Alright, finally something I can chime in on! The alloying of chromium in SS is largely responsible for this passive oxide coating (the thin film your associates mentioned) which keeps atmospheric oxygen from the iron atoms, preventing rust. Like aluminum, the chrome atoms react readily with the oxygen, and fast - as you sand the oxide coating off (oxide vs. oxide!), it reforms on the SS. Dan > My question is, when a person grinds the top layer off, with a > grinder or major sanding, as when a person would do this to paint the > DeLorean body, does it now loose its rust-proof ability? So if you > sanded the stainless to that point, and then decided not to paint it, > would it then be able to rust, or would it start to develop the film > again over time? (more of a stainless question than DeLorean related, > sorry) > > Tom Porter > Maine, USA To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/