Posted by gmharris [71.105.35.249] on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 11:34:06 :
In Reply to: Re: "passivating" stainless steel- citric acid!. posted by mike [74.88.153.46] on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 20:31:24 :
Interestingly, the citric acid doesn't do anything but clean the stainless steel and dissolve iron particles. The stainless steel can then "heal" itself by developing a layer of protective oxide.
You can assist the process by first cleaning the stainless steel with an abrasive plastic pad.
Other chemicals used to treat stainless steel act as both a cleaner and oxidizer to create the protective oxide coating.