Stainless

[bista]

I did some work on the stanchions that required some welding. I have been getting rust on the welds that keeps coming back after I clean it up. What can I do to stop this from happening?

[WHOOSH]

Not much. The rod material used in the weld has a high iron content and the rust you''re seeing is simply that iron combusting in the presence of oxygen.

I would recommend Easy Dab as a wonderfully effective and very cheap stainless cleaner; it will take the oxidation off quickly with little rubbing and is often found in industrial supply stores. You might call National Chemical (1 800 NAT CHEM) and ask them if there''s a retail supplier near you.

Last time I bought some, it was $7/quart.

Jack

[TrueBlue]

Thanks for the lead WHOOSH . . . I contacted National Chemical through their web site to inquire about purchasing Easy Dab.

Discovered an interesting coincidence re: your internet name while I was reading the company''s list of products.

Check it out:
http://www.nclonline.com/productdetail.asp?currcode=2030

Steve

[flicker]

Please forgive my ignorance, but a couple of questions: TrueBlue, are you welding stainless steel? And, if so, are you using a stainless rod and bathing it in inert gas while welding?

And to everyone, does anyone use naval jelly anymore? If not, why not?

Chas.

[TrueBlue]

Chas, I am not welding stainless, but interested in the best cleaner/rust stain remover for SS. It may be my ignorance in assuming that Easy Dab is the preferred product to use.

Since the prior owner of my boat ignored periodic maintenance of the metals, my stewardship will require extra effort in bringing her back to Bristol shape. Is it your opinion that Naval Jelly is best suited for this task?

Steve

[flicker]

Sorry. I meant to be asking bista about the type of welding work.

But to answer your question, TrueBlue, I''ve never used it on stainless, but I used naval jelly on steel engine parts and wrought iron (steel) fencing many years ago and it worked great, I thought. It went far in removing paint, usually requiring a rinse and second application, as I recall. And it left a clean, silver-grey, exposed metal surface on areas that had no paint.

I imagine it should work on any steel, especially any rusting weld joints. But I never hear or read about it in sailing so I wonder if a better product has been developed.

In any case I would certainly defer to Jack.

Chas.

[flicker]

In fact, here is part of a previous post about rust treatment on steel tools:

Date: Sep. 24 2003 10:42 PM
Author: RichH (rhmpl33@att.net)
Boiling in water for a moderately long time will remove surface rust and form ferrous oxide - the ''good'' rust. Add a bit of phosphoric acid to the boiling water and you will quicken the reaction. Coating with a ''rust reformer'' containing phosphoric acid is the best method of rust removal: Ospho, Naval Jelly, etc. BoatUS, WestMarine, etc. supply spray on ''rust reformers''. Any method that converts ferric oxide to ferrous oxide will work. The ferrous oxide is the ''blue'' sheen on guns, etc. used to protect against ferric oxide formation. Coke, Pepsi, etc. contain phosphoric acid but not enough to make much difference, .... unless you *boil* the part in them.

Whether this is so with stainless steel, I wouldn''t know.

Chas.

[RichH]

Best for cleaning rust from stainless steel is to power buff(with fabric wheel) and with "tripoli" a natural clay / diotomaceous earth mixture as the buffing compound. You can buy it at hardware stores; it comes in ''stick'' form - spin the buffing wheel and press it on.
If the stains/rust are deep first use sand paper - 400 then 1300 then 2000 grit before buffing, especially if you want a ''mirror'' shine. Metal polishing with a high speed fabric wheel and the correct compound will be exponentially faster and easier. Use ''jewelers rouge'' for brass/bronze/copper, "Tripoli"for stainless and other ''white'' metals.

[WHOOSH]

My impression is that a lot of these suggestions, mine included, treat the symptom but not the cause. The re-emerging rust is coming from iron particles that are part of the weld, as I understand the original post. No matter how spotless and shiny our suggestions get the weld areas, the iron content remains, as does the source of the rust.

The ''ferrous oxide via boiling'' approach is a new one to me. I''m not sure I see how that turns the iron content into an inert form but, if the stanchions are removeable, it would be an interesting experiment.

I''m not sure how my ''internet name'' (whatever that is) connects with a list of Nat Chem''s products, but just for the record - I''m just a customer, but a happy one.<g>

Jack

[TrueBlue]

Jack . . . I meant your "handle", not internet name (Note to self: drink less wine before posting on SailNet). Also . . . did not mean to infer any financial affiliation existed between you and Nat Chem, just thought the coincidence to be humourous. Sorry if my post appeared to be offensive.

Steve