Mill scale, often shortened to just scale, is the flaky surface of hot rolled steel, iron oxides consisting

of Iron(II,III) oxide, hematite and magnetite.

Mill scale is formed on the outer surfaces of plates, sheets or profiles when they are being produced by rolling red hot iron or steel billets in rolling mills. Mill scale is composed of iron oxides mostly ferric and is bluish black in color. It is usually less than 1 mm (0.039 in) thick and initially adheres to the steel surface and protects it from atmospheric corrosion provided no break occurs in this coating.

Because it is electro-chemically cathodic to steel, any break in the mill scale coating will cause accelerated corrosion of steel exposed at the break. Mill scale is thus a boon for a while until its coating breaks due to handling of the steel product or due to any other mechanical cause.

Mill scale is a nuisance when the steel is to be processed. Any paint applied over it is wasted since it will come off with the scale as moisture laden air get under it. Thus mill scale can be removed from steel surfaces by flame cleaning, pickling or abrasive blasting, which are all tedious operations that waste energy. This is why shipbuilders used to leave steel delivered freshly rolled from mills out in the open to allow it to 'weather' till most of the scale fell off due to atmospheric action. Nowadays most steels mills can supply their produce with mill scale removed and steel coated with shop primers over which welding can be done safely. --- The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel, 10th Edn., p. 1083 (1985). ISBN 0930767004.

The alloying metals form cations within the mill scale at about the alloying proportions* due to the almost instantaneous oxidation of freshly exposed metal at high temperature. Fe3O4 contains both Fe+2 and Fe+3, and is sometimes written FeOFe2O3. Ni+2 substitutes for Fe+2, Al+3 and Cr+3 substitute for Fe+3. Thus, (Fe,Ni)O(Fe,Al,Cr)2O3. Cations of other valences, e.g., Si+4 and Ti+4, are accompanied by cation vacancies to maintain overall electrical neutrality. With very slow cooling, small grains of Si- and Ti-containing oxides may precipitate within the scale. *unlike general heating or heat treatment scale, where Al, Cr, etc. preferentially oxidize. Steel mills descale sheet and plate by passage through scalebreaker rolls, which flexes the metal enough to fracture the scale. This allows pickling acid (HCl) to attack the more soluble (partially transformed) inner wstite layer.

Definition mill scale : the heavy oxide layer formed during hot fabrication or heat treatment of metals. Especially applied to iron and steel. Mill scale, often shortened to just scale, is the flaky surface of hot rolled steel, iron oxides consisting of Iron (II,III) oxide, hematite and magnetite.

Mill scale is formed on the outer surfaces of plates, sheets or profiles when they are being produced by rolling red hot iron or steel billets in rolling mills. Mill scale is composed of iron oxides mostly ferric and is bluish black in color. It is usually less than 1 mm (0.039 in) thick and initially adheres to the steel surface and protects it from atmospheric corrosion provided no break occurs in this coating.

Because it is electro-chemically cathodic to steel, any break in the mill scale coating will cause accelerated corrosion of steel exposed at the break. Mill scale is thus a boon for a while until its coating breaks due to handling of the steel product or due to any other mechanical cause.

Mill scale is a nuisance when the steel is to be processed. Any paint applied over it is wasted since it will come off with the scale as moisture laden air get under it. Thus mill scale can be removed from steel surfaces by flame cleaning, pickling or abrasive blasting, which are all tedious operations that waste energy. This is why shipbuilders used to leave steel delivered freshly rolled from mills out in the open to allow it to 'weather' till most of the scale fell off due to atmospheric action. Nowadays most steels mills can supply their produce with mill scale removed and steel coated with shop primers over which welding can be done safely.