Customer Resource · Flat Rolled Carbon Steel

Steel Quality Guide

Steel arrives with a story written on its surface. This guide helps you recognize the common conditions seen on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and galvanneal product — what each one looks like, what causes it, and when it falls inside or outside the agreed specification. The goal is a shared vocabulary, so a question about a coil or lift becomes a quick, clear conversation.

Browse the conditions Report a concern
How to read each card: Usually within tolerance Depends on the specification May be rejectable

What am I looking at?

Common conditions, grouped by type

Filter by category, or scroll through all of them. Acceptance is always governed by the order, the grade standard (for example ASTM A1011 / A1018 for hot rolled, A1008 for cold rolled, A653 / A924 for coated product) and any agreed tolerance — so the flags below are a starting point for the conversation, not a final ruling.

If something doesn't look right

How to report a quality concern

The faster we see it, the faster we can help. A few details turn a photo into a resolved claim.

  1. Stop and protect the material. Set the affected coil or lift aside and keep it dry and covered.
  2. Capture the heat / coil number and packing slip. These tie the material back to its mill certificate.
  3. Photograph it — one wide shot for context, one close-up with something for scale (a tape, a coin, a hand).
  4. Note quantity and location — how much is affected, and whether it's edge, centre, leading wrap, or throughout.
  5. Contact our quality team with the above. We respond within one business day.

Reach our quality team

Ontario main line
416 744-9988

Québec main line
514 697-4962

Toll free
1 800 838-6199

Email
info@imperialms.ca

Imperial Metal Services is ISO 9001:2015 certified. Photographs on this page are illustrative schematics — replace them with your own reject examples before publishing.