Hi there. We clean our s/s handrails etc with multi purpose cleaner but rust specks keep comming back after a few weeks. Suggestions please on how to manage the problem ?
Keeping rust out of stainless
- Thread starter Mybigblue
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removing rust from SS
It is called stain-less not stain-no.
With that said if you take a wire brush to it and then don't clean it with chemicals I think you will find that the rust spots will be much reduced in both size and number.
Apparently the wire brush "smooths" the surface which causes the iron atoms to recombine with the chromium atoms. I find this works great on places that get scratched.
It is called stain-less not stain-no.
With that said if you take a wire brush to it and then don't clean it with chemicals I think you will find that the rust spots will be much reduced in both size and number.
Apparently the wire brush "smooths" the surface which causes the iron atoms to recombine with the chromium atoms. I find this works great on places that get scratched.
Whatever you do—DO NOT USE A STEEL WIRE BRUSH....you'll get tiny rust spots from where the steel came off the brush... 
Don't use a wire brush at all, since scratches are a cause of corrosion starting more readily.
Polish the metal instead, and use a "Miracle Cloth" metal polish cloth from SeaFit to clean the steel. Don't coat the steel, since stainless steel needs oxygen to work at being "stainless" properly.
Don't use a wire brush at all, since scratches are a cause of corrosion starting more readily. Polish the metal instead, and use a "Miracle Cloth" metal polish cloth from SeaFit to clean the steel. Don't coat the steel, since stainless steel needs oxygen to work at being "stainless" properly.
Concur with sail dog
I forgot to mention use a SS wire brush. They are not that hard to find.
Good catch Saildog
I forgot to mention use a SS wire brush. They are not that hard to find.
Good catch Saildog
What is the multi-purpose cleaner? This could be your problem. For cleaning I have been using the Magic Eraser and denatured alcohol. I only need to clean it about once per season. Occasionally I will also use Collinite. It is important with many metal polishes to wipe it down after application with soap & water then maybe denatured alcohol. Many metal "polishes" contain acids to remove the rust stains if you leave these acids on the surface it can actually lead to rust forming faster.
Unlike Dog I have never found that a wax like a Carnuba did not allow the stainless to breathe, if you will, and in fact I have found it to be quite effective at preventing rust spots from returning after cleaning and removal of any cleaner residue like acids..
We had a 2005 310 and the stainless was fine and easy to keep rust free.....
I've found that NeverDull works well for me.
(For those not around chrome-obsessed Harley Hog motorcyclists, NeverDull is cotton soaked with some chemical reducer that de-oxidizes the rust. It comes in a tear-off pad in a can. A little piece covers a fairly large section of SS railing.)
It doesn't abrade at all, and since SS surfaces are polished much finer than any metal wool, that doesn't put tiny scratches in the surface to become rust gatherers.
Fair winds,
Al
s/v Persephone
(For those not around chrome-obsessed Harley Hog motorcyclists, NeverDull is cotton soaked with some chemical reducer that de-oxidizes the rust. It comes in a tear-off pad in a can. A little piece covers a fairly large section of SS railing.)
It doesn't abrade at all, and since SS surfaces are polished much finer than any metal wool, that doesn't put tiny scratches in the surface to become rust gatherers.
Fair winds,
Al
s/v Persephone
Stainless 'rusts' because the surface is rough (on a macroscopic scale). The rust is caused by chloride ions attacking the stainless at the 'bottom of the valleys' of the roughness. Any irregularity in the surface - weld spatter, lines from the die forming of the tube, scratches, etc. all will be the sites where stainless will begin to rust.
What to do to prevent (especially if the rust continues to appear repeatedly):
1. wax often to seal
OR
2. "re-polish to a 'mirror surface." .... Use a high speed fabric wheel and special stainless steel buffing compound (eg.: "Tripoli" - a mixture of clay and diatomaceous earth, etc.) and buff the stainless to a 'mirror bright' surface .... after sanding with progressively finer and finer grits 400 --> 800 --> 1300/1500 to remove visible 'scratches', etc. if needed.
3. For the utmost in surface passivation to prevent rust, then take the mirror polished part to an electro-plater and have it 'electro-polished' (where the peaks and valleys of the roughness remaining are electrolytically removed/'rounded'--- and the surface then has the macroscopic 'ridges/valleys' no higher than approx. 10 micro-inches (Ra) high). Expensive process but the stainless will now have a 'satinized' appearance. Definitely NOT a DIY process.
Mechanical Mirror polishing is within the realm of DIY .... all that's needed is available at your local (good) hardware store.
