Subject: ARRRGH!!..Rust!!

From: [email-masked] (Jeff Sweeney)
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1993 17:47:30 GMT

Our steel apparatus is rusting! It seems one person in our lab has the
"golden touch". That, combined with high humidity, means we have a
recurring problem with rust. Today I disassembled one of our
diamond-anvil-cells (DAC) and cleaned it with Naval Jelly (phosphoric
acid+other stuff) and a ScotchBright pad. This left the steel parts
with a thin dull gray coating that seems to darken with time. Does
anyone know what this coating is? Phosphide or phosphate adhered to
the steel, or?

I am fed-up with this problem and I am looking for a solution. We
have done all we can to lower the humidity. Other suggestions have
been: a) Black oxide, b) electro-plating either nickel or chrome, c)
religious oiling, d) gun-bluing. Black oxide sounds good but I think
we would have to send the parts out to have them done. Plating would
definitely be out of house and therefore more expensive. Oiling might
work but, for convenience, we would rather keep the DAC oil-free. I'm
told that gun-bluing can be a do-it-yourself project but that it
stinks. Does anyone have experience with this process? What exactly is
the coating? Does it help protect steel parts from rust?
-- 

Jeff Sweeney		[email-masked]