Am I correct in believing that polishing the revolver will remove the passivation process? How important is the passivation, anyway? I mean, it's still stainless right… does passivation really make that big of a difference?
Howdy
Yes and no.
Passivation is an interesting subject. All ferrous metals; iron and steel, want to return to their natural state in nature. Pure iron does not exist in nature. It wants to combine with oxygen to form iron oxide, which we call rust, or corrosion. The way to prevent iron or normal alloy steels from corroding it to seal it off from atmospheric oxygen. Paint and oil can accomplish this. So can a thin, carefully controlled layer of iron oxide. That is what gun blue is, it is a very carefully applied form of rust. The base steel has been highly polished, and the bluing salts form a thin layer of blue (actually a form of oxide). This layer of oxide seals off the underlying base metal from atmospheric oxygen and prevents further corrosion.
Stainless Steel is a different story. First off, there are many, many different alloys of Stainless Steel, different alloys are formulated for different properties. In the steel industry they are usually referred to as Corrosion Resistant Steel, not Stainless. Notice it says Corrosion Resistant, not Corrosion Proof. Given the right conditions, most Stainless Steels will corrode.
Anyway, the definition of Stainless Steel is a steel with a minimum content of 10.5% Chromium. Chromium is the secret to the success of Stainless Steel. When the Stainless is molten, the Chromium is evenly distributed throughout the alloy. Once the steel solidifies, the Chromium at the surface of the steel instantly forms a layer of Chromium Oxide on contact with atmospheric oxygen. This microscopic layer of Chromium Oxide protects the body or the steel from further corrosion. It is almost like magic, that is the beauty of Stainless. Scratch it or cut it, and the Chromium at the new surface instantly forms a new layer of Chromium Oxide, protecting the metal from corrosion again.
The only fly in this ointment is tiny bits of non Stainless Steel that might get imbedded in the surface. Tiny bits rubbed off an cutting tool, or tiny shards of regular steel wool, will begin to corrode, and because they are imbedded in the surface of the steel, the Stainless Steel in contact with the contaminant will begin to corrode.
To prevent this happening, Stainless Steel is passivated once all the cutting and machining is done. Passivation consists of first cleaning the parts, to wash away any foreign metals, dirt, or grease. Then the parts are dipped into a passivating acid bath. There are different baths for different types of Stainless.
The bottom line is, if you want to polish your Stainless gun, DO NOT use standard steel wool. Particles can break off as I described, imbed themselves in the surface, and begin to corrode the gun. There are products made specifically for polishing Stainless Steels that will not harm the steel.
Here is an article describing passivating Stainless Steel:
http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/how-to-passivate-stainless-steel-parts