IRON CONTAMINATION ON STAINLESS STEELS

SPX Cooling Technologies/Marley uses stainless steels (SS304, 304L) for most stainless steel
tower applications. These austenitic SS are some of the highest quality SS used in today’s
industries. With that being said, surface iron contamination of stainless steel can occur
despite efforts made to prevent it.

Iron contamination can occur in several ways:

- Iron particles from grinding, cutting, or machining at job site
- Contact and movement of SS with any other carbon based material during
fabrication or transportation
- Using the same tooling for both SS and carbon steel
- Chemical contamination
- Metal particles being picked up from the residual oil on SS coating

Basically, any way iron can find its way onto the surface of a SS is a potential means of iron
contamination. Therefore, iron contamination can be difficult to discover before rusting
occurs, even though SPX takes every precaution to prevent it. Sometimes contamination
can still occur. There are several ways to remove the iron contamination once visual signs of
contamination (rusting) have occurred.
- Use a phosphoric based acid cleaner
- Use an oxalic based acid cleaner
- Use a sulfamic based acid cleaner

With each cleaner it is highly recommended to pre-rinse and post-rinse with ample amounts
of water and longtime contact with the acid is required. Complete removal of the iron
contamination is important in order to prevent reoccurrence of the rust stain.

Common dishpan cleaning supplies are available for cleaning stainless steel surfaces. One
cleaner in particular that is very effective in removing stains is BarKeeper’s Friend Cleanser &
Polish with a 3M Scotch-Brite scouring pad. This product should be rinsed off within one
minute of application. Always test in inconspicuous areas first.

More industrial products also exist, such as DeRustit B-P Metal Cleaner, and Praxair ProStar
DeRUST Rust Remover.

If BarKeeper’s Friend Cleanser & Polish, or a similar product, does not remove the rust stain
completely, or the rusting returns, iron particles may be embedded in the stainless steel
surface. A method to dissolve the iron particles is by the use of citric acid. Commercial
products based on citric acid exist for this purpose. Examples from Stellar Solutions, Inc,
include: CitriSurf 77 Plus for small areas, and CitriSurf 2310 gel for larger areas, vertical
surfaces, or welds. Another is BarKeeper’s Friend Multipurpose Cooktop Cleaner

ironcontamss.doc JE 10-31-17, BP 4-18-16, JE 11-3-11