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Posted: 12/28/2008 3:24:25 PM EDT
| Is rust a concern if storing STainless mags long term in a semi- moist climate - or damp-cold climate? What if the Stainless mags are teflon coated - will that help? What about the springs? |
| I had a stainless knife rust on me once...the reply I got about it was Stainless is steel, it simply stains less than other steel. Rust could be a concern for longterm storage especially if the springs aren't stainless. Any coating should help and they would probably be perfectly fine. If you're worried an ammo can is the way to go. |
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Any 400 series stainless WILL rust do to the ferrous content. PursuitSS ALL stainless steel has "ferrous" content. It is a machine-shop-myth that only the 400-series has iron in it - fact is they ALL do and it is the PRIMARY ingredient. Sure, the 400-series has less corrosion resistance than the 300-series as a general rule. Still, ANY stainless can rust. The only questions are how aggressive of an environment and how much time. |
Stainless steel should have a high content of nickel that would make it "rustproof". I say "should" because not all metals are made to the same standard. US and Canadian steels are made to tighter tolerances than china steel. I am a union ironworker and most union companies and all government jobs require US or Canadian metals because of the tighter tolerances. If you think about it, alot of building have stainless handrails and such outside and have no problems, but I have seen china stainless steel panels rust before. Sub-standard stainless has a lower nickel content and therefore has a higher iron or steel content. 
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@dawg - Specifically, all stainless steel has at least 12% chromium content. That's the magic threshold for the formation of a continuous chromium oxide film on the surface - the phenomenon we call "stainless".
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Stainless steel should have a high content of nickel that would make it "rustproof". I say "should" because not all metals are made to the same standard. US and Canadian steels are made to tighter tolerances than china steel. I am a union ironworker and most union companies and all government jobs require US or Canadian metals because of the tighter tolerances. If you think about it, alot of building have stainless handrails and such outside and have no problems, but I have seen china stainless steel panels rust before. Sub-standard stainless has a lower nickel content and therefore has a higher iron or steel content.  There are metal alloys with high nickel content - we call them the inconels or superalloys. They are EXPENSIVE in the extreme. And yes - outside of domestically produced steels most of the better companies have a "QPL" for which foreign steel sources are kosher. Corus over in the UK tends to make fairly good stuff. |
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High temper stainless (Contains high carbon content, high iron and low chromium) such as the 440 used often in knives can rust in non-saline environments. However, most lower temper stainless does not rust unless exposed to a salt water / salt spray environment. After holding a magnet to my c-products stainless mag I found it to have a fairly high iron content. This indicates it probably would rust if kept damp.
FYI all mags springs will rust if damp so the body rusting is probably mute. |
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High temper stainless (Contains high carbon content, high iron and low chromium) such as the 440 used often in knives can rust in non-saline environments. However, most lower temper stainless does not rust unless exposed to a salt water / salt spray environment. After holding a magnet to my c-products stainless mag I found it to have a fairly high iron content. This indicates it probably would rust if kept damp. FYI all mags springs will rust if damp so the body rusting is probably mute. This is very good point. No sense in discussing the chemistry of Stainless if the springs will rust anyway. Good thinking. |
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If we ignore the more exotic (= expensive) steel alloys, many items such as firearms and hunting knives are commonly made out of 400-series stainless steels, which are properly termed rust RESISTANT. These alloys are used because they can be heat treated to improve the mechanical properties; this heat-treatability comes at the expense of corrosion resistance.
The 18/8 and 300-series stainless alloys are - almost! - rust PROOF. They're used in things like dining utensils and cookware, but these alloys don't take well to heat treatment. Mechanical strength is lower, but dinnerware isn't ordinarily subjected to the same stresses as firearms and hunting knives. |
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I have one item ( and my Lady another one ) which is made outa 904L - and I sure DO hope that it won´t rust, even without any oil. But then it is only half steel, containing nearly 50 % of Nickel and Chrome ...
;-) All answers are correct: SS is minmum 18/8, although Wilson Combat declares 17/7 as ss ... And it USUALLY won´t rust, that means at dry atmospheric condition. Add Water or more humidity and sweat or salt water, or firing residue, which contains Carbonic acid and Nitric acid (?) ( HNO3 ), and it WILL rust! Hermann |
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High temper stainless (Contains high carbon content, high iron and low chromium) such as the 440 used often in knives can rust in non-saline environments. However, most lower temper stainless does not rust unless exposed to a salt water / salt spray environment. After holding a magnet to my c-products stainless mag I found it to have a fairly high iron content. This indicates it probably would rust if kept damp. FYI all mags springs will rust if damp so the body rusting is probably mute. This is very good point. No sense in discussing the chemistry of Stainless if the springs will rust anyway. Good thinking. I wonder.... Would it be possible to passivate the SS springs in nitric acid? |
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High temper stainless (Contains high carbon content, high iron and low chromium) such as the 440 used often in knives can rust in non-saline environments. However, most lower temper stainless does not rust unless exposed to a salt water / salt spray environment. After holding a magnet to my c-products stainless mag I found it to have a fairly high iron content. This indicates it probably would rust if kept damp. FYI all mags springs will rust if damp so the body rusting is probably mute. This is very good point. No sense in discussing the chemistry of Stainless if the springs will rust anyway. Good thinking. I wonder.... Would it be possible to passivate the SS springs in nitric acid? Sure it would be possible. In fact, they probably already are passivated. BTW - any steel with greater than 12% chromium content is technically "stainless". |
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