How to Tell Your Metals Apart Before You Sell: A Practical Visual and Magnet Test Guide
Most people sorting scrap for the first time make the same mistake: they lump everything together and leave money on the table. Copper scrap prices in London can run significantly higher than aluminum or steel — but only if you've sorted your load correctly before you sell. Knowing what you have is the first step to getting paid what it's worth.
This guide walks you through simple, hands-on methods for identifying common scrap metals. No lab equipment. No guesswork. Just a magnet, your eyes, and a few quick tests you can do in your driveway or shop. Whether you're doing scrap metal recycling in London for the first time or cleaning out a facility with mixed loads, these skills matter.
Why Metal Identification Matters Before You Sell Scrap
Scrap yards — and platforms built around competitive bidding like sell your scrap metal on SMASH Recycling — pay different prices for different metals. Not by a little. Often by a wide margin. Copper consistently commands one of the highest per-pound prices in non-ferrous scrap. Aluminum comes in lower. Steel and cast iron are typically sold by the hundredweight, not by the pound.
When you hand over a mixed, unsorted pile, you're essentially asking someone else to value your material — and that rarely works in your favour. Sorting before you sell gives you leverage. It gives buyers confidence. It speeds up transactions. And on an auction-style platform, documented, sorted inventory helps buyers bid more aggressively because they know exactly what they're getting.
The bottom line: sorting your metal is not extra work. It's how you get better prices.
Start Here: The Magnet Test
The magnet test is the fastest first screen in the business. Grab a strong rare-earth magnet — the kind you can find at any hardware store — and drag it across your scrap pile. This one simple step divides your material into two categories:
- Magnetic (ferrous): Iron and steel. These stick to a magnet. Lower scrap value per pound, but they're heavy and can still add up in volume.
- Non-magnetic (non-ferrous): Copper, aluminum, brass, stainless steel, lead, zinc. These don't stick. Non-ferrous metals are where your higher-value material lives.
There's a catch with stainless steel. Some stainless alloys are weakly magnetic, some aren't. If your magnet barely grips something shiny and silver-toned, it could be stainless. Set it aside and test further. Don't assume it's aluminum just because the pull is weak.
Once you've done your magnet pass, you've already done more than most casual sellers. Everything that doesn't stick gets a closer look. Everything that does gets weighed separately as ferrous.
Visual Identification: Copper, Aluminum, and Steel
After the magnet test, your eyes do the rest of the work. Here's a practical breakdown of the most common scrap metals you'll encounter:
Copper
Copper is reddish-orange when clean and turns green or brown when oxidized. It's dense — heavier than it looks for its size. Scrap copper comes in several grades: bare bright wire (the cleanest, highest value), #1 copper (clean pipe and heavy cable), and #2 copper (oxidized, painted, or with solder). Strip the insulation off wire before you sell if you can — bare wire pays more than insulated. You'll find copper in electrical wiring, plumbing pipe, motor windings, and air conditioning coils.
Aluminum
Aluminum is lightweight and silver-grey. If you pick up a piece and it's surprisingly light, you're probably holding aluminum. Scrap aluminum comes from window frames, wheels, cast engine parts, sheet metal, and cans. Aluminum doesn't rust — it oxidizes to a dull white or grey powder on the surface, but it won't flake and pit the way steel does. Separate your aluminum into grades too: cast aluminum (like engine parts) and sheet aluminum pay differently. Knowing your aluminum scrap value per pound starts with knowing which grade you have.
Steel and Iron
Steel is magnetic and grey. It rusts. It's the most abundant scrap metal and typically the lowest per-pound price. Cast iron is heavier and more brittle than steel — it often shows up as old radiators, pipe fittings, and engine blocks. Don't ignore it for volume, but don't expect copper prices either. Galvanized steel has a shiny zinc coating and is still ferrous — the magnet will confirm it.
Brass
Brass is yellowish-gold and heavier than it looks. It's non-ferrous and won't stick to a magnet. You'll find brass in fittings, valves, fixtures, and older plumbing hardware. It's a solid mid-tier non-ferrous metal — worth more than aluminum, less than clean copper. Dirty or mixed brass (like radiators with steel tanks) pays less than clean yellow brass.
Stainless Steel
Shiny, silver-toned, and sometimes weakly magnetic. Stainless steel holds value better than regular steel but less than non-ferrous metals like copper. Common in food service equipment, kitchen appliances, and industrial piping. If you're not sure whether you have stainless or aluminum, check the weight. Stainless is significantly denser.
Using a Grinder Spark Test for Iron and Steel
If you've got a grinder and protective gear, the spark test is a useful supplement for distinguishing types of ferrous metal. Touch a piece to a grinding wheel and watch the sparks:
- Mild steel: Long, yellow-white sparks with few forks
- Cast iron: Short, dull red sparks that fizzle out quickly
- High-carbon steel: Long sparks with heavy forking and bursting
- Stainless steel: Short sparks, minimal forking, orange-ish tone
This matters if you're handling large volumes of industrial scrap and need to separate grades accurately. For most casual sellers, the magnet and visual test are enough. But if you're running a shop or a commercial property cleanout in Ontario, knowing your grades pays off when the load gets weighed in.
