Badlands Fieldcraft: Junk On The Bunk: How to maintain your stainless steel

Originally posted over at Badlands Fieldcraft. Got a stainless steel field cookset? Here’s my loyal Stanley set and the only one I’ve carried for over a decade now. -NCS
I came across this article while researching why I have a stainless water bottle starting to rust. I’m a big fan of stainless bottles and thought others might be interested in this. This particular bottle was one that I was “given” at the Pathfinder school during a class. My bottle was mistakenly taken during an exercise and this one left in it’s place. I don’t think it was intentional, a dozen blackened bottles in a fire all look the same for the most part.
From the information in this article and on the interwebs, I think it may have been over heated as indicated by the blue discoloration streaks it has and that is what damaged it and caused it to start rusting. Another possibility is the previous owner may have used a scratch pad to clean it. I’m not sure if this is something fixable or not. I am going to try to gently clean it and neutralize the rust with baking soda as recommended in the article, then we’ll see what happens.
https://www.fireplacedoorsonline.com/got-discoloration.html

Spread the love
                

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

8 Comments

  1. sandsailor April 20, 2021 at 05:30

    I’ve been using a vintage Boy Scout camp kit like this one:
    https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Camping-Cookware-5-Piece-Aluminum/dp/B0009PUR4A/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=boy+scout+cook+kit&qid=1618910766&sr=8-1
    for over 10 years now, that I bought from a thrift store in Oak Harbor. I know this thread is about cleaning stainless, but I’m throwing in my two cents for aluminum campware that never corrodes and is easy to clean.

  2. Paraclete April 20, 2021 at 06:45

    Personally, I wouldn’t take a chance with it…86 it and get a new one.
    Getting sick from bad gear is a big mistake to save coin.
    Besides, it could come back to haunt you when you need it most.
    I was given a Yeti “stainless” mug…it’s said they must be hand washed.
    No dishwasher, as the DW will ruin it…how, I don’t know, that’s what
    I’ve been told. (could be the insulating materials)…anyway,
    it’s hand washed, each day, using a soft bristle dish brush and soft soap.
    Three years, so far and all is fine.
    Your observation on scratches and abrasives could have something to it…
    as a lot of cheap stuff is just “wash coated” pig metal.
    Check out mast general, they seem to stay on top of quality gear which could
    cross over to our needs…it doesn’t always need to be GI, but in the long run,
    they’ve tested and paid for the trials to know what works, in many cases…
    But folks know this…right ?

  3. Rick O’Shea April 20, 2021 at 08:46

    I used to work with stainless a lot for a couple of decades; welding, machining, and fabricating parts and equipment for pharmaceutical, medical and food processing plants. My guess is someone used a regular steel scouring pad to clean it, thus cross-contaminating it.
    That is a huge NO-NO when working with stainless. Your scotch-brite pads, sanding discs, grinding discs, etc need to be separated and used for stainless only. For example, if you grind or sand on mild steel and then use that same grinding or sanding disc on the stainless, you will impregnate the stainless with tiny particles of mild steel. Getting all of those particles out is damn near impossible. It will never be perfect again. You can make it work, it just won’t be 100% right again.
    I would shitcan it and get a new one. Although, it probably won’t hurt you, now is the time to get one before the price of stainless skyrockets also.
    Also, not all stainless is like 316 stainless (an Austenitic stainless). Some different grades of “stainless” will actually slowly rust (and some are even magnetic) albeit at less levels than mild steel. Stick to food grade stainless steels like 304, 308, 316, or even 430 for cookware, silverware, etc. 316 is your best choice. In the food industry, a lot of the time, 304 is called 18-8 stainless while 316 is called 18-10. The 18 is the chromium content (18%) and the 8 and 10 are the nickel content (8% and 10%).

  4. GK April 20, 2021 at 09:19

    These stamped out Stainless containers and cookware are generally Martensitic Stainless. The reason is that Martensite Stainless can be formed and not work harden as easily as austenitics. That said, use a weak acid and stainless wire brush. Naval Jelly, Oxalic (CLR), or Acetic (Vinegar). I suggest vinegar as your best bet.

