It is common to use stainless steel fasteners for exposed, rust prone applications. The stainless steel that is used for most stainless steel screws is different from the stainless steel that is used in sinks and high-quality knife blades.
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What are stainless steel screws made out of?
Most stainless steel screws are made with a soft grade of chromium alloy steel called 18-8, which refers to the 18 percent chrome and 8 percent nickel alloyed into the steel. The chromium provides the rust resistance and accounts for the high price.
Beside corrosive environments, are there any other areas that stainless steel screws are good for?
It is common knowledge that stainless steel will not corrode except in the most extreme cases when subjected to salt and chemicals. What is not generally known is that stainless steel screws are also resistant to high temperature deterioration. Because stainless steel fasteners are not heat treated, they will not become brittle and snap off in exhaust manifold or heat exchanger application. This may be something to consider the next time you bolt up a turbocharger or hot exhaust system component. They won't rust, snap off nor will they require a screw extractor next time around either.
How strong are stainless steel screws?
A common misconception about stainless steel screws is that because they are alloy steel they must be very hard, like a Grade 8 bolt, or better. Not so! Without the complicated heat treating and carbide structure of hardened steel, stainless steel screws can actually be as soft as a Grade 2 bolt. The average tensile strength is in the range of 80,000 - 100,000 psi while the minimum for Grade 8 is 150,000 psi. This means that it is important to use a torque chart for stainless steel screws & not the typical Grade 8 torque chart.
Watch out for lubricants when using stainless steel fasteners. Lubricants reduce friction and may cause over-tightening during torquing. Most torque charts are written for dry, clean threads. Threadlocker use will similarly require a different torque value.
Stainless steel screws are a great product for deflectors, mirrors and other external equipment that may have to be removed later or where ordinary fasteners would rust and/or streak. Keep stainless steel screws in mind for high temperature situations as well.
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