1. How to clean and finish welded parts in stainless steel?

The follow procedures are recommended:

Finishing:
a) Remove the excess of arc welding material.
b) Correct the removal traces with a sandpaper belt that generates straight traces.
c) In the last finishing step, when the welded area will be equaled with the rest of the material, it's recommended the use of Scotch-Brite Strap (type SCM A-Gross) + Wheel for Metal (type A2-M) + Strap 3M 441D or 3M 441W # 120 or similar when the finishing number 3 is wanted and Scotch-Brite Strap (type SCM A-Medium) + Wheel for Metal (type A2-F) + Strap 3M 441D or 3M 441W # 150 or similar when the finishing number 4 is wanted.

Cleaning:
After the finishing process described above, a nitric acid washing is recommended, to achieve an excellent surface quality.


2. What are the stainless steel cleaning procedures?

Routine cleaning: The best products to conserve the stainless steel are water, soap, detergents (soft and neutral) and ammonia-based remover (ammoniacs), diluted in warm water, and applied with a soft cloth or a nylon sponge. Later it is enough to rinse with sufficient water, preferential warm, and to dry with a soft cloth. The drying is extremely important to prevent the appearance of spots in the surface of the product. But the routine cleanness can be made in machine to wash wares and only when the dirt will be intense, a pre-laudering is advised. This routine cleanness removes the most common dirts easily; preventing the most intense and making the eventual spots of the surface of the steel disappear completely. Stainless steel never uses common steel sponge in the cleanness of the steel; therefore beyond scrath the polishing parts it leaves very small particles that can come to provoke spots.

Light spots:
In dirt moderate case, when the routine cleanness is not enough, apply a done mixture of plaster or sodium bicarbonate, dissolved in domestic use alcohol until forming a folder. It uses a soft cloth or bushing of nylon to pass in the stainless steel surface. If to prefer, also uses a brush of soft bristles, taking well-taken care of: it always makes it in the possible way softest, using passing long and uniforms, in the direction it finishing. It prevents to rub with circular movements. Later it is alone to rinse with sufficient water, preferential warm, and to dry with a soft cloth.

Deep spots:
Make a pre-immersion in warm or hot detergent, or solution of an ammonia-based remover (homemade removers) and water. If this would not be enough to let go burnt foods or carbonized deposits, appeal to more aggressive products as to caustic soda based removers used in domestic cleaning. Follow the indicated procedure to remove moderate dirt. Repeat if necessary. If the dirt persists, use a more severe method, with products more abrasive as the sapolio. Important: to only use as final resource. Finally rinses and follows the stages of the routine cleanness.

Fats, oils and lard:
Clean the thick deposits with a cloth or paper towel. After that, dive the parts in a warm solution of detergent or ammonia. Later, follow the procedures of the routine cleanness.

Fingertips:
Remove with a soft cloth or humidified paper towel in alcohol (in preference isopropylic found in manipulation pharmacies), or solvent organic (ether, benzene and acetone). To diminish the possibilities of a new occurrence apply a domestic wax based polisher of or liquid petroleum jelly on the clean and dry surface.

Adhesives:
Unglue the maximum that will be able. Dive the part in warm water and rub with a soft cloth. If the adhesive persist, dry and rub softly with organic solvent or alcohol. But take care: Never scrape the surface of the steel with blade, thick spatulas or abrasives.

Persistent spots:
These spots will demand vigorously rubs in the surface spotted with a folder made with fine domestic abrasive (sapolio), nitric acid water and 10%, using a burnishing bushing. The treatment with acid will have to be followed always by a rinse in solution of ammonia or bicarbonate of sodium and cleanness of routine. Have in mind that this operation can compromise the visual aspect of the product, having to be used only in last case.


3. What is the recommendation for using stainless steel utensils to cook?

Wash always in warm water and soap, to remove any residues proceeding from burnishing of the part. Before use a utensil, verify in the packing of the manufacturer, labels and manuals that contain other instructions of use and conservation.

To prevent the discolouration of the utensils:
Adopt prudence while cooking. The average or low flame cooks better. If necessary it uses one scaffolding between the burner of the stove and the utensil.

