Use and Care Manual

R03.001_02/06/2010
TECHNICAL FILE
STAINLESS STEEL
Cleaning
Maintenance
Finishes of stainless steel used in Emac®
It’s essential the immediate cleaning of the material after its installation to avoid that the mortar
remaining, concrete or the iron particles from scourers or tools can cause pitting corrosion.
For outdoor applications such as facades, the rainfall is an efcient cleaner. Pay special attention to
areas of difcult access and be sure you remove all the dust and other elements remainings. You can
do this cleaning once per month.
For indoor applications, you can use water with dishwashing detergent, liquid soap or similar to remove
dirtiness and the possible ngerprints marked on the surface of the prole. In high brightness nishes
you can use a glass cleaner. There are special cleaners for stainless steel in the market that clean
the material and reduce the appearance of possible stains. Whenever you clean the stainless steel,
remember rinsing well and drying totally to prevent fogging.
Steel wool or similar products are not recommended because they could scratch the surface and
cause pitting corrosion. Pay special attention with the use of materials containing chlorides. Those
materials are contraindicated because they oxidize the material. The hydrochloric acid or iron products
in prolonged contact with the prole, are not recommended. Do not use common steel cleaners for the
cleaning of stainless steel.
- Dust and dirtiness: clean with water and/or detergent. You can use pressure water or steam.
- Inclusions of iron particles: Use an appropriate cutting tool to guarantee the better conservation
of the prole. If the prole is damaged, treat the surface with nitric acid 20% and then rinse and dry.
Check the result with the ferroxilo test. If the treatment does not work, apply a solution of nitric acid
and hydrouoric one.
- Mortar and concrete remainings: Clean the surface with a specic remover diluted in a small quantity.
Then, rinse and dry the prole.
- Oxidized areas: Clean well the surface, let it dry and after treat it with a solution of nitric acid 20% for
20 minutes. Depending on the oxidation degree and the time it has been oxidized, the recovering will
be total or partial.
- Oil and grease: Remove these stains with solvents based alcohol or alkaline cleaners and rinse with
plenty of neutral water. Be careful with these products, since they can spread the stains and make
difcult their elimination.
The stainless steel products of Emac® are available in two basic nishes: high brightness and brushed,
as well as in four special nishes belonging to Futura range.
- High brightness: Unbeatable nish high brightness with a slightly porous and smooth surface
which allows its cleaning. All the Emac® products made in stainless steel are IIID surface except
Novopeldaño® 4 which is IIR.
- Brushed: Finish matte one-way, not reector, excellent for public areas or indoors because doesn’t
leave ngerprints on the surface.
- Futura range: Finishes available in brushed titanium, bright titanium, oxide brushed and bright oxide.
These nishes are made with a cover containing titanium. This covering, increase the supercial
hardness, the corrosion resistance and provides a brightness and color very attractive.
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