  5. JD April 20, 2021 at 17:24

    If stainless steel is manufactured in the same facility as carbon steel (or manufactured with carbon steel tools/tooling), and the material is not passivated surface rust is possible. I’ve seen this in the food industry (equipment)…. It’s really annoying having to explain/tap dance with a customer about why the Shop was stupid…..

  6. Badlands Rifleman April 20, 2021 at 19:29

    I’m not surprised AP has such an expert collection of readers willing to share their knowledge and experience. I appreciate all of your advice. I contacted Self Reliance Outfitters, the makers of these bottles and they have replaced it with a new one no questions asked, shipped for free. All they wanted to see was a picture of the rust. It was their opinion that most likely it had been cleaned with something that scratched the stainless. They also had never seen one rust before. I never wash my bottles, especially with a scrubber. I prefer to leave the black coating from the fire on the outside, and sterilize it by boiling water in it.

  7. Bobby_Boucher April 20, 2021 at 20:01

    There’s a bunch of good details in the comments that are helpful. Like a few others mention, the grade of stainless makes a big difference with if it will rust or not (Sooner than Later). The temperatures allowed the pores in the metal to open up and absorb contaminants, but it’s not horrible. You can get stainless steel wool/scrub pads in some kitchen sections of stores, that won’t be overly aggressive with cleaning up and actually polishing up the surface inside the can when cleaning it. My kitchen pots and pans are all stainless without any coatings, the pads helped smoothen out the brushed inside finish. Also won’t have to worry about the cross contamination with steel vs stainless with those scrub pads. Fill it with white distilled vinegar and scrub it. Letting it soak a few days with the vinegar inside won’t hurt either. I’ve been cleaning up some small, delicate measuring tools that way as well as some old cast iron pans and it’s not etching the metal too bad if left for a few weeks. Apple Cider vinegar eats rust as well, but is a little aggressive. It will literally eat through the metal if left long enough (about a year… luckily that part is still available for that model year). It can also leave a slightly dark etch on metals and knife blades similar to phosphoric acid. EvapoRust product works well on many things also. Used that a lot with automotive restorations and a few rifle barrels.
    On the Aluminum campware from SandSailor, you just want to make sure the anodizing is good on the aluminum or kept extremely clean. It can also be re-anodized fairly easily. My original camp mess kit has a teflon coated frying pan. No Idea what brand or how old it is. Could either be my Grandfather’s from when he was in the army or something my Father picked up somewhere. Aluminum is more porous and can absorb things into it that are not quite healthy. Also contributes to memory loss. I used to have some good documents on that but I can’t remember where they are after all the time I’ve spent buffing brightwork, engine components and wheels for Classic restorations. Titanium is great but expensive. It doesn’t absorb smells like stainless. Doesn’t act as a heatsink like aluminum. Pretty unique metal the more you read about it. I picked up a Heavy Cover Titanium Canteen/mess kit last summer and have been using it at work almost daily since. Haven’t cooked with it yet though, because I’ve been a bum with disappearing into the woods, started too many projects as well as work overtime to afford it. https://www.heavycoverinc.com Turns out that canteen kit is made by this company http://keithtitanium.com/product/DRINKWARE/54.html
    But anyway… Yeah. Vinegar and scrub it, Should be fine… and be onto drinking some more High quality H2O! Could get a Straight 1/4″ die grinder and Stainless Steel bristled cup brush from a welding shop for it, make it look like factory new inside, if you wanted to get carried away! … but the cup brush itself costs more than most stainless bottles… except Yeti. I think they have financing available though.

  8. Paulo April 21, 2021 at 01:17

    I have a one gallon stainless steel distiller and just distilling tap water leaves some crap on
    the bottom after each distilling. What I use is, as said in prior response, is Vinegar.
    Just let it sit for a couple of hours and it disolves it out. Have used bicarbonate
    Soda too.
    The more I distill without cleaning the crud each time the harder to clean.

Comments are closed.

GUNS N GEAR

Categories

Archives

Spread the love