Picks made of stainless steel might rust! - Pacification

[danneva]

Stainless steel will still rust, if it is exposed to ordinary steel, such as filing, or grinding with wheels that have been used on ordinary steel, or even finishing with steel wool.

The problem is that very fine particles embed themselves into the surface and rust, that in turn starts the stainless steel rusting. A through cleaning will help, but there is still a chance that your picks will rust.

According to Lee Kremer, all stainless steels can corrode under the wrong conditions. One of the worst things you can do to stainless steel is exposing it to chlorides. The most important thing to remember was that under no circumstance where tools used for works on stainless steel to be used for any other material. For example if a hacksaw blade had been used for cutting mild steel it was not allowed near the stainless steel. If it was used on stainless it was said to contaminate the material and cause a reaction in the stainless steel, even the slightest contact with ferrous metals could prompt rust.

[danneva]

Because of their resistance to corrosion, stainless steel is widely used as construction materials. Recent decades, however, have seen a trend toward more demanding technological applications in increasingly more corrosive ambient and high-temperature environments. The continuing interest in corrosion resistance has resulted in the development of new stainless steels, although not all of the newly developed materials combine the greater strength and higher corrosion resistance of the new duplex grades. Some are lower cost utility grades for entirely different applications. Corrosion of stainless steel, describes the current understanding of corrosion resistance of stainless steels and emphasizes the role of metallurgical factors in creating this resistance.

[vov35]

Pacification of the surface of the stainless, so it won't rust is done with dilute nitric acid. This is getting harder to get after 9/11.

Battery acid (sulfuric acid) + tree stump remover (potassium nitrate) = nitrate group moves to the hydrogen and you have nitric acid.
There's a proper procedure to doing this which I don't remember, but take note that this is possible.

If you use this knowledge to make high explosives I am not liable. kthxbai.

[nataz]

My custom bogota set from serepick rusted after sitting in a desk for a month in a basement . Figure some steel wool should fix them right up, but I was still sad to see my pretty mirror polish picks all ugly looking.

[johnw]

Pikal Polishing Paste brings up stainless steel a treat. I also use the liquid polish from time to time