SG 553 | Waves Perforated (Minimal Wear)

The SG 553 | Waves Perforated (Minimal Wear, MW) is a Consumer Grade rifle skin with a gray, stencil-sprayed finish, made using ripped tape strips and perforated metal. This grade sits just below Factory New (FN) while keeping nearly the same defined pattern.

Design

Paint sprayed through ripped tape strips and perforated metal stencils gives the gray body its irregular, cut-out texture rather than a smooth printed graphic. Valve produced this piece as part of The Lake Collection, and it carries no flavor text.

SG 553 | Waves Perforated (Minimal Wear) Float and Wear

The Waves Perforated's float runs from 0.06 to 0.80, and Minimal Wear falls just past the low end of that range. The stencil marks stay crisp and the gray base shows only minimal scuffing, close enough to Factory New that the difference is hard to spot at a glance.

SG 553 | Waves Perforated Rarity

This finish carries Consumer Grade rarity, the white tier and the lowest a weapon skin can be assigned. Common as it is, the tape-and-stencil design still stands apart visually from a plain weapon skin.

SG 553 | Waves Perforated Case and Collection

Part of The Lake Collection, this finish arrived with the "Out with the old, in with the new" update in November 2013. There's no weapon case attached to it — copies come from trade-up contracts within the collection or from player trading, not from case unboxing.

SG 553 | Waves Perforated Patterns

Every copy of the Waves Perforated shows the same fixed stencil marks, so there's no seed-based pattern variation and nothing like a "blue gem" version to search for. Only the wear grade and float value differ between individual items.

StatTrak & Souvenir

No StatTrak edition of this finish has ever been made, but a Souvenir version does exist alongside the regular one. The DreamHack 2013 Souvenir Package was the first to include it, with additional Major souvenir packages following at separate tournaments over time.

SG 553 | Waves Perforated Price

Minimal Wear sits just under Factory New on the price ladder, offering nearly the same look at a slightly lower cost. This finish already trends pricier than most Consumer Grade skins, so this grade is a reasonable middle ground. It's available to buy on Skin.Land with instant delivery and no hidden fees.

FAQ

How different does Minimal Wear look from Factory New here?

Barely different. Both grades sit near the bottom of the 0.06–0.80 float range, so the perforated stencil pattern keeps its detail and the gray base shows very little extra wear at Minimal Wear. Most players would struggle to tell the two apart without checking the float directly.

Does the SG 553 | Waves Perforated have a StatTrak version?

No, this finish was never given a StatTrak counterpart, unlike many case-drop skins. It does come in a Souvenir version in addition to the regular one, with Souvenir copies distributed through Major-tournament packages instead.

Is Minimal Wear a good value grade for this finish?

It's a solid pick if you want the pattern looking close to its best without paying the Factory New premium. Field-Tested (FT) and the lower grades cost less still, but the stencil detail becomes progressively harder to appreciate as surrounding wear increases.