Maintenance of SS while cruising...

[zeehag]

coca cola is phosphoric acid. works great at rust removal. so does sea water. funny how that works. seawater then vinegar then vaseline.
\back in older days to which yuppies never pay attention, vaseline aka petroleum jelly was used regularly to prevent rusting. now, must have the newest most expensive item possible with least potential for doing that which it was bought.
must reinvent the wheel.

[roverhi]

The active ingredient in Barkeepers Friend is oxalic acid beyond the mild abrasive. Oxalic Acid works really well at removing rust stains from fiberglass as well as metal. Also a good bleach/cleaner for teak. It’s a powder that dissolves in water. Mix and paint on with a brush or spray bottle and rinse off before it drys completely. Repeat as necessary till the stain is gone. No scrubbing or hard work necessary.

Phosphoric acid/Ospho is a really good paint prep as it converts rust to a blackish oxide that will hold paint but it hasn’t worked worth a damn at removing rust stains on fiberglass for me. The smell is also repugnant to my nose.

[SVRocinante]

Thanks All!
Will give a couple of these a try and report back.

As always, much appreciated!

[oldtom]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Thank you Copacabana.

I see that your USA based more likely the S/S on most boats make in the US are 304 -not 316l as used Europe and most other countrys can you attach a magnet too it?

[roland stockham]

Originally Posted by oldtom

I see that your USA based more likely the S/S on most boats make in the US are 304 -not 316l as used Europe and most other countrys can you attach a magnet too it?

Really! the use of architectural grade stainless instead of marine grade is common in the USA? Anyone else confirm this? I thought it may be that th OP had had some cheap after-market fittings added.If this is actually the case I will have to be very carful ordering stuff from across the border, you cannot use 304 in salt water.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by oldtom

I see that your USA based more likely the S/S on most boats make in the US are 304 -not 316l as used Europe and most other countrys can you attach a magnet too it?

Both 304 and 316 are actually very slightly magnetic, but both are "non-magnetic" for purpose of distinguishing them from most other steels. 316 is like 304 except they have added molybdenum, which helps with corrosion resistance, so 316 is sometimes called "marine grade". Seems it may be hard to tell the difference on your boat. If you have you have a non-magnetic part that is getting quite rusty then its probably 304.

Improper welding is sometimes the cause of corrosion and more likely to be a failure mode.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Really! the use of architectural grade stainless instead of marine grade is common in the USA? Anyone else confirm this? I thought it may be that th OP had had some cheap after-market fittings added.If this is actually the case I will have to be very carful ordering stuff from across the border, you cannot use 304 in salt water.

304 and 316 are very, very close to each other, there just isn’t much difference.
I had to have one of our Engineers at work show me that, cause I didn’t believe him.
A lot if not most of the Davits and Radar poles etc. made by Kato Marine are made from passivated and highly polished 304, and Kato Marine is not a budget manufacturer.

A lot of people think / hope that the switch Island Packet made from 304 to 316L will mean that they won’t have chainplate problems. I hope they are correct, but strongly suspect they are not.
Stainless steel is stain less, not stain proof.

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

304 and 316 are very, very close to each other, there just isn’t much difference.
I had to have one of our Engineers at work show me that, cause I didn’t believe him.
A lot if not most of the Davits and Radar poles etc. made by Kato Marine are made from passivated and highly polished 304, and Kato Marine is not a budget manufacturer.

A lot of people think / hope that the switch Island Packet made from 304 to 316L will mean that they won’t have chainplate problems. I hope they are correct, but strongly suspect they are not.
Stainless steel is stain less, not stain proof.

Yes, and the key words, as you mentioned, is "highly polished." I have some 304 fittings (not original to the boat) that were showing some signs of rust and I sent them out to be poished and passivated. It made quite a difference in resisting further staining.

[johnserr]

My boat neighbor uses "Spotless Stainless". Looks great after she uses it. Its a little bit expensive and on ebay.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by oldtom

I see that your USA based more likely the S/S on most boats make in the US are 304 -not 316l as used Europe and most other countrys can you attach a magnet too it?

Most boat hardware is used in various countries. Not like the US uses only US and Europe uses only Europe, often they are the same manufacturing company used either place.
300 Series stainless can be magnetic depending on the cold work in the metal. So a cold rolled bar will be very magnetic and the same bar after solution treating (heat treating) will not be at all.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

, you cannot use 304 in salt water.

Really?! I’ll be dammed. How ever did our original chainplates make it to the 40 year mark?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Really?! I’ll be dammed. How ever did our original chainplates make it to the 40 year mark?

[puffcard]

The OP's boat is Swedish built, they use very high quality SS, not Taiwan junk. Use nothing that scratches the SS, no bronze wool, no scrubbing pads, you'll never get the shine back. While on the hook, take advantage of a morning of heavy dew to wipe the water off the SS to help remove the salt. Try a polish or a combined cleaner and wax. Less imperfections on the surface the less rust and you need the protection of a wax.

[ixnax]

Ospho and Barkeepers Friend. Also, use only Stainless Steel tools on Stainless Steel Hardware. Ordinary Carbon or low alloy steel tools can leave a trace on your stainless that will quickly rust.

[JPA Cate]

Hi Rocinante,

Once you get your s/s brightened up, you might try just taking a dampened sponge and wiping it all down before you leave the boat, so that the salt doesn't go through a lot of wet/dry cycles on it. It might spread out the times between having to use something else on it. Consider it an experiment, and see if it works for you.

Ann