Rusty "Stainless"?

[snork]

I'm posting this here because I know I'll get reasonable responses.
Awhile back I had purchased a higher-end genesis-style atty in a last ditch effort to see why people think they're so great. No cigar, I still think they suck. That's all beside the point.
I was getting it ready to put it up for sale, clean as clean can be. I had left it in a cup of water to soak as the final step, I had washed it good with Dawn and rinsed and rinsed, then was just letting it soak for a bit. I spaced it out.
This morning I remembered it, went after it and discovered the water had an orange hue. Niiiiice. Got the thing out of there and discovered rusted spots on the parts. Strange rusted spots, localized. Most of the parts' surfaces were just fine, but had areas of rust.

WTH? Does this indicate an inferior grade of SS or was I just a bozo for leaving perfectly good stainless steel in water for a week?

I've taken pictures of the water and rust. This really irritates me because I paid $125 for the thing and was planning on selling it for $115-$120. Now I don't think I can in good conscience, even if I get the rust off of it.

What say ye?

 

[boog]

stainless just means it stains "less" - it can rust.

my P+ has a few specks of "patina" or "rust"... I attributed it to the blasted finish. it is actually pretty common with media blasted and stonewashed knives made out of stainless steel.

shouldn't have left it sitting in water, to be quite frank

 

[tybs_4045]

Im guessing its just surface rust. SS can do that some alot easier than others based on the type of SS used. Sucks that it happened to you snork. Im sure there is cleaning solutions out there to remove it.

 

[kilgoretrout]

Sure, stainless can rust. I'd hit it with a little #00 steel wool and don't put it in a glass of water again.

If it were anything other than an atomizer (something you vape out of / suck on), I'd recommend a little wipe with Eezox. It likely wouldn't rust after that. I've been using it on stainless and regular steel guns for years.

 

[snork]

Thanks for the replies!
Obviously I know little about the subject. I've just never personally seen a high-quality stainless object rust before.
Sometimes on this forum you see people spaz about anything which may contaminate their juice; I'm certainly not one of those. I'm glad I refrained from naming the atomizer because I suspected I was the true culprit.

 

[artyoh]

"Stainless" steel alloys all include ~ 11% chromium, which combines with oxygen available in the environment, to form a very thin ( invisible ) protective layer of chromium oxide on the surface, which prevents iron in the steel from oxydizing. Adding nickel, titanium, etc., can make SS alloys more rust-resistant......but never completely rust-proof

 

[snork]

What I found interesting was that the rust appeared in very localized blotches, other areas were pristine. It's almost as if the alloy mixture wasn't homogeneous.

 

[New_World]

seems kinda weird that they call it stainless.
its does stain...with rust.

 

[rojo]

I bet Flitz would polish off the rust. The bottle of Flitz I have says it's non-toxic, and it puts a mirror finish on the brass contacts of my Kicks, cutting through the oxidized brass like Moses through the Red Sea.

 

[anavidfan]

You all hit it on the nail about stainless steel. But hopefully you atomizer did not advertise "surgical grade" stainless steel. I think there are a few mod makers out there that say theirs are made of this. Surgical grade is not supposed to rust and does sometimes discolour due to the fact that when in contact with all our bodily fluids it does after years discolour. Ive seen implants that have been removed and was surprised the first time I saw some plates and ball joints with stains. I was told this was normal, but that the colour was inert and non-toxic. Even with Titanium there are different grades and surgical titanium is light and and even more durable and less prone to discolouration.
As long as the atomizer is labeled Stainless steel it is considered that. There are certain alloys/ metals that must be present for it to be considered "stainless steel" its the percentages that make the different qualities. Thats why you will see knives that look the same but one will be a couple hundred and the other might be 10.00. Both will do the job, but one will be stronger and last a lifetime. Just be aware of this when you are buying your devices.