Stainless Steel Braided Sleeving
Today’s featured product, Stainless Steel Braided Sleeving, is very popular with the custom car and motorcycle crowd. When slipped over hoses and wiring in your engine bay, this shiny, non-corrosive sleeving not only protects components from high temps and abrasion, but also helps to hold hoses together in the event of a rupture. And you can’t forget about its great looks — this is the DIY solution for a high-end looking custom vehicle. As a matter of fact, it will save you a bundle compared to the purchase price of custom-overbraided hoses, and no one will be able to tell the difference.
As I mentioned before, the sleeving is non-corrosive, meaning that it won’t rust or discolor. It’s also easy to cut with shears, which means you don’t have to worry about having a hot knife or any other special cutter on hand, as you would with most other braided sleevings.
In addition to the automotive uses, stainless steel sleeving is an excellent for protecting cables outdoors, where gnawing animals can wreak havoc on them. Just like chewing on a piece of foil (only harder), stainless steel braid repels rodents with the unpleasant sensation it creates against their teeth. It works so well, in fact, that several government agencies actually use this sleeving to protect critical communications cabling in the wilderness.
Comments
2 Comments on Stainless Steel Braided Sleeving
-
Sasha on
Sun, 12th Jul 2009 2:21 am
-
admin on
Wed, 15th Jul 2009 9:01 am
as an auto electrician i have wired a few hot rods and im always looking for a better product to use to be different and stand out. This stainless steel braid product might just be the answer to the way wiring harnesses are finished off. I’d like to know more on ways to terminate the braid besides just using heat shrink, example is there fittings that can be used?
Hi Sasha,
There are a few options (other than heat shrink tubing) for terminating stainless steel braided sleeving, but they may depend on whether you’re covering wire harnesses or hoses. One quick way to terminate braided sleeving is with cable ties. I’ve mostly heard of this being done with non-metal braided sleevings, and I imagine that it would work with stainless steel braid, too. We happen to carry stainless steel cable ties, so they would blend in really nicely with the sleeving, but to be fair, I’ve never personally terminated braided sleeving with cable ties. I’m not sure if they would leave cut ends sticking out, and there’s a possibility that, because they’re so narrow, they could leave your otherwise gorgeous steel braid cable harnesses looking a little messy at the ends.
My next suggestion for terminating stainless steel sleeving on wire harnesses is Thermo-Shield tape, a fiberglass/aluminum composite tape that’s often used to wrap hoses and wiring in high-heat engine bays (being in your line of work, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about). Being that it’s shiny, silver, and can take the heat of automotive applications, it could make a very nice termination material that not only matches the steel braid, but will stay in place for a long time and completely cover up the sleeving’s wiry cut ends.
When it comes to terminating braided steel overlay on hoses, you have a couple of other options. Thermo-Shield tape would work equally well on hoses, but you can also hide and secure cut ends under metal hose clamps. But my favorite options of all are the smooth and shiny stainless steel hose fittings that cover up loose braid ends and somehow give the entire hose a sleek and professional look. We’re working on adding these to the website, so you’ll be able to find them if you check back in the near future, but if you need them in a hurry, you should be able to obtain them from a local auto parts or hardware supplier.
Hope the suggestions help! Good luck with your upcoming projects, and be sure to send us a photo or two of those great looking custom wire harnesses…
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!