stainless steel and rust

[possummanplus3]

Hi, I had posted a thread asking about applying gun kote to a stainless steel Kahr, which I may or may not do. But regarding proper care of stainless steel, which we all know can rust, my understanding is that what actually protects s/s is surface oxidation and that the surface needs contact with the air. I've heard some say you shouldn't apply anything to the surface. I also see where some apply wax or other protective coatings. I've always treated stainless steel with about the same care as blued, wiped down and oiled. This Kahr k40 will be for ccw. Any clarification would be appreciated.

 

[BADUNAME27]

TSI301 IMO is the best stuff for this sort of thing.

Water weighs in around 7lbs a gallon. TSI301 is heavier so water won't get underneath it the way it can with regular oil.

Hard to find these days but it's good stuff for guns.

 

[azyogi]

water weighs 8.34 lbs per gal. aside from that I got nothing, here in the desert I just clean my ss guns with M-Pro 7 and rem oil moving parts. Not enough rusting going on to worry about. I did buy a used NAA that had a rust spot on the front sight, 0000 steel wool and remoil got that off.

 

[Oro]

I've always treated stainless steel with about the same care as blued, wiped down and oiled.

Yes, just that. The "surface oxidation" you speak of is already there within a few seconds of the raw steel being final polished, you aren't maintaining it or "letting it breathe." So yep, just treat them like blued or nickel. Another vote for M Pro 7 CLP. Not really necessary for stainless guns, but I am finding it to be an excellent product on blue and nickel.

 

[mete]

While oxide coating are a major part of corrosion resistance with stainless steel and aluminum there are treatments to increase the oxide layer . With aluminum we anodize which is electrolytically puts on a thick oxide coating then waxes are added .For stainless steel 'passivating ' is used this is a chemical treatment with acids such as nitric or citric. This first cleans the surface of things like particles of carbon steels [known to initiate rust] and puts on a thick oxide. The difference can be dramatic !