Stainless Tanks Lost Their Luster 3

[SRoche]

Hello All,

I have a bunch of 304 stainless vessels that have lost their luster. We have put a lot of labor into hand polishing all the water spots left over from general cleaning. It was getting to be too much of an investment week in and out just for keeping things looking sharp. Somebody got it in my head to try and use the Nitric/Phosphoric acid blend we use for CIP. It worked, but a week later it discolored the steel. Does anybody have any thoughts as how to rectify this? Short of mechanically refinishing the surface?

Cheers

Scott Roche'

 

[monkeydog]

Ok, so you took what someone told you and used a passivation process to polish your SS tanks. Now you are asking blindly on an internet forum on what to use on your tanks.

Before you take any advise from unknown posters, do yourself a favor and do a web search on polishing stainless steel.

 

[EdStainless]

Why would you care if they are shiny?
Would you rather have them clean?
The dull finish and/or water spots are not defects. Leave them alone.
Or better yet have someone lightly bead blast them to make them uniformly dull and then passivate afterward to assure that they are clean. This finish will be durable and not show surface imperfections.
If someone really wants them to shine then hand them the tools.
Polishing SS usually does more harm than good.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[tbuelna]

Is mechanically polishing the tank surfaces in place really that much more difficult than other methods that might require removing the tanks?

In the future if all you want is to prevent water spots on your polished stainless steel tank surfaces, try using filtered water for the final rinse.

 

[IFRs]

There may be something in the environment that takes the shine off. Next time, apply some wax