is much lighter, while stainless is much heavier, or a simple test, take a needle file, just file on the aluminium and you see that aluminium material can be remove easily by filing away with a needle file while stainless is much harder and u can't file and remove any material on that piece of stainless steel, in short stainless is the heavier and harder material and aluminium is the lighter and easily deform material, try it and u be able to see the different right away. thank you, just 1 cent worth of opnion

16 years ago

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