Materials & weathering
Outdoor cabinet materials and weathering: 304 against 316 stainless, powder coat against brushed finish, what salt air does, and how to read a test report without being misled.
The short answer
304 is enough for most homes. 316 adds molybdenum and is worth it inside the salt-spray zone or beside a chlorinated pool — at roughly twice the material cost. Treat distance from the coast as a rule of thumb, not a specification: prevailing wind, shelter and how often the run gets hosed down all change the salt load.
Read in this order
Start here
The rest of the category is variations on these. Each answers one question rather than listing trends.
Guides in this section
The full list
Newest first. Each guide answers one question and links to the cabinet, drawing or report that settles it.
Before you read the guides
What to compare, and in what order
These are the decisions the guides below keep returning to. Settle them roughly first; the articles then fill in the detail.
The stainless grade
304 is enough away from the coast. 316 is an upgrade that roughly doubles the material cost, and it earns that only where salt is actually in the air.
How the panel is built
0.45 mm stainless skins bonded to an aluminium honeycomb core: an 18 mm finished body and a 20 mm finished door. Thin steel over air is what dents.
What the coating report covers
1,500 hours of artificial weathering and 1,500 hours of salt spray on the coating. It is a coating test, not a whole-cabinet test, and we do not present it as one.
The fixings
Hinges, screws and runners fail before panels do when they are not stainless. Every hinge in the range is 304.
Distance to the surf
A garden 200 metres from the beach behaves nothing like one 5 kilometres inland. That distance decides more than any finish choice.
Straight answers
Questions this section gets most
If the answer you need is not here, the enquiry form asks for the grill model and the run length and nothing else.
Is 316 worth the extra cost?
On a coastal site with salt in the air, yes. Inland, it is usually money spent on nothing you will ever see.
Does the salt spray report cover the whole cabinet?
No. It covers the coating, over 1,500 hours. The hinges and the panel steel are separate, and we say so on the quality page rather than implying more.
How long will 304 last outdoors?
Indefinitely in most gardens, provided water drains away and the fixings are stainless. Standing water defeats any grade, which is the water and moisture section's subject.
Save the reading
Send us the grill and the length
One field, then a configuration and a price. If your grill is one we have not cut for, we will ask for the manufacturer's drawing rather than guess at it.
Page last updated · Reviewed by the BOGEQI technical team, Foshan Bogeqi Cabinetry Co., Ltd.
Reference
Build-up, in millimetres
Weathering starts at the section, not the surface. This is what the panel actually is, layer by layer.