What Does
Repassivation Mean?
Repassivation is repeating the passivation process, which is a technique to make a material less affected by environmental factors such as water or air by coating it with a protective material to make the surface resistant to corrosion. Repassivation basically involves shielding the base material via oxidation or a micro coating. The main goal of the process in stainless steel is to restore the steel's original attributes by applying a protective oxide film.
Corrosionpedia Explains Repassivation
Passivation involves applying an outer layer to a material to protect it from harmful reactions such as corrosion reactions. Repassivation is repeating the process after a period of time after the protective coating has disappeared.
It is important for a base metal to undergo passivation because when the metal surface is embedded in the machining process it deteriorates and affects the strength of the surface. Passivation purifies the metal's surface and acts like a protective coating. The process is necessary for many metallic surfaces. Some materials that make use of passivation are silicon, ferrous materials, aluminum and stainless steel.
The main benefits of repassivation include:
- It is uniform in nature and thus provides a smooth, clean appearance
- It extends the life of the product
- Less maintenance is required after repassivation