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18/10 Stainless Steel for Exterior Beach Use
Q. I would like to use German Made towel bars and shampoo basket holders in mild exterior beach conditions. They are made of 18/10 Stainless Steel. Will they rust in this application?
Consumer - Palo Alto, California, USA
August 29, 2012
A. Hi Nancy.
18/10 is ideally reasonably resistant to such conditions. But you will be using something for an application for which is probably wasn't intended. I would suggest you look into passivating these items with citric acid before using them outdoors. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 29, 2012
A. Nancy,
Most of the time, for any grade of stainless save possibly the very expensive duplex grades, the questions is not so much "will they rust at the beach" but "how long before they rust at the beach".
A good passivation treatment will extend that life, as will good maintenance practices such as regular fresh water rinsing. If and when tea staining or corrosion does set in, the surface can be restored with safe citric acid based products.
Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.
McHenry, Illinois
September 19, 2012
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