What to do to prevent (especially if the rust continues to appear repeatedly):
1. wax often to seal
OR
2. "re-polish to a 'mirror surface." .... Use a high speed fabric wheel and special stainless steel buffing compound (eg.: "Tripoli" - a mixture of clay and diatomaceous earth, etc.) and buff the stainless to a 'mirror bright' surface .... after sanding with progressively finer and finer grits 400 --> 800 --> 1300/1500 to remove visible 'scratches', etc. if needed.
3. For the utmost in surface passivation to prevent rust, then take the mirror polished part to an electro-plater and have it 'electro-polished' (where the peaks and valleys of the roughness remaining are electrolytically removed/'rounded'--- and the surface then has the macroscopic 'ridges/valleys' no higher than approx. 10 micro-inches (Ra) high). Expensive process but the stainless will now have a 'satinized' appearance. Definitely NOT a DIY process.
Mechanical Mirror polishing is within the realm of DIY .... all that's needed is available at your local (good) hardware store.
Ditto the polish and passivating responses. But, eventually you'll get into polishing just for maintenance. We've been using Turtle Wax Chrome Polish this season. It has a bit of acid and some compound and some wax (I think). Wipe on, let set, polish off. Available cheaply in auto parts places.
--Tom.
--Tom.
Rust away
I have used "Rust Away" (Or something like that) on stanchion\cleat to deck areas that are seeping rust. Spray on, wait 30 minutes, wash off. Rust rinses away like magic.
Here's the problem: 10 days later, rust is back, and angry at being shooed away. Seems the rust away grows rust.
I think I was able to get some info from other postes regarding acids, etc. Will try extra rinsing next time. -Or- If someone has experience and\or further technical reasons why the rust reappears, please post.
I have used "Rust Away" (Or something like that) on stanchion\cleat to deck areas that are seeping rust. Spray on, wait 30 minutes, wash off. Rust rinses away like magic.
Here's the problem: 10 days later, rust is back, and angry at being shooed away. Seems the rust away grows rust.
I think I was able to get some info from other postes regarding acids, etc. Will try extra rinsing next time. -Or- If someone has experience and\or further technical reasons why the rust reappears, please post.
Sounds like a fastener is weeping rust. To get at those kinds of problems one usually needs to remove the fixture, inspect the fasteners and then re-bed the whole thing. Yuck. Sorry.
--Tom.
Snap-On metal polish
The best metal polish I have ever seen is made by Snap-On tools. I have used never-dull and all the rest. They can not hold a candle to the snap-on product. Any snap-on dealer can get it for you. After you try this product you will through all the rest of them away. That you can take to the bank.
Dale
The best metal polish I have ever seen is made by Snap-On tools. I have used never-dull and all the rest. They can not hold a candle to the snap-on product. Any snap-on dealer can get it for you. After you try this product you will through all the rest of them away. That you can take to the bank.
Dale
try winchinox, by wichard. haven't had to touch my stainless in over three years. re-passivates the stainless.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|309314|311453&id=107572
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|309314|311453&id=107572
Miracle Cloth
http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Cloth-Purpose-Metal-Cleaning/dp/B000C0B3E0
I found it cleans better than thing else and leaves a coating on the metal too. They are inexpensive so it is worth a try. Very quick and easy too.
http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Cloth-Purpose-Metal-Cleaning/dp/B000C0B3E0
I found it cleans better than thing else and leaves a coating on the metal too. They are inexpensive so it is worth a try. Very quick and easy too.
You guys will undoubtedly howl at this one:
Try cleaning stainless steel with cola and household aluminum foil!
I know, sounds crazy, but I saw it on Myth Busters...
They couldn't believe it either, but it worked!
I cleaned my boat a month ago, as of today, no new rust,
and that's on a 30 year old boat. Just pour the cola on a foil "pad" and rub. I think that the combination of phosphoric acid in the cola and the foil interact, causing the rust to go away like silver cleaner cleans tarnish.
I'm going to do the Bimini top frame with cola and try the Miracle cloth to put on a nice finish, since it's so easy to use.
I'll try to get before and after pictures next week.
Try cleaning stainless steel with cola and household aluminum foil!
I know, sounds crazy, but I saw it on Myth Busters...
They couldn't believe it either, but it worked!
I cleaned my boat a month ago, as of today, no new rust,
and that's on a 30 year old boat. Just pour the cola on a foil "pad" and rub. I think that the combination of phosphoric acid in the cola and the foil interact, causing the rust to go away like silver cleaner cleans tarnish.
I'm going to do the Bimini top frame with cola and try the Miracle cloth to put on a nice finish, since it's so easy to use.
I'll try to get before and after pictures next week.
Actually, it's not crazy. Aluminum reacts with rust (iron oxide) to form iron and aluminum oxide—this is the basic chemical reaction used in thermite. Phosphoric acid is a well known cleaner and treatment for steel, and IIRC, converts the iron oxide to iron phosphate, which also stops the corrosion process.
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