To prevent water marks:
Our water, beyond chlorine, contains mineral particles in the surface of the steel in great concentrations, when leaving the water to dry on it. Such particles become visible since stainless steel possess shining and reflected surface to the light, being able to cause the called water spots. To prevent them, dry the utensil with a soft cloth soon after the laudering.

To hinder that foods stick on the pans:
Use the average or low flame. Move, with a spoon, the foods with bigger probability to adhere in pans, such as those that contain gravies. Keep the pan on the flame only during the necessary time for the baking. Use a small amount of kitchen oil, margarina or lard when frying.

To remove burnt foods and fat:
First leave the utensil of gravy in warm water, with a little of ammonia-based detergent. Later wash it, also with warm water, using soap and a nylon sponge. If this would not be enough to remove burnt foods, appeals to more aggressive products as caustic soda based removers used in the domestic cleanness. Follow the indicated procedure to remove moderate dirt.

Recommendation for baking with minimum of water:
This type of baking can be made in a casserole or a pan that leads the heat uniformly and has a well adjusted cover. Attention: doesn’t leave the utensil to boil in dry. Use low flame to prevent the discolouration.


4. Which are the necessary cares with a stove with stainless steel table?

Before using a new stove it is necessary to remove carefully the plastic film that recovers and protects the table. After to remove it, use a remover caretaker and a soft cloth to eliminate the adhesive substance total, preventing that the same stainless stick. To clean the used stainless steel in the stove: Simply it rubs with a humid cloth or nylon sponge after each use. To remove more resistant fats and spots, make the cleanness using common detergent. Never use common steel sponge in the cleanness of the components in stainless of its stove: beyond scratch the polishing parts, it leaves very small particles that can come to provoke spots. Periodically make the complete cleanness, also in the sideboard of oil, oven, grate of the kitchen-range overhead exhaust and other components.


5. I work with stainless steel corrosion, with the production of plates of homage, trophies, etc. When I make the corrosion, it appears light spots on the corroded area and I can't remove them. What can I do to eliminate these spots?

It does not have commentaries of which is the product that it uses to make the writing of steel plates inox. We believe that it is a ferric chloride solution, normally used.

The ferric chloride attacks provoking pits, but as all the surface in contact with the product finishes being attacked has as resulted a corrosion sufficient uniform. It can be that, in determined conditions if they form corrosion products that spot plates. If this will be the case, suggests that after done the attack with ferric chloride it is made a final cleanness with a solution that contains acid 15% of nitric and 2% of fluoridric acid. The necessary time must be defined by the experience (how much time delays to remove the spots) but normally will be one few minutes (of 2 the 5).


6. I have some tanks of stainless steel, about 10 years without cleanness polishing. I ask an orientation of a product for a general cleaning because all the products I've used until now (steel fosfox, straws, etc) presented no results.

The cleanness that can be made depends mainly on the state of the tanks.

A thing is if they are only dirty (being important which here it is the type of dirt) or if started some problem of corrosion (“rust” presence). It is good for starting clarifying that never they must be used “steel straws” in the stainless steel cleanness. These materials are manufactured with steel carbon and when we use them we incrust steel particles carbon in the surface of the steel inox. These particles do not resist the atmospheric corrosion and start to corrode. The product of corrosion of these particles (known as rust) can take with the time the problems of corrosion in the proper stainless steel.

Products exist in the market diverse that can be used, depending on the problem. They exist ungreasyable, deoxidizing, etc. In the case, is necessary to think about eliminating oxides, that is, it is necessary to carry through a pickling.

The pickling can be made with liquid solutions (a hydrofoil nitric solution, with 15% of HNO3 and 2% of HF), but the pickling time must very be well controlled because the HF really attacks the surface of the stainless steel. A form probably more easy to control would be the gel use remover, that must be placed in all the surface of the tank, left the time that the manufacturer of the gel recommends and later washing with water in abundance.

Depending on the spots or the formed oxide layers, in certain cases it is necessary to make a drilling to remove these products, finishing later with finer sandpapers each time. The mechanical removals, as the pointed one, must be followed of a pickling. Made this work of pickling, the ideal is not to allow that the situation if repeats. During 10 years cleanness was not made and now, the cleanness is more difficult. A cleanness per year, to the times only with water or water and soap, is enough for the most part to keep clean the stainless surfaces of the cases.