Wondering How to Remove Rust from Stainless Steel?

As it is a well-known fact that stainless steel is a corrosion-resistant material in comparison to mild or tool steel, it is actually stain-“less” steel rather than stainproof steel. Sadly, in many circumstances even stainless steel can form corrosion which can range from mild tea staining discoloration to thick, flaky rust. 

This can cause some understandable panic for owners of stainless steel equipment, railings, tanks, appliances, grills, boat hardware, sculptures, and other objects which go from beautiful to ugly due to the presence of the rust. 

If you are wondering How to Remove Rust from Stainless Steel, then we have good news for you. Rust on stainless steel can be removed and prevented from rapid reformation if all the right steps are taken. 

One of the most common causes behind rusting on stainless steel is the iron contamination of surface that was deposited during or after manufacturing, and the alloy structure change along the heat affected zone of welds. 

These are corrosion situations that should be prevented with proper passivation, but are sometimes ignored. Furthermore, even the stainless steel that has been passivated well can rust due to chloride attack from harsh chemicals such as muriatic acid as well as long term susceptibility in highly corrosive surroundings including marine areas, swimming pools, winter ice-melting salts, or frequent cleaning with bleach-based cleaner. 

In these circumstances, regular rinsing with clean water is helpful to remove the chlorides from the surface, but periods repassivation is also recommend in order keeping the stainless looking nice. 

If corrosion does appear, is it minor “tea staining” discoloration or full blown rust, it is important to deal with it as soon as possible. The longer the corrosion is allowed to persist, the worse it will become, and may even progress to very severe pit corrosion. 

So, to answer your question –“How to Remove Rust from Stainless Steel?”- Removing rust from stainless steel is easy and can be achieved through the use of any number of different chemicals, grinding, abrasives, etc. 

However, using these methods does not address the critical issue of passivation to help prevent the stainless steel from future corrosion. This is the most vital part of solving the issue of rust because the efforts of removal get wasted if there is a fast reformation of rust. 

Effective products for rust removal and extra protection 

From us, you can get environmentally friendly, citric acid based CitriSurf products that help in simplifying the process by performing all the tasks in one treatment so that the stainless surface remains clean and intact for the longest time possible. 

At Reba Safer Chemical, we also offer Passivation with Citric Acid to help remove rust from your stainless steel surfaces. Hence, keep your surfaces as good as new for years with us.