Oil impregnating mild steel.

Booster · Aug 11, 2008

Hi.

I have a question. Can regular carbon steel/ mild steel, be oil impregnated with vegatable oil.
If so. How deep will it soak through/per time. Will it soak in over time at room temperature. Does it need to be heated, or will heating it simply speed up the process.

If there is other oil in it that may be from the mill or shipper, is it likely to displace veg. oil, or the other way around.

Im basing this on the fact that cast iron is somewhat impregnated with veg. oil when you cook with skillets fore instance. I know cast is much more porous, but, im not sure just how porous mild steel is.

johnoder · Aug 11, 2008

just how porous mild steel is

Not porous unless something is wrong with it.

John Oder

Booster · Aug 11, 2008

johnoder said:
Not porous unless something is wrong with it.

John Oder

It had not occured to me either, untill i spoke with a guy recently that runs a punch. He was saying some steel he gets punches out much easier because of oil in it. It was the first time i had heard that.

Forrest Addy · Aug 11, 2008

Steel, cast iron other metal allys etc are NOT porous. It's solid hacing no porousity except that sometimes seen in flawed castings. Oil absorbtion is a shade tree yokel's conception. The mechanism by which oil molecules attach to surfaces is complex but not difficult to understand however imagined or postulated pores and porousity play no part. Surface finish, chemical state, and the oil with its additives, however, does.

johnoder · Aug 11, 2008

Misconception. Even cast iron. If it were actually porous, cast iron left out in the weather would have internal rust. Unless really crappy cast iron, this is never the case.

When oil impregnation is wanted, sintered materials are used. There are both iron and bronze sintered bearings that can be oil impregnated.

As for oil soaking "into" frying pans, plain not true. What happens is the oil is coked on as a tough coating.

John Oder

Booster · Aug 11, 2008

Case closed. Thanks!

Booster · Aug 11, 2008

johnoder said:
Misconception. Even cast iron. If it were actually porous, cast iron left out in the weather would have internal rust. Unless really crappy cast iron, this is never the case.

When oil impregnation is wanted, sintered materials are used. There are both iron and bronze sintered bearings that can be oil impregnated.

As for oil soaking "into" frying pans, plain not true. What happens is the oil is coked on as a tough coating.

John Oder

I wouldnt have guessed that, being that recently i accidently dropped a cast iron lid off a balcony. It hit the pavement and shattered. I could (see) pourosity on the inside. Or at least it looked like it. hmmm.

Booster · Aug 11, 2008

johnoder said:
What happens is the oil is coked on as a tough coating.

John Oder

So, the same can be done to mild steel though. Right?

johnoder · Aug 11, 2008

Definitely. It is a daily problem in a gasoline refinery with some of the processes operating up around 900° F.

John Oder

Alpacca Fortyfive · Aug 11, 2008

Booster said:
I wouldnt have guessed that, being that recently i accidently dropped a cast iron lid off a balcony. It hit the pavement and shattered. I could (see) pourosity on the inside. Or at least it looked like it. hmmm.

or the faces of the tiny crystals which had pulled apart when it broke?

Booster · Aug 11, 2008

Alpacca Fortyfive said:
or the faces of the tiny crystals which had pulled apart when it broke?

come to think of it, yes. I probably mistook large grain size for "porous" material. "I'll spell that word right one of these days

"

Alpacca Fortyfive · Aug 11, 2008

apologies for any nerdiness in this, it's late and my inner asperger is fighting to be let out...

Porosity: presence of pores... Yes, we'll almost certainly have the odd pore in castings. gas bubbles, sand inclusions etc

But

Permeability: allowing fluid flow. No, not unless something is very badly wrong with the metal, any pores should be isolated from each other.

I bought some heavy old iron castings earlier in the year with the hope of making straight edges out of some of the bits.

the bit I cut up had a layer full of gas bubbles about 1/2 inch thick on one side. The bubbles were all glossy black inside,including the one or two that also had little aggregates of sand in them. That piece is still "seasoning" and probably will until it rusts away, unless I fool the scrap man into taking it away...

Keith

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