073. Does phosphating hurt stainless steel?

Letter 073

Does phosphating hurt stainless steel?

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One of our clients suggests that zinc phosphate is detrimental to stainless steel. Can anyone tell me if this is the case?

M.F. de Keizer

As a rule, stainless steel cannot be successfully phosphatized. The metal is slightly attacked in phosphatizing, so it probably is correct to say it is detrimental. However, we'd need to know a lot of details before being able to hazard an opinion as to whether it is actually harmful in a particular case.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

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Unfortunately I did not ask the right question. Hereby I will try again: My client suggests that when stainless steel is grit blasted with non-metallic grit and painted with a paint containing zinc phosphate, this paint could be detrimental to the stainless steel. Is there any documentation that can tell me if this is the truth? Thank you for any reply Marcel

MF de Keizer

I hope someone else can shed some light on this because I certainly have never heard of such a problem and am having difficulty envisioning how it could be harmful.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

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