How Sorted Scrap Gets You Better Prices in London and Beyond
Here's where sorting and documentation go from good habits to real money. Buyers — whether at a local yard or bidding on a platform like SMASH — pay more when they know exactly what they're getting. A mixed, undocumented load forces the buyer to assume the worst. A sorted, photographed, weighed load with grades identified gives the buyer confidence to bid high.
If you're looking at sell your scrap metal in Canada on SellYourScrap, accurate metal identification is the first step. Platforms that enable competitive bidding — like SMASH — let multiple vetted buyers compete for your load. That competition can help reveal the true market price. But it works best when the seller has done the groundwork: sorted by type, separated by grade, and documented with photos.
For sellers in London, Ontario, connecting with London scrap metal services is a straightforward way to move sorted loads without the guesswork. Whether you've got a pallet of stripped copper wire, a pile of aluminum windows, or a mixed commercial cleanout, sorted material moves faster and pays better.
If you're also comparing options across the region, note that best scrap metal prices in Ontario depend heavily on sorted load quality and timing. Prices fluctuate with commodity markets — what copper pays today may be different next week. Check current rates before committing.
Tips for Building Good Sorting Habits
You don't need a full processing setup to sort effectively. A few bins, a magnet on a lanyard, and a consistent habit will do it.
- Sort at the source. As you pull scrap — from a demo, cleanout, or regular accumulation — put metals in separate containers immediately. Don't create a mixed pile you'll have to go through twice.
- Label your bins. Copper, aluminum, steel, mixed/unknown. Simple labels prevent mix-ups when loads get large.
- Strip what you can. Insulated wire pays significantly less than bare copper. If you have the time and volume, stripping is worth it.
- Photograph your sorted loads. Before you explore Canadian scrap metal guides for selling strategies, start documenting what you have. Photos of sorted, labelled loads give online buyers and auction bidders what they need to bid confidently.
- Weigh before you go. Know your numbers before you walk in the door or post a load online. It puts you in a stronger position to evaluate any offer you get.
Small habit changes compound over time. If you're doing regular scrap runs or commercial cleanouts, good sorting disciplines add up to real dollars across multiple loads a year.
Ready to Sell? Here's How to Move Your Sorted Scrap
Once you know what you have, selling it isn't complicated. You can drop off at a local yard, post to an online buyer, or use a platform that gets your sorted load in front of multiple vetted buyers at once. That last option — competitive bidding — is what separates passive price-taking from active price discovery.
Platforms like SMASH are built for exactly this. You document your load, buyers compete, you see real market pricing reflected in bids. No subscription. No locked-in single buyer. No guessing whether you got a fair price. If you want to get a fair price for your scrap today, the combination of sorted material and a competitive selling channel is your strongest play.
Whether you're in London, across Ontario, or anywhere in Canada — sort your metal, know your grades, and let the market work for you. Request a pickup or sell your scrap metal on SMASH Recycling to see what competition does to your price.
Price disclaimer: Scrap metal prices fluctuate based on commodity markets. All prices mentioned are general guidance only. Check current rates before selling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I know if my scrap metal is copper or brass?
Both are non-ferrous and won't stick to a magnet. The key difference is colour: copper is reddish-orange, while brass has a more yellow-gold tone. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Both are valuable, but clean copper typically commands a higher price per pound than brass.
Q: Does sorting my scrap before drop-off actually make a difference in London?
Yes — significantly. Sorted loads allow yards and buyers to apply accurate per-grade pricing rather than blending your material into a lower mixed-metal rate. In London, Ontario, where scrap metal recycling is competitive, arriving with clearly sorted and labelled material puts you in a stronger position.
Q: What's the easiest way to identify aluminum scrap?
Pick it up. Aluminum is strikingly light for its size. It's silver-grey, won't rust (it oxidizes to a white powder), and won't stick to a magnet. Common sources include window frames, patio furniture, cast engine parts, and aluminum wheels.
Q: Can I sell scrap metal online in Canada without going to a yard?
Yes. Platforms built for selling scrap metal online — including SMASH — allow you to document your load, connect with vetted buyers across Canada, and receive competitive bids without driving load to load. This is especially useful for commercial volumes where transportation logistics matter.
Q: How often do scrap metal prices change in Ontario?
Prices can shift daily or weekly depending on commodity markets, demand from end-users, and global supply conditions. There's no fixed price for copper or aluminum — it moves with the market. Always check current rates before you sell, and consider using a platform with competitive bidding to ensure you're seeing real market pricing on your load.
Stay current on scrap metal market trends and industry updates by following SMASH on LinkedIn — useful intel for anyone buying or selling scrap in Canada.