STAINLESS steel does corrode and needs passivation treatments to delay corrosion, claims the UAE-based Marami Metal Plating which offers a pioneering process for on-site stainless steel passivation including under-water treatment.

“Stainless steel is an alloy of iron with various percentages of chromium, vanadium, and other metals,” says a company official. “Stainless steel containing higher percentages of chromium is capable of forming an invisible inert or passive, self-repairing oxide film – by combining with oxygen in the air – on its surface. As a result, stainless steel is perceived by many to have corrosion-resistance capabilities.”

“This oxide film, however, cannot always protect all stainless steel products from the harsh environments and the natural phenomenon of rust,” says Rajeev Daswani, the managing director of Marami Metal Plating.

According to Daswani, the three most common forms of stainless steel corrosion in the GCC region are pitting, crevice and intergranular corrosion.

“With pitting corrosion, the passive layer on stainless steel can be attacked by certain chemicals in a high solidity area,” says Daswani. “The GCC, being located near the sea, is a high solidity area. Chloride ions – commonly found in everyday materials such as salt and bleach – once in the air due to evaporation, inhibit the passivation process leaving stainless steel vulnerable to corrosion.”

Michael Smith, operations manager at Marami Metal Plating, states that stainless steel corrodes unless it remains treated after operations commence.

“We need to strip away the actual first micro-layer of iron that is contained within the alloy and replace it with metals that cannot rust, whilst providing oxygen simultaneously to ensure the self-passivation of the steel,” says Smith, who has more than 30 years of experience in the metal plating and corrosion resistance industries.

With the technical know-how to mitigate the costs and damage incurred from the corrosion of stainless steel, Marami Metal Plating provides state-of-the-art on-site treatment for stainless steel both on land, and in the water. It is a complete metal service centre (MSC) with about 18 years of experience in industrial plating and works with highly reputable organisations and multinationals in the construction, petroleum, marine and industrial industries.

The Marami system includes complete hard chrome plating, Spin hot dip galvanising (a pioneering system in the region), electro-galvanising, electroless nickel plating, nickel sulfamate, tin plating and copper plating, manganese and zinc phosphate and black oxidising setups. The company also has a machine shop with lathes, grinders, welding and polishing systems.