Rust on Stainless (?) Steel

[chad]

Well the bus has now been back on the road for nearly 3 months and the Stainless Steel Front Badge and Hubcaps are already rusty.

This does not bode well for when salt is put on the road.

I assume that I've bought **** quality parts where the word stainless is more of a hope than a promise.

What do you recommend to stop them rusting away?

Cheers

 

[gvee]

Clue is in the name: stain less

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5%[1] chromium content by mass.

Stainless steel does not readily corrode, rust or stain with water as ordinary steel does. However, it is not fully stain-proof in low-oxygen, high-salinity, or poor air-circulation environments.[2] There are different grades and surface finishes of stainless steel to suit the environment the alloy must endure. Stainless steel is used where both the properties of steel and corrosion resistance are required.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Cheaper parts tend to be made with lower grades of stainless steel.

Are you sure the parts aren't chromed, not stainless? I didn't think anywhere made repro badges from stainless...

 

[EeVeeWee]

Rust free steel doesn't exist :mrgreen:
But with salt you need AISI 316 instead of AISI 304.
What you still can do is use sandpaper to get the rust off, polish it and put it in clear coat.

 

[chad]

Thanks for the replies.

I bought the badge a few years ago and am fairly sure it's stainless.

If you were buying these sort of parts, over the web, what questions would you ask to get an idea of the quality?

 

[gvee]

I would do my best to buy original parts, probably via this forum!

 

[Moseley]

All stainless steel can rust in the right circumstances - it is just a case of what the quality of the stainless is vs. the level of oxidising 'things' that have come into contact with it.

I think the quality of stainless is generally on the percentage of chromium added to it, as this is what gives it an unreactive layer on the surface.

If you can create a barrier between crap stainless and the air around it, this will stop it from oxidising further. You will probably get away with just a layer of wax to protect it from getting any worse.

 

[gvee]

As another thought... I had some rusty OG hub caps in the past and with some AutoSol and elbow grease I got them looking like new.

 

[busdiver]

slightly off tangent

i sell knives into the scuba diving market and so often i get complaints that "i bought this and it says stainless steel" "but its covered in rust" they want the best of both worlds a knife that keeps a razor edge without sharpening and a knife that does not rust.

you think we have problems with salty roads, most of these guys are doing sea dives and never rinse their kit and the knife stays in its' sheath and gets taken out once a year usually start of the year after its been in storage all winter and thats when the calls from dealers start....................................

drives me mad :roll:

 

[chad]

I think that a lot of people, like I used to, think that stainless steel means it doesn't rust.

I seem to remember that this was one of the selling points of the DeLorean some 20 or so years ago.

I've certainly got a lot better idea now thanks to you guys.

 

[jonboylaw]

Try polishing back with WD40 then apply a light coating each time you wash it. Just a smidge on a soft cloth should do it.


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[ozziedog]

Stainless steel is exactly what it says on the packet,,, Steel that stains less,,, mainly because of the chromium content. The more chromium the less staining but also it means less steel and hence a flimsier product, which is why a good chromium coating or two or three is far superior as it is is then a steel product but just protected / covered with chrome but again the thinner the chrome the more it will rust, like the modern hub caps versus the originals for quality :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,, Original is probs the best :mrgreen:

 

[subheatadey]

Quite rightly said there are different grades of stainless in this day and age they make stuff as cheaply as possible, years ago you bought a stainless steel sink and it would last a lifetime nowadays there just cheap **** do a magnet test on one there's more steel in them. When we used to take sinks down to have them weighed in they would use a magnet. If people can make something a penny cheaper they do.