Stainless Steel – Fabrication and Welding

www.metali-nox.com

Specialize in Stainless steel railings and balastrades but can also fabricate binini and dodger frames.  Owner is Stephane Wong speaks good english. They have MIG and TIG and a pipe bender. They are aprox 1.5 km up the road which goes north from the Pirae Marie.  Be sure to call before you go.  It is accessible via the small Hamuta or Arue bus.  Get off at the Pirea Marie then walk to Intermat. It is the building behind Intermat.

11-2020 SV Moggy We had Metalinox manufacture a 1.5 metre long swim ladder from 42.4mm x 2mm wall, 316 stainless steel tube.
We supplied drawings and had phone conversations with Dan about the manufacture and in particular the bends required.

Overall we are happy with the result and we recommend Metalinox.

Potential customers should have realistic expectations.

Efficiency    5 out of 5  
He got back to us in a very timely manner and answered all emails and phone calls promptly.

Speed of Manufacture 5 out of 5
It was to be finished with a time frame for delivery to us in the Tuomotus and he met that schedule easily.

Materials Used  5 out of 5  
Exactly as requested

Welds    3 out of 5  
The welds are strong but are rough. Many are undercut so Dave cannot polish them out. We understand that other people have asked for them to be tidied up and he has done this willingly. Unfortunately we did not collect the ladder ourselves and did not have this opportunity.

Bends    2 out of 5  
These are a disappointing result. This could be due to communication error, but they are not in accordance with the drawings or our understanding of subsequent conversations.

Overall finish   3 out of 5  
We knew when we ordered that he would not polish the ladder. To polish to mirror finish, a weld needs to be proud rather than undercut. As a result we cannot achieve a result that is   commensurate with other stainless finishes on the boat.

Value for money  3 out of 5  
It was a very expensive job for a strong, functional finish. If you want something pretty, this is not the guy.

We did ask him to quote for hinge fittings and the quote was around US$90. We decided to import hinges from the USA for $14
We understand that he is probably the best welder of this type in Tahiti. He is also very easy to deal with.

11-2020  SV SV Mat-Lau III Metali’nox are commercial and industrial fabricators specialising in sheet metal and stainless steel. They do a lot of decorative stainless steel fabrications for buildings and houses, but very little work in the marine industry.

We had Metali’nox fabricate a stainless steel frame for the installation of 4 x 340 watt solar panels across the stern of our Lagoon 500. The end result was very impressive and we are 100% satisfied with their work.

I should stress that we supplied very detailed fabrication drawings, and Metali’nox followed them exactly as specified - they got it right the first time and we had no rework. They delivered the frame to the boat and even helped with the installation at no additional cost.
Metali’nox will not polish stainless steel to a polished mirror finish, but their 320 grit polished finish is very pleasing to the eye.
The Manager, Dan, speaks English and communicates by email with the assistance of Google Translate. He is a very likeable and helpful young man.