02/23/2015
Sailfish 208 CC Owner’s Manual | sailfishboats.com
22
Caring for Stainless Steel
The information provided is designed to
give you a thorough understanding of the
factors that can impact the appearance
of your anodized aluminum. By using this
information, we hope to help you enhance
the beauty and value to our products.
What Makes Stainless
Steel Stainless?
Oxygen is the key element in causing rust,
or red oxide on steel and other metals.
Stainless Steel contains Chromium which
reacts with the oxygen in the air to form a
chrome-oxide surface layer that is invisible
to the eye, but strong enough to prevent
further oxygen from “staining” (rusting) the
surface. Higher levels of Chromium and
the addition of other alloying elements
such as nickel and molybdenum enhance
this surface layer and improve the corro-
sion resistance of the stainless material.
What Determines
Different Grades of
Stainless Steel?
The grade of Stainless Steel is primarily
determined by the amount of the Chro-
mium and Nickel alloys contained in the
material. 304 and 316 are the prominent
grades of Stainless Steel: 304 contains
1% Chromium and 8% Nickel, while 316
Contains 16% Chromium and 10% Nickel
and 2% Molybdenum. The Molybdenum is
added to help resist corrosion to chlorides
(like sea water and de-icing salts).
Can Stainless Steel
rust?
Not in the way steel rusts. Steel will
discolor, bubble and flake from red oxide
development. Stainless Steel may develop
red spots, but this is usually due to Iron
particles on the surface of the Stainless
Steel. Any Iron particles must be removed
and the Stainless Steel cleaned with a
high concentration of citric acid or a com-
mercial cleaner specifically designed for
Stainless Steel.
Is Stainless Steel
Green (Environmental-
ly Friendly)?
Stainless Steel is highly sought after by
recyclers and is 100% recyclable. New
Stainless Steel typically has a recycled
content of between 65% & 80% which
makes it one of the highest average con-
tent recycled construction materials on the
planet.
Will Stainless Steel
Discolor?
Cleaners that are typically used with
cement, grout and stone, etc., may contain
Muriatic Acid. Stainless Steel is not
resistant to Muratic Acid. MURIATIC ACID
SHOULD NOT BE USED IF STAINLESS
STEEL IS PRESENT. It is not even nec-
essary that the acid touch the Stainless
Steel, just the “fumes” from it will cause a
discoloration of the Stainless Steel. Other
than this, Stainless Steel is usually very
resistant to discoloring.
