Stainless Steel Grade-by-Grade Identification Guide

Grades are defined by chromium, nickel, and molybdenum content. The 304 vs 316 spread is significant — correct grading is the biggest lever on your payout. See the 304 vs 316 scrap guide for the full comparison.

• Type 304 / 304L (18-8): 18% Cr, 8% Ni. Non-magnetic when annealed, weakly magnetic when cold-worked. Kitchen equipment, sinks, food-processing tanks, cutlery.
• Type 316 / 316L: adds 2–3% molybdenum for chloride resistance. Visually identical to 304 — confirm with XRF or moly-spot test. Pays 15–30% above 304.
• Type 309 / 310: high-Cr (22–25%) high-Ni heat-resistant. Furnace internals, kiln components, boiler tube. Premium rate.
• Turnings: machining chips from 304/316 shops. Drain and bag in dry feed-sacks for clean turnings rate.
• 430 and 400-series ferritic: no nickel, magnetic. Appliance panels, exhaust trim, budget cutlery. Pays well below 304.

Preparation Tips to Maximise Stainless Payout

• Magnet test first. Strong pull = 400-series or mild steel. Weak / no pull = 300-series (304/316).
• Moly-spot or XRF for 304 vs 316. A $20 kit turns pink on 316 and stays clear on 304 — worth it on loads above 100 kg.
• Separate ferritic from austenitic. Mixing drops the whole load to the lower rate.
• Remove carbon-steel attachments — bolts, hinges, brackets, skids are usually mild steel.
• Drain tanks and piping. Food or chemical residue triggers moisture deduction; hazardous residue may refuse the load.
• Bundle pipe runs from pipe projects for faster weighing.

Where Stainless Steel Scrap Comes From in Singapore

• Food-service clearance: commercial kitchens, hotel F&B refits, hawker upgrades — sinks, prep tables, extraction hoods, walk-in fridges. Mostly 304.
• Marine and offshore refits: 316 railings, bollards, hatch fittings, piping from Tuas, Jurong, Sembawang yards.
• Petrochemical decommissioning: process piping, pressure vessels, reactor internals from Jurong Island — mix of 304, 316, 309/310.
• Pharmaceutical clearance: hygienic 316L piping, fermenter vessels, clean-room panels.
• Architectural demolition: handrails, cladding, water features, lift panels. Usually 304 unless coastal.
• Machining shops: 304/316 turnings, offcuts, plate drops from fabricators supplying plate and sheet.

What Happens After We Buy Your Stainless Steel

Grading continues after ticket — each bin is re-checked by XRF on a random sample basis before baling. 304 and 316 never share a bale; mis-mixing at bale stage would cost thousands at the smelter.

Bales ship to regional stainless smelters in Malaysia and Indonesia. At the smelter, material is charged to an electric arc furnace with alloy additions, argon-oxygen decarburised (AOD) to finalise chemistry, and continuously cast into slabs or billets that roll into new plate, sheet, bar, and pipe — commonly returning to Singapore within one quarter. Stainless is fully recyclable without property loss. Secondary stainless accounts for roughly 60% of global new stainless production.

For the terminology used on tickets and quotes, see our scrap metal glossary. To understand why stainless (alongside copper, aluminium, and brass) does not group with carbon steel for pricing, see the ferrous vs non-ferrous identification guide — the chromium and nickel loading in stainless means it is priced on alloy content rather than steel-scrap tonnage.

More Frequently Asked Stainless Steel Questions

How do I tell 304 from 316 without an XRF gun?

A moly-spot chemical kit is the most reliable field test — a drop turns pink on 316, stays clear on 304. Visually they are identical. If the source is marine, pharmaceutical, or chemical service, assume 316. See our 304 vs 316 guide.

Do you buy stainless cutlery?

Yes, but often at the lower rate. Budget cutlery stamped 18/0 is 430 ferritic (no nickel) and pays at 400-series rate. Premium cutlery stamped 18/8 or 18/10 is real 304. Check the stamp on the handle or blade.

What does the 316L suffix mean?

L stands for low-carbon — max 0.03% C vs 0.08% for standard 316. Low carbon prevents chromium carbide precipitation during welding. For scrap purposes 316 and 316L grade at the same rate.

Why is 316 worth more than 304?

The 2–3% molybdenum addition in 316 is expensive — moly trades at multiples of nickel. The premium drives the 15–30% scrap price spread between the two grades.

Is stainless scrap magnetic?

It depends on grade. Austenitic 300-series is non-magnetic when annealed but can become weakly magnetic after cold-working. Ferritic 400-series is strongly magnetic. Strong full pull = 400-series or plain carbon steel; weak pull on a formed edge usually means worked 304.

How does stainless scrap price move?

Driven mainly by LME nickel plus chrome and moly adders. Nickel moves fastest, so weekly swings of 5–10% are normal. Call +65 9106 7577 or use the scrap metal calculator for today’s number.

For grades above standard 304 and 316 — INCOLOY 625, 718, 825, 925, copper-nickel (CuNi 90/10 and 70/30), and duplex / super-duplex stainless — see our special alloys scrap buyer service. We quote on photos and estimated quantity rather than a public per-kg rate.

How We Receive Stainless Loads — Bins, 40-Footer, Low-Bed

Stainless loads typically arrive from kitchen strip-outs, food and beverage plants, architectural fabricators, and pharmaceutical or chemical processors. For larger or recurring volumes we provide receiving infrastructure on site rather than asking you to arrange haulage.

• Walk-ins accepted at our 170 Gul Circle yard during business hours (Mon–Sat 8:30am–6:30pm, Sun 8:30am–3:30pm).
• Free scrap bins on site for ongoing producers — we drop bins in common sizes and rotate them on a schedule you choose. Sorted bins (ferrous separate from non-ferrous) earn a higher price per kg.
• 40-footer trailer for long stock — structural beams, profile material, bar, tube, and any item that exceeds standard truck-bed length.
• Low-bed trailer for oversized cargoes — large machinery, vessel internals, complete heat-exchanger bundles, generator sets, transformers, and decommissioned plant.

We focus on receiving infrastructure rather than on-site removal crews. That keeps our per-kilogram quotes ahead of dealers who bundle haulage labour into the price — you handle the lift (or your contractor does), and we handle everything from the weighbridge onward.

For marine stainless — deck hardware, food-service galley, davits, RAS — see our marine scrap metal page.

For stainless 316 process tubing and pharma / chemical-industry stainless see our process plant scrap page.