Annealing and descaling method for stainless steel

The method of processing cold rolled stainless steel in the form of a strip or a sheet, said method comprising:

• cleaning the surface of said stainless steel with a solution selected from the group consisting of water and an aqueous solution of alkaline and acid-based compounds in amounts sufficient to reduce oxide scale formation and to provide a more uniform scale thickness during subsequent annealing, thereafter;
• subjecting said stainless steel to transverse-flux electrical-induction heating substantially uniformly across its width to an annealing temperature in the range of up to 2300 degrees Fahrenheit, thereby producing on said steel an oxide-scale having a relatively uniform thickness of about 1200 Angstroms or less;
• and
• electrolytically descaling said stainless steel by subjecting it to the action of a bath of an electrolyte of an aqueous solution of at least one neutral salt from the group consisting essentially of chloride, sulfate, and nitrate of an alkali metal or ammonium maintained at a temperature in excess of 150 degrees Fahrenheit and with the use of current density of about 0.1 to 1.0 amperes per square inch for a time sufficient to descale the steel substantially entirely.