| "Stainless steel is not 'rust proof' it is mostly rust retardant, it has a chromium coating that reduces oxidization but does not stop it completely." Just to be clear ... you can indeed coat things with stainless steel. However, most stainless steel objects (like screws or bolts or tools, etc.) are stainless throughout - you cannot abrade or scratch into a non-stainless inner core. This is unlike, for instance, galvanized hardware which is merely steel with a coating over the top. Galvanized items can, indeed, be mechanically altered to reveal non-galvanized material underneath. As for my grandparents question: You can, indeed, buy stainless steel beams, rebar[1], etc. They have all the fantastic properties you imagine and are, again, not merely coated like (for instance) galvanized rebar. They are also extremely expensive. [1] https://www.stainlesssteelrebar.org/ |
Here is a pretty good article on what goes on when the passivation layer is compromised:
https://www.alliagesunifies.com/blog/does-stainless-steel-ru...
So this isn't about 'objects coated with stainless steel' it is about objects made entirely from stainless steel. Have a look at what a typical all through stainless steel terminal on an ocean going ship looks like after a couple of years. Especially when they are made from lower grades of stainless (such as for instance 304) vs better ones. Not all stainless is made equal when it comes to corrosion resistance.