What is a good practice to make metal surfaces, in particular chromium / stainless steel, polished as well as rough?

Can it be achieved with colour and shininess only? If so - which values yield realistic results?
Or should I better use textures? If so - are there suitable ones around?

The shelving system I'm modelling consists mostly of chrome-plated parts. I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to surfaces. Also, my color vision is too limited to make a reliable judgment. OTOH, this is perhaps a simple case for the experienced. I've searched around, but haven't found much information about metal in SH3D.

TIA