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I finally changed my mind about using wire brushes on stainless liners after a job in Savannah
Was at a job last month near the river in Savannah. Old foreman told me to never use a wire brush on stainless, swore it would ruin the surface. Always figured he was just being picky. But I saw a liner he did 8 years ago and it still looked new. Mine had these tiny rust spots creeping in after 2 years. Guess he was right. Has anyone else seen this difference?
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wood.faith1mo ago
Quote "the environment made his point hit harder." That's the part that gets me thinking. You're saying the rust would have shown up slower in a dry place like Arizona but the humidity just sped up the whole thing? I've been wondering if the wire brush actually embeds tiny carbon particles into the stainless, which then rust faster in salt air. Is that the real mechanism or something else? Because I've seen guys use scotchbrite pads instead and get way less corrosion over time. Curious if you've tested both methods side by side in coastal conditions.
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diana5121mo ago
Actually that brings up something I don't think anyone's mentioned yet. The humidity and salt air in Savannah probably made the difference way more obvious. I've done work in both dry inland areas and coastal spots, and stainless rusts way faster near the ocean. So your old foreman was right but the environment made his point hit harder. Clean river air and ocean salt are totally different beasts for metal. If that liner was in Arizona it might have looked fine with a wire brush treatment. So really you've got two things working against you down there - the wrong tool AND the wrong location.
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