Stainless Steel Passivation: Creating an Antioxidant Protective Film
Stainless passivation is a process consisting of the formation of a protective film of chromium oxide on the surface of stainless steel.
Preliminary Stages
Stainless steel can naturally form a protective oxide film. However, to ensure effective passivation, the material must be free from contaminants like sulfur, chlorides, metal dust, and fluorides. In industrial environments, such conditions are hard to maintain, making artificial passivation necessary.
Why Passivation is Essential
Passivation is indispensable as it achieves excellent results quickly, which natural processes cannot match.
The process involves immersing the object in a bath containing acidic solutions or using spray techniques. Bama’s "Inox-Pass-N" is an example of a product used for stainless steel passivation, complying with ASTM A 380 and A 967 standards.
