Stainless steel bollards are what architects specify for office forecourts, hotel drop-offs, shopping centre entrances and seafront promenades. They need no paint, they suit glass and stone, and a good one still looks right after years in the weather. The catch is that stainless is not one material: the grade decides how it copes with salt air, and the core decides whether the post can take a hit. This page explains 304 against 316, brushed and polished finishes, decorative versus impact posts, removable options and how to keep them clean.
Grade 304 or 316
Grade 304 is the usual choice for most inland sites: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and the like. Grade 316, often called marine grade, resists salt air better and is the grade to ask for near the coast, from Durban and Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and the West Coast. It costs more, but 304 posts on a seafront often show rust spots within a few seasons. If a quote just says "stainless", ask which grade. Fixings matter too: ordinary steel bolts or anchors under a stainless base plate will rust and stain the paving, so ask for stainless fixings of the same grade.
Brushed or polished
A brushed finish has fine parallel lines and a soft sheen. It hides fingerprints and small scratches well, which is why most forecourt bollards are brushed. A polished, mirror-like finish looks sharp on a hotel entrance but shows every smudge and scuff. Near the sea, a smoother finish gives salt less to cling to, so some suppliers suggest a finer finish there. Ask to see a sample next to your paving or cladding before you order a row, and make sure every post in the row comes from the same batch so the finish matches.
Decorative tube or impact post
A thin stainless tube on its own is decorative. It marks an edge and guides people, but a car will fold it. For impact, the stainless needs a steel or concrete core inside and a proper footing below, or it should be a stainless sleeve over a steel bollard. Ask what is inside the post and how deep it goes. For posts that must resist a deliberate attack, read anti-ram bollards.
Stainless posts also come as removable bollards that lift out of a ground socket for deliveries, and as lit heads for bollard lights.
Cleaning and tea staining
Near the sea, stainless can pick up a light brown film known as tea staining. It is mostly on the surface and comes off with a stainless cleaner and a soft cloth, but left for years it can pit the metal. Rinsing posts with fresh water every few months and wiping them down keeps them bright. Avoid steel wool and harsh scourers, which leave bits of ordinary steel that rust on the surface.
What to put in your request
- The grade, 304 or 316, and how far from the sea
- Brushed or polished finish
- Decorative or with an impact core
- Fixed, removable or with a light head
- Paving or slab the posts go into
Stainless Steel Bollards for homes, businesses and public spaces
- Homeowners: a pair of brushed posts at a modern house entrance or a seaside driveway
- Estates, complexes and body corporates: posts at the clubhouse and gatehouse that match stainless balustrades
- Shops, malls and petrol stations: a clean row in front of glass shopfronts and mall entrances
- Offices, hotels and car parks: office forecourts, hotel drop-offs and basement entrances
- Warehouses, factories and depots: food and pharmaceutical plants where painted steel is not wanted
- Municipalities and public spaces: beachfront promenades, civic squares and town hall forecourts
- Schools, hospitals and campuses: university plazas, hospital entrances and government building fronts
- Contractors and event organisers: posts supplied to an architect's specification on commercial builds
Frequently asked questions
Do I need 316 stainless steel bollards?
Can stainless steel bollards stop a car?
Why is my stainless bollard going brown?
Will bollards.co.za supply the posts?
Stainless Steel Bollards by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg