THE ALLOY REVIEW Field Notes for Metals Buyers & Engineers CORROSION & QUALITY Why Does Stainless Steel Rust? Three causes, one field test, and the difference between a defect and a false alarm. A stainless steel delivery arriving with visible rust spots...
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THE ALLOY REVIEW Field Notes for Metals Buyers & Engineers CORROSION & QUALITY Why Does Stainless Steel Rust? Three causes, one field test, and the difference between a defect and a false alarm. A stainless steel delivery arriving with visible rust spots raises an understandable question: is the material genuinely stainless, or has something gone wrong? In the overwhelming majority of cases, the passive chromium oxide layer that makes stainless steel corrosion-resistant is still fully intact underneath. The rust traces back to one of three distinct, identifiable causes — and knowing which one you're looking at is the difference between a five-minute cleaning job and a genuine material failure. “Rust on stainless steel is a symptom with more than one diagnosis. Jumping straight to ‘defective’ skips the two most common and least serious explanations.” NIFTY ALLOYS QA/QC DESK Cause One: Free-Iron Contamination By far the most common cause. Ordinary carbon steel particles get embedded on t
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