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Step 11How to make Stainless Steel Rust
My friend broke his kiteboard and gave it to me.
When I took the footstraps off I was surprised to see that the threaded inserts were rusty.
It was a very expensive board. Would they really have used plain old rustable steel inserts?
It turns out that you can easily make stainless steel rust.
Some grades of stainless do rust naturally, just not as fast as regular steel.
To make any stainless steel rust just attach a screw or washer that is a higher grade of stainless steel, or any "more noble" metal.
Then when salt water hits it the dissimilar metal stack becomes a weak battery.
The "more noble" metal becomes the cathode and nothing happens to it.
The "less noble" metal rusts and dissolves away.
The same thing happens to aluminum. Near a stainless fastener the aluminum will become pitted and corroded. Aluminum oxide is white, so you'll have to look for it.
Iron oxide is red and easy to spot.
This process only happens when there's an electrical connection between the dissimilar metals as well as a fluid path between them. It happens much faster in salt water than it does in fresh water.
When I took the footstraps off I was surprised to see that the threaded inserts were rusty.
It was a very expensive board. Would they really have used plain old rustable steel inserts?
It turns out that you can easily make stainless steel rust.
Some grades of stainless do rust naturally, just not as fast as regular steel.
To make any stainless steel rust just attach a screw or washer that is a higher grade of stainless steel, or any "more noble" metal.
Then when salt water hits it the dissimilar metal stack becomes a weak battery.
The "more noble" metal becomes the cathode and nothing happens to it.
The "less noble" metal rusts and dissolves away.
The same thing happens to aluminum. Near a stainless fastener the aluminum will become pitted and corroded. Aluminum oxide is white, so you'll have to look for it.
Iron oxide is red and easy to spot.
This process only happens when there's an electrical connection between the dissimilar metals as well as a fluid path between them. It happens much faster in salt water than it does in fresh water.
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May 30, 2008. 3:23 PMwussap
says:
is that a person? the first picture looks like a persons face
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Jul 8, 2009. 1:51 PMCapnTac
says:
LOL it does!
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